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September 2024

Candidate: Hassan Shirzadi
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Title: Synthesis, Characterization and Testing of Graphene-Based Materials for Proton-Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Catalysts
Committee: Dr. Muralidhar Ghantasala, Chair, Dr. Ramakrishna Guda, Dr. Bade Shrestha, 
Dr. Elena Rozhkova
Time/Place: Wednesday, September 11, 2024, 3 to 5 p.m., Virtual Meeting

Candidate: Sean F. Gaffney
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
College: Education and Human Development
Title: From Pages to Pixels: Library Workers’ Perceptions of Power in the Digital Era
Committee: Dr. David Szabla, Chair, Dr. Beixi Li, Dr. Margaret Gorman
Time/Place: Friday, September 27, 2024, 1 to 3 p.m., Virtual Meeting

Candidate: Shelley L. Esman
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: English
Title: Picturing the Teaching of the Holocaust
Committee: Dr. Jonathan Bush, Chair, Dr. Cheryl Almeda, Dr. Meghann Meeusen
Time/Place: Friday, September 27, 2024, 2 to 4 p.m., Virtual Meeting

Candidate: Anezka Viskova-Robertson
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
College: Education and Human Development 
Title: Exploring the Impacts of AI Integration on Workplace Well-being: An Exploratory 
Case Study
Committee: Dr. David Szabla, Chair, Dr. Beixi Li, Dr. Kuanchin Chen
Time/Place: Monday, September 30, 2024, 10 to noon, Virtual Meeting

October 2024

Candidate: Vanessa Hills
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
College: Education and Human Development 
Title: The Unconscious at Work: A Psychosocial Study of Leaders’ Unconscious Processes Impacting Participatory Change Leadership
Committee: Dr. David Szabla, Chair, Dr. Beixi Li, Dr. Susan Long
Time/Place: Tuesday, October 1, 2024, 7 to 9 p.m., Virtual Meeting

Candidate: Cameron Hays
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Ph.D. Program
Title: Public Health Implications of State-Level Public Health Organizational and System Structures
Committee: Dr. Rob Lyerla, Chair, Dr. Kieran Fogarty, Dr. Jessica Cataldo
Time/Place: Thursday, October 3, 2024, 10 a.m. to noon, Virtual Meeting

Candidate: Alyssa Jewell
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: English
Title: Creature Constellation
Committee: Alen Hamza, Ph.D., Chair, Thisbe Nissen, M.F.A., Jil Larson, Ph.D., 
Gina Franco, M.F.A.
Time/Place: Monday, October 14, 2024, 12:30 to 2:30 p.m., Virtual Meeting

Candidate: M. Muchson
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Mallinson Institute for Science Education
Title: The Science Education Research Trends (SERT) in Indonesian Secondary Schools: A Series of Research Synthesis Studies
Committee: Dr. William Cobern, Chair, Dr. Betty Adams, Dr. Beixi Li
Time/Place: Monday, October 14, 2024, 6 to 8 p.m., 1408 Wood Hall

Candidate: Natalie Wagner
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department:  Educational Leadership, Research and Technology
Title: Understanding the Experience of Being Food Insecure at an Independent 
College or University
Committee: Dr. Regina Garza Mitchell, Chair, Dr. Donna Talbot, Dr. Amy Radford-Popp
Time/Place: Tuesday, October 15, 2024, 10 a.m. to noon, Virtual Meeting

Candidate: Mark Omwansa
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Title: Faulty Perception Correction of Autonomous Vehicles in Real-Life Driving Scenarios
Committee: Dr. Rick Meyer, Chair, Dr. Damon Miller, Dr. Lee Wells, Dr. Zachary Asher
Time/Place: Tuesday, October 15, 2024, 1 to 3 p.m., F 115 Floyd Hall

Candidate: Shahana Afsar
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: English
Title: Jagg Beeti
Committee: Thisbe Nissen, M.F.A., Chair, Todd Kuchta, Ph.D., Jil Larson, Ph.D, 
Hannah Lillith Asaadi, M.F.A.
Time/Place: Monday, October 21, 2024, noon to 2 p.m., 3025 Brown Hall

Candidate: Anwar V. Thomas
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
College: Education and Human Development
Title: Navigating Accessibility in Distance Education: A Multi-Method Analysis of Online Discourse Among Postsecondary Disability Resource Professionals During the 
Covid-19 Pandemic
Committee: Dr. Brian Horvitz, Chair, Dr. Elyse Connors, Dr. Beixi Li
Time/Place: Monday, October 21, 2024, 2 to 4 p.m., Virtual

Candidate: Grace Boda
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
College: Education and Human Development 
Title: Leadership Ways of the Three Fires Anishinaabek
Committee: Dr. Tova Sanders, Chair, Dr. Dee Sherwood, Dr. Linda Keway
Time/Place: Friday, October 25, 2024, 10 a.m. to noon, Virtual Meeting

Candidate: Ronnie McMillian
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department:  Educational Leadership, Research and Technology
Title: An Exploration of the Experiences that Influenced Black Males to Become Information Technology Professionals
Committee: Dr. Louann Bierlein Palmer, Chair, Dr. Regina Garza Mitchell, Dr. Victor Henry
Time/Place: Monday, October 28, 2024, 10 a.m. to noon, Virtual Meeting

Candidate: Merrilyn Yeboah
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Psychology
Title: The Effect of Performance-Contingent Monetary Rewards on Creativity, Intrinsic Interest and Autonomy
Committee: Dr. Heather McGee, Chair, Dr. Jonathan Baker, Dr. Ron Van Houten, Dr. Douglas Johnson, Dr. Janet Twyman
Time/Place: Wednesday, October 30, 2024, 1 to 3 p.m., Virtual Meeting

Candidate: Joanne Susan Roehm
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
College: Education and Human Development 
Title: Mothering, Leadership and Career: A Narrative Analysis
Committee: Dr. Tova Sanders, Chair, Dr. Jennifer Bott, Dr. Leah Omillon-Hodges
Time/Place: Thursday, October 31, 2024, 2 to 4 p.m., Virtual Meeting

Candidate: Neha Sawant
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Chemical and Paper Engineering
Title: Advanced Material Manufacturing Obtained from Natural Products for 
Wastewater Treatment
Committee: Dr. Mert Atilhan, Chair, Dr. James Springstead, Dr. Priyanka Sharma, Dr. Matt Reeves
Time/Place: Thursday, October 31, 2024, 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., D-132 Floyd Hall, Parkview Campus

November 2024

Candidate: Masoud Panahi
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Electrical and Computer Engineering
Title: Intelligent Health Monitoring Systems via Flexible Hybrid Electronics 
and Machine Learning
Committee: Dr. Massood Atashbar, Chair, Dr. Bradly Bazuin, Dr. Daryl Lawson, Dr. Simin Masihi, Dr. Dinesh Maddipatla
Time/Place: Friday, November 1, 2024, noon to 2 p.m., B-211 Floyd Hall, Parkview Campus

Candidate: Sean Derrick
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
College: Engineering and Applied Sciences
Title: Using Resin-Bonded Hollow Aluminosilicate Microspheres to Create Patternless Molds for Rapid Casting
Committee: Dr. Sam Ramrattan, Chair, Dr. Pavel Ikonomov, Dr. Lee Wells
Time/Place: Friday, November 1, 2024, 1 to 3 p.m., C-141 Floyd Hall

Candidate: Aya Hassouneh
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Electrical and Computer Engineering
Title: Multimodal Feature Fusion and AI-Drive Framework for Early Detection of 
Alzheimer’s Disease
Committee: Dr. Ikhlas Abdel-Qader, Chair, Dr. Bradley Bazuin, Dr. Alessander Santos, Dr. Saad Shebrain, Dr. Ilgin Acar
Time/Place: Tuesday, November 12, 2024, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., B-211 Virtual Meeting

Candidate: Dale Brown
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies
Title: DeadTime in the Vale of Soul-Making: Hermeneutics, Humanization, and Higher Education in Prison
Committee: Dr. Dini Metro-Roland, Chair, Dr. Paul Farber, Dr. Fritz Allhoff, Dr. June Gothberg
Time/Place: Friday, November 22, 2024, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., 3205 Sangren Hall

Candidate: Ahmed Badawy
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Geological and Environmental Sciences
Title: Integrated Studies for A Better Understanding of the Nature of Extreme Precipitation Events Over the Nile Basin and its Optimum Utilization in Egypt
Committee: Dr. Mohamed Sultan, Chair, Dr. Peter Voice, Dr. Adam Milewski
Time/Place: Tuesday, November 26, 2024, 9 to 11 a.m., 2911 Wood Hall

December 2024

Candidate: Nadia C. Brigham
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Sociology
Title: Deconstructing the Myth of the “Happy Niggra”: Using Critical Discourse Analysis and Constructed Grounded Theory to Examine the Sociocultural Transmission of 
Internalized Anti-Blackness
Committee: Dr. Angie Moe, Chair, Dr. Jesse Smith, Dr. Charles Crawford, Dr. Regis Fox
Time/Place: Wednesday, December 11, 2024, 10 a.m. to noon, 3205 Sangren Hall
 

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