Defense Announcements

09/22/2025 | Joseph K Cantrell, MS, Chemistry

4:00PM, Online via Zoom

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Surface Design for Drag Reduction in Viscous Oil Transportation

Arts and Sciences
Chemistry

Chair: Sarbajit Banerjee

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19784

09/23/2025 | Shurui Gui, PHD, Computer Engineering

1:00PM, PETR 326

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Learning Invariant Representations for Out-of-Distribution Generalization: Graphs, Functions, and Large Language Models

Engineering
Computer Science & Engineering

Chair: Shuiwang Ji

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19791

09/23/2025 | Chee-Hoon Chang, PHD, Biomedical Sciences

3:30PM, SATH 2004

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Investigations on hypocobalaminemia and cobalamin supplementation in dogs and cats

Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Vet Small Animal Clinical Sc

Chair: Joerg Steiner
Co-Chair: Jan Suchodolski

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19782

09/24/2025 | Jiwoon Jeong, PHD, Urban and Regional Science

12:00PM, Langford A217

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Heat Exposure and Walkability

Architecture
Land Arch & Urban Planning

Chair: Chanam Lee

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19783

09/24/2025 | Rachel Lauren Hoyle, PHD, Biomedical Sciences

2:00PM, VENI 107B

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
From “Contagion” to Social "Apoptosis": Rethinking the Werther Effect through Meaning and Metaphor

Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Vet Integrative Biosciences

Chair: Christine Budke
Co-Chair: Yasha Hartberg

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19746

09/24/2025 | Shiyu Zhang, PHD, Mechanical Engineering

3:03PM, MEOB 501

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
THE DYNAMICS OF FLUID–SOLID INTERACTIONS AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR ENHANCED MOTOR COOLING

Engineering
Mechanical Engineering

Chair: Dion Antao

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19789

09/26/2025 | Troy Joseph Hrehor, MS, Mechanical Engineering

8:30AM, HRBB 307

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
STUDY OF PREMIXING OF PRECHAMBER FUEL AND AIR FOR REDUCTION OF METHANE EMISSIONS IN A NATURAL GAS ENGINE

Engineering
Mechanical Engineering

Chair: Timothy Jacobs

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19759

09/26/2025 | Alvaro Escobar Guevara, MS, Civil Engineering

10:00AM, Zoom

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Advancing risk analysis in construction project management through prediction markets and change orders regression analysis: from education to practice

Engineering
Civil & Environmental Engr

Chair: Ivan Damnjanovic

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19744

09/26/2025 | Macie Jayne McCollum, MS, Agricultural Economics

1:00PM, AGLS 301

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
A Disaggregated Analysis of the Demand for Coffee in the United States with Projections for 2025 and 2026

Agriculture and Life Sciences
Agricultural Economics

Chair: Oral Capps

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19752

09/29/2025 | Adam Neiss, PHD, Interdisciplinary Engineering

12:00PM, SPHA 278

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
A FEASIBILITY STUDY ON EVA FATIGUE MITIGATION USING 3D MOTION CAPTURE AND BIOMECHANICAL SIMULATIONS

Engineering
Multidisciplinary Engineering

Chair: Mark Benden

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19780

09/29/2025 | Sai Chandhrasekhar, MS, Computer Science

2:00PM, TBD

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Publicly Accountable Robust Multiparty Computation w/ Improved Amortized Efficiency

Engineering
Computer Science & Engineering

Chair: Juan Garay
Co-Chair: Nitesh Saxena

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19755

09/29/2025 | Destani Danae Derrico, PHD, Genetics and Genomics

2:00PM, VENI 107B

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
THE OVERLOOKED OUTCOMES OF ALCOHOLISM IN AMERICAN SOCIETY: A FATHER’S INFLUENCE ON OFFSPRING DEVELOPMENT

Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Vet Physiology & Pharmacology

Chair: Michael Golding

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19770

09/30/2025 | Siyao Liu, PHD, Medical Sciences

12:30PM, 1119

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Synthetic and Optogenetic Engineering of Innate and Adaptive Immunity for Precision Cancer Immunotherapy

Medicine
College of Medicine

Chair: Yubin Zhou

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19779

10/1/2025 | Yuqi Zhou, PHD, Pharmaceutical Sciences

12:00PM, Reynolds Medical Building

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
NLRP3 Activation during Systemic Klebsiella Pneumoniae Infection

Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy
Pharmaceutical Sciences

Chair: Yinan Wei
Co-Chair: Zhenyu Li

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19769

10/2/2025 | Jiahui Wang, PHD, Chemical Engineering

10:00AM, JEB256

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
UNRAVELING THE CONFORMATIONAL AND MORPHOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF BIOMOLECULAR CONDENSATES USING COARSE-GRAINED MODELS

Engineering
Chemical Engineering

Chair: Jeetain Mittal

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19742

10/2/2025 | Xiner Li, PHD, Computer Science

12:00PM, TBD

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Robust Artificial intelligence for Life Science: Graphs, Geometries, and Sequences

Engineering
Computer Science & Engineering

Chair: Shuiwang Ji

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19738

10/2/2025 | Stacey Jeon, PHD, Medical Sciences

1:00PM, Texas A&M Institute of Biosciences & Technology

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Functional genomic analyses of breast cancer and anticancer drug cardiotoxicity

Medicine
College of Medicine

Chair: Ke Zhang
Co-Chair: Kenneth Ramos

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19745

10/3/2025 | Rahul Kande, PHD, Computer Engineering

11:30AM, WEB 333C

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Hardware Fuzzing: A Novel Approach To Uncover Vulnerabilities in Modern SoCs

Engineering
Electrical & Computer Eng

Chair: Jeyavijayan Rajendran

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19790

10/3/2025 | Brittney E. Hawkins, EDD, Curriculum and Instruction

1:00PM, 304 EDCT

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
THE ROLE OF EFFECTIVE TECHNOLOGY USAGE IN TEACHER-STUDENT RELATIONSHIPS

Education and Human Development
Teaching, Learning & Culture

Chair: Tugce Aldemir
Co-Chair: Trina Davis

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19793

10/3/2025 | Jeonghui Park, PHD, Health Education

2:00PM, SPHC 107

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
WOMEN’S REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND TYPE 2 DIABETES: A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF PREVALENCE, PREVENTIVE HEALTH BEHAVIORS, AND CHALLENGES AMONG MENOPAUSAL WOMEN

School of Public Health
Health Education Programs

Chair: Tyler Prochnow
Co-Chair: Matthew Smith

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19768

10/3/2025 | Shiv Rekhi, PHD, Chemical Engineering

3:00PM, tbd

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Thermodynamic Driving Forces Underlying Biomolecular Condensates

Engineering
Chemical Engineering

Chair: Jeetain Mittal

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19781

10/6/2025 | Trevor Shane Self, PHD, Biomedical Sciences

9:00AM, VENI 107B

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Ischemic Heart Disease: Macro to Micro

Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Vet Physiology & Pharmacology

Chair: Cristine Heaps

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19760

10/6/2025 | Renee Frances Abbott, PHD, Aerospace Engineering

10:00AM, HRBB 621

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
INTEGRATING MULTISENSORY EXPERIENCES IN VIRTUAL REALITY: EVALUATING THE EFFECTS OF OLFACTORY AND SOMATOSENSORY STIMULI ON BEHAVIORAL HEALTH

Engineering
Aerospace Engineering

Chair: Ana Diaz Artiles

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19761

10/6/2025 | Shantanu Vyas, PHD, Mechanical Engineering

10:30AM, MEOB 501

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Reflect, Express, Transform: Investigating Human-AI Conversations for Interactive Form Exploration

Engineering
Mechanical Engineering

Chair: Vinayak Krishnamurthy

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19774

10/7/2025 | Siddu Ramangouda Shivanagoudra, PHD, Biomedical Engineering

10:00AM, College Station

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Investigating the Role of Cell Surface Receptors in Indole Signaling in HT-29 Intestinal Epithelial Cells

Engineering
Biomedical Engineering

Chair: Arul Jayaraman

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19741

10/7/2025 | Shawn Vincent Lupoli, PHD, Educational Administration

1:30PM, Zoom

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
INCREASING TEST SCORES AND SATISFACTION WITH INSTRUCTOR EMBEDDED EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS

Education and Human Development
Educ Admn & Human Resource Dev

Chair: Christine Stanley

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19758

10/7/2025 | Joe Salvatore Romanowski, PHD, Genetics and Genomics

2:00PM, Heep Center Room 413

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
UNDERSTANDING DNA DOUBLE-STRAND BREAK REPAIR IN AEDES AEGYPTI FOR GENETIC VECTOR CONTROL APPLICATIONS

Agriculture and Life Sciences
Entomology

Chair: Zachary Adelman

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19788

10/7/2025 | Syuan-Ting Kuo, PHD, Chemistry

2:30PM, CHEM

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Advanced Mass Spectrometry Platforms for Bioactive Molecule Analysis

Arts and Sciences
Chemistry

Chair: Xin Yan
Co-Chair: David Russell

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19785

10/8/2025 | Audrey Elizabeth Gold, MS, Mechanical Engineering

1:00PM, MEOB 501 Conference Room

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
EFFECT OF MULTI EXPOSURE AND LASER DEFOCUS ON RESIDUAL STRESS AND PROPERTIES OF LASER POWDER BED FUSION OF TITANIUM GRADE 1

Engineering
Mechanical Engineering

Chair: Jyhwen Wang

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19762

10/8/2025 | Deokgeun Park, PHD, Mechanical Engineering

3:00PM, MEOB 501

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
State-of-Charge Estimation for Mode-Switching Evaporative Thermal Energy Storage in Electrified Aircraft Motors

Engineering
Mechanical Engineering

Chair: Bryan Rasmussen

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19792

10/9/2025 | Shawnee Andrea Chavez, MS, Civil Engineering

12:00PM, DLEB 801C

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Enhancing the Destruction of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Aqueous Film-Forming Foam with 222 nm UV-Photoreductive Technology

Engineering
Civil & Environmental Engr

Chair: Garrett McKay

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19750

10/9/2025 | Jenith Vijayakumar, MS, Aerospace Engineering

1:00PM, ALLEMO Conference Room

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
HIGH FREQUENCY LASER ENERGY DEPOSITION FOR HYPERSONIC ACTIVE FLOW CONTROL ON A FLARED CONE

Engineering
Aerospace Engineering

Chair: Nathan Tichenor

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19775

10/9/2025 | Alberto Hernandez Luna, MS, Nuclear Engineering

3:00PM, Zoom

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
A Comparison Study of CAP88-PC, AERMOD, and CALPUFF Dispersion Models for Dose Assessment

Engineering
Nuclear Engineering

Chair: John Ford

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19772

10/10/2025 | Kandarp Ashokbhai Sojitra, PHD, Chemical Engineering

9:00AM, tbd

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
A molecular picture of homotypic and heterotypic interactions in phase separation of intrinsically disordered proteins

Engineering
Chemical Engineering

Chair: Jeetain Mittal

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19747

10/10/2025 | Xinyu Nie, PHD, Biology

9:00AM, MSC 2405

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Single Molecule Resolution Study of Circadian Chromatin Dynamics Regulated by the Pioneer Transcription Factor CLOCK:BMAL1

Arts and Sciences
Biology

Chair: Jerome Menet

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19753

10/10/2025 | Poonam Josan, PHD, Aerospace Engineering

9:00AM, HRBB 621

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
QUANTIFYING THE EFFECTS OF USING A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT ON HUMAN PERFORMANCE METRICS DURING SPACECRAFT ANOMALY RESOLUTION TASK

Engineering
Aerospace Engineering

Chair: Ana Diaz Artiles

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19771

10/10/2025 | Lauren Ashley McGregor, PHD, Chemistry

1:00PM, CHEM 1328

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Defining the Molecular Interplay between Thymine DNA Glycosylase and RNA

Arts and Sciences
Chemistry

Chair: Jonathan Sczepanski

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19794

10/14/2025 | Qizan Chen, PHD, Chemical Engineering

10:00AM, JEB

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Mechanistic Insights into Urate Imposters as Ammonia Urate Crystal Growth Modifiers via Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Engineering
Chemical Engineering

Chair: Jeetain Mittal

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19748

10/15/2025 | MD Hadiur Rahman Khan, PHD, Electrical Engineering

11:00AM, WEB 202

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF ULTRASOUND POROELASTOGRAPHY TECHNIQUES FOR IN VIVO STUDY OF CANCERS

Engineering
Electrical & Computer Eng

Chair: Raffaella Righetti

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19766

10/15/2025 | Will West Purvines, PHD, Neuroscience

2:30PM, MREB Rm TBD

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
DEVELOPMENTAL AND ADULT ALCOHOL EFFECTS ON STRIATAL AND SUPRACHIASMATIC NUCLEUS FUNCTION

Medicine
College of Medicine

Chair: Jun Wang

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19773

10/15/2025 | Christopher Cobos, PHD, Soil Science

3:00PM, Lubbock AgriLife Research Center

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
OPTIMIZING REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURAL COTTON SYSTEMS IN THE SEMI-ARID TEXAS PLAINS

Agriculture and Life Sciences
Soil & Crop Sciences

Chair: Katie Lewis
Co-Chair: Terry Gentry

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19749

10/16/2025 | Cassandra Kaufhold, PHD, Neuroscience

10:00AM, HPEB LL46

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Insights into the Gut-Brain-Axis in Parkinson’s Disease

Medicine
College of Medicine

Chair: Farida Sohrabji
Co-Chair: Rahul Srinivasan

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19740

10/16/2025 | Muhammed Ulascan Ersoy, MS, Electrical Engineering

11:00AM, https://tamu.zoom.us/j/99530644861

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
PARAMETER-EFFICIENT FINE-TUNING FOR LEARNING LANGUAGE MODEL WATERMARKS

Engineering
Electrical & Computer Eng

Chair: Tie Liu

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19757

10/17/2025 | Ayushi Pandey, MS, Biological and Agricultural Engineering

9:00AM, Teams

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Cross-validated Machine Learning Approach for Remote Sensing-based Mapping of Irrigated Areas in an Agricultural Watershed

Agriculture and Life Sciences
Biological & Agricultural Eng

Chair: Srinivasulu Ale
Co-Chair: Salvatore Calabrese

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19756

10/17/2025 | William N. Fife, PHD, Aerospace Engineering

9:30AM, HRBB (room not yet reserved)

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Direct Methods For Uncertainty-Aware Guidance and Trajectory Optimization

Engineering
Aerospace Engineering

Chair: Kyle DeMars

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19767

10/17/2025 | Seonghwan Kang, PHD, Horticulture

10:00AM, HFSB 201

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Characterizing plant growth, morphology, and photosynthetic efficiency under novel light spectra and elevated [CO2] for improved crop production in controlled environments

Agriculture and Life Sciences
Horticultural Sciences

Chair: Shuyang Zhen

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19787

10/17/2025 | Jacob Bryant Vaughn, PHD, Aerospace Engineering

10:30AM, TBD

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
The Response of Shock Wave Driven Processes to Dynamically Varying Mach Number Hypersonic Flow

Engineering
Aerospace Engineering

Chair: Rodney Bowersox
Co-Chair: Ivett Leyva

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19743

10/20/2025 | Jeffrey Thomas Sachnik, MS, Atmospheric Sciences

9:00AM, OMB 807

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Quantifying Effective Heat Capacity of CMIP6 models under CO2 warming: temporal evolution and dependence on forcing scenarios and climate sensitivity

Arts and Sciences
Atmospheric Sciences

Chair: Yangyang Xu
Co-Chair: Xiaohong Liu

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19763

10/20/2025 | Ryan Lai, PHD, Chemical Engineering

1:00PM, JEB 256

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Elucidating Surface and Interfacial Reaction and Transport Processes through Computational Chemistry

Engineering
Chemical Engineering

Chair: Perla Balbuena

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da19764