Home Navigating Your Degree Oral Defense Dates Oral Defense Dates Aparna Ananthasubramaniam Program: Ind Interdept Degree Prog Dissertation Title: Studying Non-Financial Spillover Effects of Household Economic Shocks from a Systems Perspective: Three Computational Case Studies Date: 22 Sep 2026 Time: 1:00 p.m. Location: ZOOM: HTTPS://UMICH.ZOOM.US/J/94889745835 (PASSWORD: APARNA) Chair: Daniel M Romero and Kristin S Seefeldt Zixuan Huang Program: Robotics Dissertation Title: Long-Horizon and Multimodal Reasoning for Contact-Rich Manipulation Date: 24 Sep 2026 Time: 10:30 a.m. Location: FRB 4000 Chair: Dmitry Berenson Gabriel Oliveira Da Ponte Program: Industrial & Operations Eng Dissertation Title: Computational Advancements for Discrete Optimal Design using Convex Optimization Date: 25 Sep 2026 Time: 10:00 a.m. Location: IOE 2869 Chair: Marcia Fampa and Jon Lee Benjamin Nelson-Schmitz Program: Civil Engineering Dissertation Title: Advancing Flood Risk Assessment through Computational Modeling and Observations Date: 25 Sep 2026 Time: 11:30 a.m. Location: GGB 2029 Chair: Jeremy David Bricker and Valeriy Y Ivanov Ben Woodworth Program: Comparative Literature Dissertation Title: Found Sound in Twentieth Century Experimental Music: Musical Ecology in the Works of Olivier Messiaen and Harry Partch Date: 29 Sep 2026 Time: 12:00 p.m. Location: TISCH HALL 2021C Chair: Yopie Prins Youngseo Na Program: Medicinal Chemistry Dissertation Title: Biopharmaceutical Characterization and Targeted Nanomedicine Applications of Therapeutic Antibodies: Insights from Rituximab and Trastuzumab Date: 29 Sep 2026 Time: 1:00 p.m. Location: NCRC BUILDING 10 G065 Chair: Anna A S Schwendeman Jonathan Palisoc Program: Health Service Org & Policy Dissertation Title: Administrative Architecture and Medicaid: Essays on Barriers, Burdens, and Bargaining Date: 30 Sep 2026 Time: 9:00 a.m. Location: NORTH CONFERENCE ROOM (SPH II, RM 3024) Chair: Richard A Hirth Julia Evanski Program: Neuroscience Dissertation Title: An Investigation of the Endocannabinoid System Across the Lifespan: Associations with Sex, Puberty, and Nociplastic Pain Date: 30 Sep 2026 Time: 11:00 a.m. Location: NCRC BUILDING 32 – 1501 BLDG 32 AUDITORIUM; HTTPS://UMICH.ZOOM.US/J/94949629090 Chair: Steven Edward Harte Tung Nguyen Program: Chemistry Dissertation Title: Electrochemical and Liquid Metal Routes to Semiconductors and 2D Materials Synthesis Under Benchtop Conditions Date: 30 Sep 2026 Time: 11:00 a.m. Location: ROOM 1706, CHEMISTRY BUILDING Chair: Stephen Maldonado April Kim Program: Pharmaceutical Sciences Dissertation Title: Nanodisc Formulations for Targeted Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis Date: 1 Oct 2026 Time: 12:00 p.m. Location: NCRC BUILDING 10, ACR1 Chair: James J Moon Rudy Pradenas Alvarez Program: Romance Language & Lit Spanish Dissertation Title: Pacificacion Y Tecnogenesis Del Sujeto Colonial. Violencia, Tecnologia Y Cultura Material en Los Siglos XVI Y XVII Date: 5 Oct 2026 Time: 3:00 p.m. Location: COMMONS ROOM, FOURTH FLOOR, MLB (MODERN LANGUAGE BUILDING) 812 E WASHINGTON ST ANN ARBOR, MI 48104 Chair: Daniel J Nemser and Sergio R Villalobos Ruminott Nipit Congpuong Program: Mechanical Engineering Dissertation Title: Synergistic Flow Induced Oscillations of Tandem Cylinders in Harnessing Horizontal Hydrokinetic Energy Date: 5 Oct 2026 Time: 4:00 p.m. Location: 1100 DOW, ZOOM LINK: HTTPS://UMICH.ZOOM.US/J/95529688079 (PW: 05102026) Chair: Michael M Bernitsas Contact Academic Records and Dissertations Hours: Academic Records and Dissertations is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The office is closed Saturdays and Sundays and on the following holidays: Thanksgiving (Thursday and the following Friday), Christmas through New Year’s, Memorial Day, Independence Day (July 4), and Labor Day. Location 0120 Rackham Building 915 East Washington Street Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1070 Contact Phone: 734.763.0171 Fax: 734.936.3335 Email: [email protected]
Aparna Ananthasubramaniam Program: Ind Interdept Degree Prog Dissertation Title: Studying Non-Financial Spillover Effects of Household Economic Shocks from a Systems Perspective: Three Computational Case Studies Date: 22 Sep 2026 Time: 1:00 p.m. Location: ZOOM: HTTPS://UMICH.ZOOM.US/J/94889745835 (PASSWORD: APARNA) Chair: Daniel M Romero and Kristin S Seefeldt
Zixuan Huang Program: Robotics Dissertation Title: Long-Horizon and Multimodal Reasoning for Contact-Rich Manipulation Date: 24 Sep 2026 Time: 10:30 a.m. Location: FRB 4000 Chair: Dmitry Berenson
Gabriel Oliveira Da Ponte Program: Industrial & Operations Eng Dissertation Title: Computational Advancements for Discrete Optimal Design using Convex Optimization Date: 25 Sep 2026 Time: 10:00 a.m. Location: IOE 2869 Chair: Marcia Fampa and Jon Lee
Benjamin Nelson-Schmitz Program: Civil Engineering Dissertation Title: Advancing Flood Risk Assessment through Computational Modeling and Observations Date: 25 Sep 2026 Time: 11:30 a.m. Location: GGB 2029 Chair: Jeremy David Bricker and Valeriy Y Ivanov
Ben Woodworth Program: Comparative Literature Dissertation Title: Found Sound in Twentieth Century Experimental Music: Musical Ecology in the Works of Olivier Messiaen and Harry Partch Date: 29 Sep 2026 Time: 12:00 p.m. Location: TISCH HALL 2021C Chair: Yopie Prins
Youngseo Na Program: Medicinal Chemistry Dissertation Title: Biopharmaceutical Characterization and Targeted Nanomedicine Applications of Therapeutic Antibodies: Insights from Rituximab and Trastuzumab Date: 29 Sep 2026 Time: 1:00 p.m. Location: NCRC BUILDING 10 G065 Chair: Anna A S Schwendeman
Jonathan Palisoc Program: Health Service Org & Policy Dissertation Title: Administrative Architecture and Medicaid: Essays on Barriers, Burdens, and Bargaining Date: 30 Sep 2026 Time: 9:00 a.m. Location: NORTH CONFERENCE ROOM (SPH II, RM 3024) Chair: Richard A Hirth
Julia Evanski Program: Neuroscience Dissertation Title: An Investigation of the Endocannabinoid System Across the Lifespan: Associations with Sex, Puberty, and Nociplastic Pain Date: 30 Sep 2026 Time: 11:00 a.m. Location: NCRC BUILDING 32 – 1501 BLDG 32 AUDITORIUM; HTTPS://UMICH.ZOOM.US/J/94949629090 Chair: Steven Edward Harte
Tung Nguyen Program: Chemistry Dissertation Title: Electrochemical and Liquid Metal Routes to Semiconductors and 2D Materials Synthesis Under Benchtop Conditions Date: 30 Sep 2026 Time: 11:00 a.m. Location: ROOM 1706, CHEMISTRY BUILDING Chair: Stephen Maldonado
April Kim Program: Pharmaceutical Sciences Dissertation Title: Nanodisc Formulations for Targeted Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis Date: 1 Oct 2026 Time: 12:00 p.m. Location: NCRC BUILDING 10, ACR1 Chair: James J Moon
Rudy Pradenas Alvarez Program: Romance Language & Lit Spanish Dissertation Title: Pacificacion Y Tecnogenesis Del Sujeto Colonial. Violencia, Tecnologia Y Cultura Material en Los Siglos XVI Y XVII Date: 5 Oct 2026 Time: 3:00 p.m. Location: COMMONS ROOM, FOURTH FLOOR, MLB (MODERN LANGUAGE BUILDING) 812 E WASHINGTON ST ANN ARBOR, MI 48104 Chair: Daniel J Nemser and Sergio R Villalobos Ruminott
Nipit Congpuong Program: Mechanical Engineering Dissertation Title: Synergistic Flow Induced Oscillations of Tandem Cylinders in Harnessing Horizontal Hydrokinetic Energy Date: 5 Oct 2026 Time: 4:00 p.m. Location: 1100 DOW, ZOOM LINK: HTTPS://UMICH.ZOOM.US/J/95529688079 (PW: 05102026) Chair: Michael M Bernitsas
