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 January 5, 2026 – January 9, 2026
Grasshopper Anderson-Merritt, PhD., Geosciences
Wednesday, January 7, 2026, 1100AM, Morrill 129 and via Zoom.
Dissertation: “Estimating Evolving Shear Tractions on the Southern San Andreas and Wasatch Fault Systems.” Michele Cooke, Chair.
Simin Manole, PhD., Chemical Engineering
Friday, January 9, 2026, 10:00AM, French Hall 209.
Dissertation: “Adjuvant Calreticulin Delivery by Salmonella Improves the Efficacy of Tumor Immunotherapy with the Infiltration and Activation of Immune Cells.” Neil Forbes, Chair.
Adrian Carleton, PhD., Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Friday, January 9, 2026, 9:00AM, Marcus Hall Gunness Student Center.
Dissertation: “Kirigami Sheets in Fluid Flow.” Yahya Modarress-Sadeghi, Chair.
Doctoral Oral Exams for December 22, 2025 – January 2, 2026
Mihail Arabadji, PhD., Mathematics
Tuesday, December 23, 2025, 9:30AM, via Zoom.
Dissertation: “Geography of Irreducible 4-Manifolds with Order Two Fundamental Group and Nielson Realization Problem.” Inanc Baykur, Chair.
William Rebelsky, PhD., Computer Science
Thursday, January 2, 2026, 2:00PM, via Zoom.
Dissertation: “Working Towards Universal Computational Literacy.” Beverly Woolf, Chair.
Doctoral Oral Exams for December 15, 2025 – December 19, 2025
Guocheng Jiang, PhD., Civil and Environmental Engineering
Monday, December 15, 2025, 11:00AM, Kellogg Room 118.
Dissertation: “Modeling and Optimizing Ride-Sourcing Routing Under a Semi-Markov Decision Framework.” Song Gao, Chair.
Heriberto Godoy-Hernandez, PhD., Plant and Soil Sciences
Monday, December 15, 2025, 1:00PM, Paige Lab 202.
Dissertation: “Production, Consumer Preferences, and Willingness-to-Pay for Aji Dulce Pepper (Capsicum Chinese Jacq.) in Massachusetts.” Jaime Pinero, Chair.
Yongcheol Kwak, PhD., Anthropology
Monday, December 15, 2025, 10:00AM, via Zoom.
Dissertation: “Don’t Poke the Bear: A Multimodal Ethnograffiti of White Fragility.” Amanda Johnson, Chair.
Thakshala Tissera, PhD., English
Monday, December 15, 2025, 8:00AM, South College E370.
Dissertation: “Bad Elephants: Narratives of Beastly Unruliness and More-than-Human Politics.” Malcolm Senn, Chair.
Joel A. Arce, PhD., Education
Monday, December 15, 2025, 11:00AM, Furcolo S115.
Dissertation: “Visioning Within (and Beyond) a Secondary-Level Ethic Studies Program: A Site of Hope, Aspirations, Tensions, and Critique.” Kysa Nygreen, Chair.
Emily Lugdon, PhD., Nursing
Monday, December 15, 2025, 1:00PM, Skinner Hall.
Dissertation: “Army Soldiers’ Perception about Protective Factors Against Suicide Risk: A Critical Phenomenological Study.”
Karen Giuliano, Chair.
Theeraphop (Theo) Prachyathipsakul, PhD., Chemistry
Tuesday, December 16, 2025, 1:00PM, ISB 221 and via Zoom.
Dissertation: “Protein Detection and Antibody-Directed Targeted Therapy Applications of Polymeric Nanoassemblies.” S. Thayumanavan, Chair.
Felipe Augusto Cini da Silva, PhD., Neuroscience and Behavior
Tuesday, December 16, 2025, 12:00PM, LSL N610.
Dissertation: “Neural Ensemble Coding and Modulation in the Songbird Auditory Forebrain.” Luke Remage-Healey, Chair.
Dorna Saadat, PhD., Plant and Soil Sciences
Tuesday, December 16, 2025, 1:00PM, Paige Lab 202.
Dissertation: “Soil Health Improvements Under Summer and Winter Hardy Cover Crops, Vitamin B12 Biostimulant, and Sulfur Application.” Stephen H, Chair.
Yokaira A. Lopez-Tifa, PhD., Education
Wednesday, December 17, 2025, 11:00AM, Furcolo W201.
Dissertation: “Dual Language Teacher Preparation: The Journeys of Six Teachers.” Ysaaca Axelrod, Chair.
Evan Douglas Patamia, PhD., Chemistry
Thursday, December 18, 2025, 2:00PM, ISB 321 and via Zoom.
Dissertation: “Vapor Deposited Textile Treatments for Sensors, Thermal Control, and Carbon Capture.” Trisha Andrew, Chair.
Ivy Johnson-Kanda, PhD., Public Health
Thursday, December 18, 2025, 10:30AM, SPHHS AH 221.
Dissertation: “Using Social Network analysis to Understand Peer Relationships on Dietary Patterns in Early Adolescents.” Lindiwe Sibeko, Chair.
Ignacio Gavier, PhD., Computer Science
Thursday, December 18, 2025, 8:00AM, CSL E239.
Dissertation: “Overcoming Data and Energy Challenges in Wearable IMU-Based Learning.” Ivan Lee Chair.
Francesca Walsh, PhD., Neuroscience and Behavior
Thursday, December 18, 2025, 2:00PM, LSL 610.
Dissertation: “Representations of Subjective Value, Individual Preference and a Products Social Value Across the Motor System.” Youngbin Kwak, Chair.
Matthew Harris, PhD., Physics
Friday, December 19, 2025, 9:30AM, LGRT 1033.
Dissertation: “Measurement of the Higgs Boson Production Cross Section in Association with Vector Boson and Decaying into WW* with the Atlas Dector at S=12.6 TEV.” Stephane Willocq, Chair.