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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 October 13, 2025 – October 17, 2025

Nwadiaru Ogechi Vivian, PhD., Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Thursday, October 16, 2025, 10:30AM, Kellogg Conference Room ELab II. 
Dissertation: “Community- Informed Modelling of Equitable Energy Storage Systems for the Energy Transition.” Erin Baker, Chair.

Weiqi Feng, PhD., Computer Science
Friday, October 17, 2025, 3:00PM, via Zoom. 
Dissertation: “Practical Encrypted Databases with Oblivious and Expressive Query Processing.” Adam O’Neill, Chair.

Bhavna Kalyanaraman, PhD., Chemistry
Friday, October 17, 2025, 11:00AM, via Zoom. 
Dissertation: “Tracking Core and Cancer-Related Circadian Components via Reporter Platforms.” Michelle Farkas, Chair.

Meredith Degyansky, PhD., Anthropology
Friday, October 17, 2025, 12:00PM, Machmer E24 and via Zoom. 
Dissertation: “Searching for Otherwise: Occupation, Rupture, and Wildness On/With/As Part off a 12-Acre Plot of Land.” Amanda Walker Johnson, Chair.

Ryan Rybka, PhD., Anthropology
Friday, October 17, 2025, 9:30AM, Machmer Hall E20. 
Dissertation: “Digging for Oil: An Archaeology of the Line 3 Replacement Pipeline in Northern Minnesota.” Sonya Atalay, Chair.

Zongling Ren, PhD., Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Friday, October 17, 2025, 1:00PM, ElabI.
Dissertation: “Dynamic Responses of Nano-/Micro-Structured Materials Under Ultra-High-Strain-Rate Loading.” Jae-Hwang Lee, Chair.

Min Hein Htike, PhD., Environmental Conservation
Friday, October 17, 2025, 9:00AM, Holdsworth 301.
Dissertation: “Stripes, Spots, and Packs: Unraveling Ecological Dimensions of Tiger, Leopard, and Dhole Co-Existence.” Curtic Griffin, Chair.

Anna Klebanowska, PhD., English
Friday, October 17, 2025, 2:00PM, South College E501. 
Dissertation: “The Lacunae of Realism? Science, Objectivity, and Race in Turn-of-the-Twentieth-Century American Literature.” Randall Knoper, Chair.

Doctoral Oral Exams for October 6, 2025 – October 10, 2025

Muhammad Salman Mohsin, PhD., Civil and Environmental Engineering
Monday, October 6, 2025, 2:30PM, Kellogg Room 118. 
Dissertation: “Exploring the Potential of Low UV Irradiance for Effective Surface Disinfection and its Impact on Bacterial Transcriptional Responses.” Mariana Lanzarini Lopes, Chair.

Emily Diaz-Loar, PhD., Economics
Thursday, October 9, 2025, 1:00PM, Crotty Hall 308. 
Dissertation: “No Plastic Futures: Essays on Plastics Substitution and Policy.” Robert Pollin, Chair.

Doctoral Oral Exams for September 29, 2025 – October 3, 2025

Nathanael Kuzio, PhD., Chemistry
Monday, September 29, 2025, 1:30PM, LGRT 1033 and via Zoom.
Dissertation: “Caspase-6 Structure and Dynamics by NMR: Investigating the On-Off States of a Protese Involved in Neurodegeneration.” Jeanne Hardy, Chair.

Danielle DuShane, PhD., Education
Tuesday, September 30, 2025, 11:00AM, Furcolo N125.
Dissertation: “Preschool and Childcare Expulsion: A Family Perspective.” SeonYeong Yu, Chair.

Sourabh Kulkarni, PhD., Electrical and Computer Engineering
Tuesday, September 30, 2025, 1:00PM, via Zoom. 
Dissertation: “Statistical Inference in the Parallel Regime for Accelerating Scientific Modeling.” Csaba Andras Moritz, Chair.

Sisheng Li, PhD., Food Science
Thursday, October 2, 2025, 1:00PM, Chenoweth 210A. 
Dissertation: “Development of Next-Generation Plant-Based Foods: Enhancing Physicochemical and Nutritional Properties Through Soft Matter Physics Approaches.” Julian McClements, Chair.

Rehab Heikal, PhD., Chemistry
Friday, October 3, 2025, 11:00AM, via Zoom. 
Dissertation: “Uncovering the Mechanism of CaMKII Degradation.” Eric Strieter, Chair.

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