Doctoral Oral Exam Schedule
The Graduate Dean invites all graduate faculty to attend the final oral examinations for the doctoral candidates scheduled as follows:
Doctoral Oral Exams for September 14, 2026 – September 18, 2026
Kaushal Sumaria, PhD., Mechanical Engineering.
Thursday, September 17, 2026, 9:00AM, N210 LSL.
Dissertation: “Design and Fabrication of Stretchable Electronics and Dielectrics for Chronic Use Bioelectronics.” Tingyi “Leo” Liu, Chair.
Doctoral Oral Exams for August 31, 2026 – September 4, 2026
Raju Gholap, PhD., Management.
Monday, August 31, 2026, 9:00AM, via Zoom.
Dissertation: "Three Essays on the Strategic Effects of Degree of Operating Leverage in Hospitality Management." Atul Sheel, Chair.
Timothy Marthonhelyi, PhD., Physics.
Monday, August 31, 2026, 12:00PM, LGRT 419B.
Dissertation: “A Phenomenological Study of Heavy Spin-One Particles at Current and Future Particle Colliders.” Andrea Thamm, Chair.
Hia Ghosh, PhD., Computer Science.
Monday, August 31, 2026, 1:00PM, CSL E300 and via Zoom.
Dissertation: “Designing for Variability: UDL as a Critical Framework for Inclusive Computer Science Education.” Neena Thota, Chair.
Crystal Rodriguez, PhD., Chemistry.
Wednesday, September 2, 2026, 10:00AM, Goessmann 153.
Dissertation: “Engineering MspA Nanopore for Enhancing the Accuracy of Single-Molecule Nanopore Sequencing.” Min Chen, Chair.
Shiqi Liu, PhD., Polymer Science and Engineering.
Wednesday, September 2, 2026, 9:30AM, Conte Polymer Building A110/111.
Dissertation: “Beyond Silicones: A New Repeat Unit Provides Higher Performance Elastomers.” Thomas J. McCarthy, Chair.
Jithu Krishna, PhD., Chemistry.
Friday, September 4, 2026, 11:00AM, Goessmann 153 and via Zoom.
Dissertation: “New Platforms for Targeted Membrane Protein Degradation: Mechanism of Action and Opportunities for Therapeutic Applications.” S. Thayumanavan, Chair.
Alessa Farinella, PhD., Linguistics.
Friday, September 4, 2026, 3:00PM, ILC N400 and via Zoom.
Dissertation: “Syntax, Prosody and Their Interface in Tagalog.” Kyle Johnson and Kristine Yu, Co-Chairs.
Lingdong Wang, PhD., Computer Science.
Friday, September 4, 2026, 2:00PM, CSL E300 and via Zoom.
Dissertation: “Deep Learning for Resource-Efficient Video Streaming.” Ramesh Sitaraman and Mohammad Hajiesmaili, Co-Chairs
Doctoral Oral Exams for August 24, 2026 – August 28, 2026
Joshua Medina, PhD., Organismic and Evolutionary Biology.
Monday, August 24, 2026, 1:30PM, Morill 222.
Dissertation: “Digital Morphology: Advances in Three-Dimensional Data Acquisition and Shape Analysis.” Duncan J. Irschick, Chair.
Madison Eamiello, PhD., Psychological and Brain Sciences.
Monday, August 24, 2026, 11:00AM, Tobin 521B.
Dissertation: “Can a Self-Affirmation Intervention Buffer the Psychological Consequences Comparisons on Instagram? Pathways and the Moderating Role of Individual Differences.” Allecia E. Reid, Chair.
Bingqing Sun, PhD., Astronomy.
Tuesday, August 25, 2026, 12:00PM, LGRT 1033.
Dissertation: “The Role of Spiral Arms in Galaxies.” Daniela Calzetti, Chair.
Siyuan Meng, PhD., Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Tuesday, August 25, 2026, 10:00AM, Marston Hall 234.
Dissertation: “Quality-Aware Multi-LiDAR Framework for Traffic Perception and Safety Analysis.” Chengbo Ai, Chair.
Jason Chao, PhD., Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Tuesday, August 15, 2026, 12:30PM, Engineering Lab II Roo 118 (Kellogg Room).
Dissertation: “Mechanical Behavior of Granular Soil: The Impact of Particle Size Distribution” Ching S. Chang, Chair.
Jesus Lara Jauregui, PhD., Economics.
Tuesday, August 25, 2026, 9:00PM, via Zoom.
Dissertation: “Essays on International Competition, Uneven Development, and Inflation Inequality.” Isabella Weber, Chair.
Yecheng Cao, PhD., Management.
Tuesday, August 25, 2026, 1:00PM, ISOM N220.
Dissertation: “Managerial Ability in Hospitality and Tourism.” Albert Assaf, Chair.
Athanasios Moraitis, PhD., Economics.
Wednesday, August 26, 2026, 10:00AM, via Zoom.
Dissertation: “Three Essays on Macroeconomic Dynamics and Classical Political Economy.” Deepankar Basu, Chair.
Jing Gan, PhD., Resource Economics.
Wednesday, August 26, 11:30AM, Draper 227.
Dissertation: “Essays on Competitions, Public Policy, and Firm Behavior.” Christian Rojas and Emily Wang, Co-Chairs.
Aanchal Setia, PhD., Psychological and Brain Sciences.
Thursday, August 27, 2026, 10:00AM, Tobin 521B.
Dissertation: “Navigating Misaligned Identities: An Investigation of the Development, Motivations and Social Consequences of Multiple Identity Management Strategies.” Nilanjana Dasgupta, Chair.
Patrick Wittbold, PhD., Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Thursday, August 27, 2026, 10:00AM, Marston Hall 234.
Dissertation: “Advancing Water and Wastewater Treatment Through Applied Research: Oxidant Speciation, Byproduct Formation, and a Decade at the WET Center.” Sean McBeath Chair.
Huilu Bao, PhD., Mechanical and Industrial Engineering.
Thursday, August 27, 2026, 9:00AM, LSL N610.
Dissertation: “Graphene Field-Effect Transistor Platforms for High-Performance Bioanalysis.” Jinglei Ping, Chair.
Emefa Adawudu, PhD., Nursing.
Thursday, August 27, 2026, 11:00AM, Skinner Hall 101.
Dissertation: “A Phenomenological Study of Diabetes Distress Among Persons with Type 2 Diabetes and Their Support Persons: A Dyadic Perspective.” Allison Vorderstrasse, Chair.
Raveen Armstrong, PhD., Microbiology.
Thursday, August 27, 2026, 11:00AM, LSL N410.
Dissertation: “A Tale of Two Domains: Investigating Essential Roles of Trypanosoma brucei POLIB in kDNA Maintenance.” Michele Klingbeil, Chair.
Akshaya Pawar, PhD., Management.
Thursday, August 27, 2026, 11:00AM, ISOM N135.
Dissertation: “Three Essays on Asset-Light Strategy, Firm Performance, and Factors for Success.” Stul Sheel, Chair.
Eva Neu, PhD., Linguistics.
Thursday, August 27, 2026, 10:00AM, ILC N400.
Dissertation: “From Roots to Trees: Thematic Roles and the Lexicon-Syntax Interface.” Rajesh Bhatt, Chair.
Yan Shi, PhD., Management.
Friday, August 28, 2026, 2:00PM, ISOM N220.
Dissertation: “Examining Pseudo-Synchronous Interaction on Video Sharing Platforms.” Monideepa Tarafdar, Chair.
Carla Steppan, PhD., Polymer Science and Engineering.
Friday, August 28, 2026, 11:00AM, Conte Research Building A110/111.
Dissertation: “New Designer Polymers: From Functional Polymer Zwitterions to Soft Mesoscale Objects.” Todd S. Emrick, Chair.
Zonghai Yao, PhD., Computer Science.
Friday, August 28, 2026, 1:00PM, via Zoom.
Dissertation: “Long-Horizon Medical AI Agents That Think and Communicate.” Hong Yu, Chair.
Doctoral Oral Exams for August 17, 2026 – August 21, 2026
Hansi Zeng, PhD., Computer Science.
Monday, August 17, 2026, 2:00PM, CS 303.
Dissertation: “Generative Information Retrieval for the Real World.” Hamed Zamani, Chair.
Luke Arieta, PhD., Kinesiology.
Monday, August 17, 2026, 1:00PM, SPHHS Hub Room 240.
Dissertation: “Skeletal Muscle Bioenergetics, Mitochondrial Substrate Use, and Insulin Resistance in Young and Older Adults.” Jane Kent, Chair.
Yuta Ishitsuka, PhD., Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Tuesday, August 18, 2026, 10:00AM, Kellogg Room Engineering Lab II.
Dissertation: “Advancing Hydrological Modeling with Satellite Remote Sensing: Integration, Error-Pattern Analysis, and Spatial Generalization in Hydrological Predictions.” Colin J. Gleason, Chair.
Sparshi Srivastava, PhD., Resource Economics.
Tuesday, August 18, 2026, 11:00AM, Stockbridge 303.
Dissertation: “Environmental Exposures, Public Policy, and Well-Being: Essays in Environmental and Health Economics.” Jamie Mullins, Chair.
Peter Kent-Stoll, PhD., Sociology.
Wednesday, August 19, 2026, 12:30PM, via Zoom.
Dissertation: “Displacement and Dispossession: Urban Renewal and Relocation in Chicago, 1948-1972.” Moon-Kie Jung, Chair.
Emily Whitted, PhD., History.
Wednesday, August 19, 2026, 10:00AM, Heter 601 and via Zoom.
Dissertation: “Darned, Patched and Mended: Repairing Textiles in Early America.” Marla Miller, Chair.
William T. Phillips, PhD., Chemistry.
Wednesday, August 19, 2026, 1:30PM, GSMN 153 and via Zoom.
Dissertation: “Investigating the Activity and Selectivity Trends of Alkaline Electrochemical Nitrate Reduction Across Cu Single Crystals.” Joseph DuChene, Chair.
Hanae Bouazza, PhD., Economics.
Wednesday, August 19, 2026, 10:00AM, Crotty Hall 308 and via Zoom.
Dissertation: “Land-Use Factors in the Green Transition.” Robert Pollin, Chair.
Hongshan Bi, PhD., Chemistry.
Wednesday, August 19, 2026, 10:00AM, GSMN 153.
Dissertation: “Atomic-Level Understanding and Design of Catalysts for Surface Redox Reactions.” Zhou Lin, Chair.
Hunter McNichols, PhD., Computer Science.
Wednesday, August 19, 2026, 11:00AM, E400 and via Zoom.
Dissertation: “Potentials and Pitfalls of AI-Mediated Learning: Scaling Learning and Understanding Student Behavior with Natural Language Processing.” Andrew Lan, Chair.
Nicolas Van Kempen, PhD., Computer Science.
Friday, August 21, 2026, 10:00AM, CSL E10.
Dissertation: “Improving Performance and Energy Efficiency with Native Languages and AI-Enabled.” Emery Berger, Chair.
Marc Closa Tarres, PhD., Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Friday, August 21, 2026, 1:00PM, Gunness Student Center.
Dissertation: “Development of the Dual-Frequency Ku-Band Insar for the Snowwi Instrument to Advance Snowpack Characterization Methodologies.” Paul Siqueira, Chair.