Home Navigating Your Degree Oral Defense Dates Oral Defense Dates Ehsan Hafeziasl Program: Electrical & Computer Engineer Dissertation Title: Sub-terahertz Beamformers Enabled by Miniaturized-element Frequency Selective Surfaces Date: 12 Oct 2026 Time: 9:00 a.m. Location: EECS 3316, HTTPS://UMICH.ZOOM.US/J/95269899408 PW:MEFSS Chair: Kamal Sarabandi Haoran Li Program: Bioinformatics Dissertation Title: Enabling Accessible and Robust Long Reads Transcriptomic and Epi-Transcriptomic Analysis by a Multi-Function Web Platform Date: 13 Oct 2026 Time: 9:00 a.m. Location: MS 1 – 5330 AUDITORIUM, HTTPS://UMICH.ZOOM.US/J/98476790065?PWD=PMMB4YMGVLUO18BVCACNSOR PC:000000 Chair: Kin Fai Au Marbely Micolta Calderon Program: Astronomy & Astrophysics Dissertation Title: Field Notes on Planetary Origins: Tracing Refractory Material Through Planet-Forming Disks Date: 14 Oct 2026 Time: 11:00 a.m. Location: 4448 EAST HALL Chair: Nuria Calvet Alexandra Putka Program: Neuroscience Dissertation Title: Elucidating the Necessity of Oligodendroglial Dysfunction for Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 3 Phenotypes Date: 14 Oct 2026 Time: 2:00 p.m. Location: KAHN AUDITORIUM, BSRB Chair: Andrew P Lieberman and Hayley McLoughlin Alanah Cardenas-O'Toole Program: Climate & Sp Sciences & Engin Dissertation Title: Ionospheric Irregularities Across Latitudes: Occurrence and Energetics of Polar Cap Patches and Equatorial Plasma Bubbles Date: 15 Oct 2026 Time: 10:00 a.m. Location: LURIE ENGINEERING CENTER ROOM 4231 Chair: Shasha Zou Daiwen Zhang Program: Industrial & Operations Eng Dissertation Title: Combinatorial Infeasibility Analysis for Constraint Systems Date: 15 Oct 2026 Time: 1:00 p.m. Location: IOE 2717 Chair: Amy Ellen Mainville Cohn and Marina A Epelman Adam Rauh Program: Political Science Dissertation Title: The Social Life of a Polarized America: Leveraging GPS Data to Understand Partisan Behaviors Date: 16 Oct 2026 Time: 9:00 a.m. Location: HAVEN HALL, WALKER ROOM, 5664 Chair: Christian James Fong and Nicholas A Valentino Matias Larramendi Salvat Program: Romance Language & Lit Spanish Dissertation Title: Hacer sonar la lengua: crisis y literatura neobarroca en el Cono Sur y Brasil (1969?2025) Date: 16 Oct 2026 Time: 2:00 p.m. Location: RLL COMMONS (MLB 4314) Chair: Sergio R Villalobos Ruminott Diana Velazquez Program: Earth & Environmental Sciences Dissertation Title: Organic Matter Burial and Preservation in Modern and Ancient Anoxic Freshwater Environments Date: 19 Oct 2026 Time: 9:00 a.m. Location: 1100 NORTH UNIVERSITY BUILDING ROOM 2540 Chair: Jenan Kharbush and Nathan Dale Sheldon Joseph Krampen Program: Microbiology & Immunology Dissertation Title: Microbiome Complexity and Climate-Driven Chemical Change in Hawaiian Bobtail Squid Eggs Using Untargeted Metabolomics Date: 19 Oct 2026 Time: 1:00 p.m. Location: KAHN AUDITORIUM BSRB Chair: Marcy J Balunas Miguel Castroviejo Fernandez Program: Aerospace Engineering Dissertation Title: Advanced Supervisory Control Schemes for Constrained Dynamical Systems Date: 20 Oct 2026 Time: 1:00 p.m. Location: LURIE ENGINEERING CENTER – ROOM LEC2210 Chair: Ilya Kolmanovsky Bhaskar Kumawat Program: Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Dissertation Title: Evolvability on the Fitness Landscape Date: 20 Oct 2026 Time: 1:00 p.m. Location: ROOM 4150, BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES BUILDING Chair: Luis Zaman Xin Li Program: Biological Chemistry Dissertation Title: Molecular Mechanisms of CRISPR-Cas9 Viral Memory Formation and Phage Evasion of CRISPR-Cas Immunity Date: 20 Oct 2026 Time: 3:00 p.m. Location: 2710 FURSTENBERG, MEDICAL BUILDING II Chair: Yan Zhang Dominique Sylvers Program: Health Behavior &Health Equity Dissertation Title: Date: 21 Oct 2026 Time: 2:00 p.m. Location: RACKHAM 4TH CONFERENCE ROOM & HTTPS://UMICH.ZOOM.US/J/95700475369 Chair: Paul Fleming and Paul Fleming and Margaret Takako Hicken and Margaret Takako Hicken 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]
Ehsan Hafeziasl Program: Electrical & Computer Engineer Dissertation Title: Sub-terahertz Beamformers Enabled by Miniaturized-element Frequency Selective Surfaces Date: 12 Oct 2026 Time: 9:00 a.m. Location: EECS 3316, HTTPS://UMICH.ZOOM.US/J/95269899408 PW:MEFSS Chair: Kamal Sarabandi
Haoran Li Program: Bioinformatics Dissertation Title: Enabling Accessible and Robust Long Reads Transcriptomic and Epi-Transcriptomic Analysis by a Multi-Function Web Platform Date: 13 Oct 2026 Time: 9:00 a.m. Location: MS 1 – 5330 AUDITORIUM, HTTPS://UMICH.ZOOM.US/J/98476790065?PWD=PMMB4YMGVLUO18BVCACNSOR PC:000000 Chair: Kin Fai Au
Marbely Micolta Calderon Program: Astronomy & Astrophysics Dissertation Title: Field Notes on Planetary Origins: Tracing Refractory Material Through Planet-Forming Disks Date: 14 Oct 2026 Time: 11:00 a.m. Location: 4448 EAST HALL Chair: Nuria Calvet
Alexandra Putka Program: Neuroscience Dissertation Title: Elucidating the Necessity of Oligodendroglial Dysfunction for Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 3 Phenotypes Date: 14 Oct 2026 Time: 2:00 p.m. Location: KAHN AUDITORIUM, BSRB Chair: Andrew P Lieberman and Hayley McLoughlin
Alanah Cardenas-O'Toole Program: Climate & Sp Sciences & Engin Dissertation Title: Ionospheric Irregularities Across Latitudes: Occurrence and Energetics of Polar Cap Patches and Equatorial Plasma Bubbles Date: 15 Oct 2026 Time: 10:00 a.m. Location: LURIE ENGINEERING CENTER ROOM 4231 Chair: Shasha Zou
Daiwen Zhang Program: Industrial & Operations Eng Dissertation Title: Combinatorial Infeasibility Analysis for Constraint Systems Date: 15 Oct 2026 Time: 1:00 p.m. Location: IOE 2717 Chair: Amy Ellen Mainville Cohn and Marina A Epelman
Adam Rauh Program: Political Science Dissertation Title: The Social Life of a Polarized America: Leveraging GPS Data to Understand Partisan Behaviors Date: 16 Oct 2026 Time: 9:00 a.m. Location: HAVEN HALL, WALKER ROOM, 5664 Chair: Christian James Fong and Nicholas A Valentino
Matias Larramendi Salvat Program: Romance Language & Lit Spanish Dissertation Title: Hacer sonar la lengua: crisis y literatura neobarroca en el Cono Sur y Brasil (1969?2025) Date: 16 Oct 2026 Time: 2:00 p.m. Location: RLL COMMONS (MLB 4314) Chair: Sergio R Villalobos Ruminott
Diana Velazquez Program: Earth & Environmental Sciences Dissertation Title: Organic Matter Burial and Preservation in Modern and Ancient Anoxic Freshwater Environments Date: 19 Oct 2026 Time: 9:00 a.m. Location: 1100 NORTH UNIVERSITY BUILDING ROOM 2540 Chair: Jenan Kharbush and Nathan Dale Sheldon
Joseph Krampen Program: Microbiology & Immunology Dissertation Title: Microbiome Complexity and Climate-Driven Chemical Change in Hawaiian Bobtail Squid Eggs Using Untargeted Metabolomics Date: 19 Oct 2026 Time: 1:00 p.m. Location: KAHN AUDITORIUM BSRB Chair: Marcy J Balunas
Miguel Castroviejo Fernandez Program: Aerospace Engineering Dissertation Title: Advanced Supervisory Control Schemes for Constrained Dynamical Systems Date: 20 Oct 2026 Time: 1:00 p.m. Location: LURIE ENGINEERING CENTER – ROOM LEC2210 Chair: Ilya Kolmanovsky
Bhaskar Kumawat Program: Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Dissertation Title: Evolvability on the Fitness Landscape Date: 20 Oct 2026 Time: 1:00 p.m. Location: ROOM 4150, BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES BUILDING Chair: Luis Zaman
Xin Li Program: Biological Chemistry Dissertation Title: Molecular Mechanisms of CRISPR-Cas9 Viral Memory Formation and Phage Evasion of CRISPR-Cas Immunity Date: 20 Oct 2026 Time: 3:00 p.m. Location: 2710 FURSTENBERG, MEDICAL BUILDING II Chair: Yan Zhang
Dominique Sylvers Program: Health Behavior &Health Equity Dissertation Title: Date: 21 Oct 2026 Time: 2:00 p.m. Location: RACKHAM 4TH CONFERENCE ROOM & HTTPS://UMICH.ZOOM.US/J/95700475369 Chair: Paul Fleming and Paul Fleming and Margaret Takako Hicken and Margaret Takako Hicken
