Defense Announcements

05/5/2025 | Homa Pesarakli, PHD, Architecture

1:00PM, Langford A

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
EVALUATE THE IMPACTS OF DESIGN ON THE OCCURRENCE OF INTERRUPTION EVENTS DURING THE MEDICATION PROCESS IN THE ICU

Architecture
Architecture

Chair: Zhipeng Lu
Co-Chair: Farzan Sasangohar

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16350


05/5/2025 | Chen Chen, PHD, Food Science and Technology

2:00PM, Heep 440

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Impact of Proanthocyanidins (Condensed Tannins) on Pulse Protein Functionality

Agriculture and Life Sciences
Food Science & Technology

Chair: Joseph Awika

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16370


05/6/2025 | Shuai Yin, PHD, Chemistry

10:00AM, CHEM 1126

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
EARTH-ABUNDANT IRON CATALYSIS ENABLED ACCESS TO A NOVEL PATTERN IN MULTI-COMPONENT CROSS-COUPLING REACTIONS

Arts and Sciences
Chemistry

Chair: Osvaldo Gutierrez Santacruz

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16359


05/6/2025 | Tanner Cole Fonville, MS, Geology

10:00AM, HALB 354

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Global Dynamics of Miocene Oceans: Evidence and Ecologic Interpretations from Benthic Foraminiferal Assemblages

Arts and Sciences
Geology & Geophysics

Chair: Christina Belanger

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16373


05/6/2025 | Vsevolod Cheburkanov, PHD, Biomedical Engineering

11:00AM, ETB 5039

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
High-speed Brillouin microscope for non-invasive imaging and sensing of microscopic mechanical properties of highly scattering biological samples

Engineering
Biomedical Engineering

Chair: Vladislav Yakovlev

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16343


05/6/2025 | Kaylee L. Lovejoy, MS, Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management

1:00PM, HFSB 303

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
AN INTEGRATED ANALYSIS FOR RESOURCE SELECTION OF SHEEP USING GPS COLLARS, REMOTE SENSING, AND MACHINE LEARNING TO INFORM LAND MANAGEMENT DECISIONS

Agriculture and Life Sciences
Rangeland Wildlife & Fish Mgmt

Chair: Javier Leyton
Co-Chair: Humberto Perotto Baldiviezo

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16363


05/7/2025 | Lara Ankita Dsouza, PHD, Biomedical Sciences

11:00AM, VENI 101A

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Nucleotide Metabolism in Poxvirus Infections: From Viral Modulation of Host Pathways to Antiviral Targeting

Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Veterinary Pathobiology

Chair: Zhilong Yang

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16361


05/7/2025 | Emma J Whaley, MS, Food Science and Technology

2:00PM, Hybrid

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
EFFECT OF FLAVONOIDS ON MAILLARD REACTION PRODUCT FORMATION IN A CHEMICALLY LEAVENED BAKED GOOD

Agriculture and Life Sciences
Food Science & Technology

Chair: Joseph Awika

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16367


05/8/2025 | Deep Jagdishchandra Parikh, PHD, Aerospace Engineering

9:30AM, Hagler Institute for Advanced Study, 8th Floor, Rudder Tower

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Robust On-Board Autonomy For Proximity Operations Of Mobile Agents

Engineering
Aerospace Engineering

Chair: Manoranjan Majji
Co-Chair: John Junkins

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16378


05/8/2025 | Shea Jessica Mackey, PHD, Animal Science

11:00AM, Kleberg

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Nutritional strategies to enhance performance of feedlot cattle

Agriculture and Life Sciences
Animal Science

Chair: Reinaldo Cooke

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16360


05/8/2025 | Luke Samuel Myers, PHD, Biomedical Sciences

1:00PM, TIPS

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
A Translational Pig Model of Angelman Syndrome: Establishing a Foundation for Preclinical Research and Therapeutic Development

Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Veterinary Pathobiology

Chair: Scott Dindot

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16365


05/9/2025 | Sabrina Vandenheuvel, PHD, Biomedical Engineering

9:00AM, ETB 5039

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
3D Engineered Biomimetic Models to Study Mechanisms of Cancer Metastasis

Engineering
Biomedical Engineering

Chair: Shreya Raghavan

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16341


05/9/2025 | Haley Rose Mossell, MS, Geology

10:00AM, HALB 354

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
ICE RAFTED DEBRIS AS A PROXY FOR ICE SHEET DYNAMICS ON WEST ANTARCTICA THROUGH THE PLIOCENE-PLEISTOCENE BOUNDARYICE RAFTED DEBRIS AS A PROXY FOR ICE SHEET DYNAMICS ON WEST ANTARCTICA THROUGH THE PLIOCENE-PLEISTOCENE BOUNDARY

Arts and Sciences
Geology & Geophysics

Chair: Franco Marcantonio
Co-Chair: Trevor Williams

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16348


05/9/2025 | Ariana V Benedict, MA, History

11:00AM, Glasscock Building

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:

Arts and Sciences
History

Chair: Jonathan Brunstedt

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16338


05/9/2025 | Sarah Nicole Davis, PHD, Marine Biology

11:00AM, OCSB 142

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
CONTAMINANTS OF EMERGING CONCERN AND COASTAL COMMUNITIES: A MULTIDIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS OF PRESENCE, ECOLOGICAL IMPACT, AND RISK PERCEPTION.

Marine Sci & Maritime St
Marine Biology

Chair: Antonietta Quigg

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16358


05/9/2025 | Alex Gayle Smith, MS, Entomology

1:00PM, Heep Center 413

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Characterization of Salivary Effector Proteins in the Spotted Lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) and Their Role in Modifying Plant Defenses.

Agriculture and Life Sciences
Entomology

Chair: Cecilia Tamborindeguy

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16366


05/9/2025 | Cate L. Tilley, MS, Geophysics

1:30PM, Halbouty 354

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Effects of Pore Fluid Pressure on Extension-Shear Mixed-Mode Fracture of Carrara Marble

Arts and Sciences
Geology & Geophysics

Chair: Hiroko Kitajima

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16355


05/12/2025 | Connor K Brubaker, PHD, Statistics

10:00AM, Blocker 427

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Frequency Band Analysis for Multiple Time Series

Arts and Sciences
Statistics

Chair: Scott Bruce
Co-Chair: Mohsen Pourahmadi

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16362


05/12/2025 | Evan Marshall Fox, PHD, Chemistry

12:00PM, CHEM 255

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Spatially defined organic redox polymers to probe effects of redox site spacing on structure property relationship.

Arts and Sciences
Chemistry

Chair: Emily Pentzer

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16337


05/13/2025 | Matt F. Ebert, PHD, Mechanical Engineering

11:30AM, JCAIN 204

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Part, Path, Plan: Spatial Organization Strategies for Cooperative 3D Printing

Engineering
Mechanical Engineering

Chair: Vinayak Krishnamurthy

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16342


05/13/2025 | Andrea Porter, PHD, Interdisciplinary Engineering

1:00PM, SPH

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Bras, Breasts and Bulletproof Vests: Investigating Body Armor Fit for Female Law Enforcement Officers and Implications on Armor Protection

Engineering
Multidisciplinary Engineering

Chair: Mark Benden

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16352


05/13/2025 | Toyosi Timilehin George, PHD, Food Science and Technology

2:00PM, Room 440 Heep Center

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Influence of Proanthocyanidins on the Stability of 3-deoxyanthocyanins in Aqueous Systems

Agriculture and Life Sciences
Food Science & Technology

Chair: Joseph Awika

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16345


05/14/2025 | Min-Chun Chen, PHD, Biomedical Sciences

8:00AM, VMTH 101

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
STUDIES ON DOMESTIC CAT HEPADNAVIRUS AND IT’S IMPLICATIONS IN HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA PATHOGENESIS IN CATS

Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Vet Small Animal Clinical Sc

Chair: Joerg Steiner
Co-Chair: Julia Beatty

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16364


05/14/2025 | Precious Olohigbe Badejo, PHD, Pharmaceutical Sciences

10:00AM, COP 236

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Mechanistic Insights into the Parental Effects of E-Hookah Exposure on Platelet Function and Thrombogenicity

Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy
Pharmaceutical Sciences

Chair: FADI KHASAWNEH
Co-Chair: Fatima Alshbool

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16347


05/14/2025 | Swatadipta Chakraborty, PHD, Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics

10:12PM, BioBio, Room: TBD

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
DECIPHERING THE FUNCTIONS OF UBIQUITIN AND UBIQUITIN-LIKE PROTEIN PATHWAYS

Agriculture and Life Sciences
Biochemistry & Biophysics

Chair: Pingwei Li

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16357


05/15/2025 | Juan Balcazar, PHD, Psychology

10:00AM, Sells (PSYC 422)

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
The role of motivation and affect on cognitive flexibility

Arts and Sciences
Psychological & Brain Sciences

Chair: Joseph Orr

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16371


05/16/2025 | Courteney T Roberts, PHD, Biomedical Engineering

11:30AM, ETB

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
"Self-fitting", Biodegradable Shape Memory Polymers in Biomedical Applications

Engineering
Biomedical Engineering

Chair: Melissa Grunlan

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16349


05/16/2025 | Sreyashi Sinha, PHD, Chemistry

1:00PM, ILSB

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Bacterial Vitamin B2 Catabolic Pathway

Arts and Sciences
Chemistry

Chair: Tadhg Begley

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16351


05/16/2025 | Lauren Williams, DRPH, Public Health Sciences

1:30PM, SPHA Building, Room 235E and Zoom link: https://tamu.zoom.us/j/97524913690?pwd=7sRm7bIovrfsrpMdbQPHtmePQfvM5A.1

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Nature Contact for Office Workers’ Well-Being

School of Public Health
School of Public Health

Chair: Mark Benden

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16380


05/20/2025 | Leandro Farias Maia, PHD, Industrial Engineering

12:00PM, ETB 4002

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Block Decomposable Methods for Large-Scale Optimization Problems

Engineering
Industrial & Systems Eng

Chair: David Gutman

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16344


05/21/2025 | Deepak Kumar, PHD, Mechanical Engineering

9:00AM, MEOB 224

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Optimal Motion Planning for A Curvature-Constrained Vehicle in 2D and 3D

Engineering
Mechanical Engineering

Chair: Dvahg Swaroop

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16375


05/21/2025 | Mitchell D Huffman, PHD, Chemical Engineering

10:00AM, JEB room 105

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Holistic Sustainability Measurement for the Process Industries

Engineering
Chemical Engineering

Chair: Faisal Khan
Co-Chair: Qingsheng Wang

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16353


05/21/2025 | John P Manning, PHD, Kinesiology

2:00PM, Gibb Gilchrist Building

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
The Mediating Effects of Cortico-Striatal Functional Connectivity on Set-Shifting Dual-Task Performance

Education and Human Development
Kinesiology & Sport Management

Chair: Jennifer Yentes

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16383


05/22/2025 | Justin D Rogers, PHD, English

10:00AM, LAAH 360

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Art and Abyss: The Use of the Supernatural in Fin-de-Siècle Decadent Literature

Arts and Sciences
English

Chair: Mary O'Farrell

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16381


05/22/2025 | Zihang Wei, PHD, Civil Engineering

2:00PM, DLEB 304F

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Data-Driven Discovery and Control of Physically Analyzable Traffic Network Dynamics Models

Engineering
Civil & Environmental Engr

Chair: Yunlong Zhang
Co-Chair: Yang Zhou

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16368


05/23/2025 | Haley Savannah Sloan, MS, Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management

10:00AM, HFSB 303

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Factors Influencing Use of Oral Rabies Vaccine Baits on the US-Mexico Border in Texas

Agriculture and Life Sciences
Rangeland Wildlife & Fish Mgmt

Chair: John Tomecek

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16372


05/28/2025 | Jordyn Vanportfliet, PHD, Genetics and Genomics

8:00AM, https:\jacksonlab.zoom.us\j\84226223330?pwd=cQ8yGdR2z7yIXwCaL7ZBLNsrrYsf67.1&&from=addon

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Characterizing innate immune and inflammatory responses in models of mitochondrial disease

Agriculture and Life Sciences
Biochemistry & Biophysics

Chair: Andrew West
Co-Chair: Raquel Sitcheran

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16374


05/28/2025 | Morgan Smith Osborne, PHD, Microbiology

10:00AM, MSC 2500

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Secretion and processing of substrates during Clostridioides difficile sporulation

Arts and Sciences
Biology

Chair: Joseph Sorg

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16369


05/29/2025 | Murat Gokoglu, MS, Ocean Engineering

9:00AM, Galveston, TX

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Modeling Soil-Like Behaviors in SPH: Density, Viscosity, and Yield Stress Adjustments for Hybrid Structure Evolution Simulation

Engineering
Ocean Engineering

Chair: Jens Figlus
Co-Chair: Roger Cordes

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16339


06/2/2025 | Hannah Louise Bleth, MS, Ecology and Conservation Biology

9:00AM, TBD

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Diversity and stability of fish and invertebrates in bays along the Texas coast

Agriculture and Life Sciences
Ecology & Conservation Biology

Chair: Masami Fujiwara

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16384


06/2/2025 | Lois Gordils Valentin, PHD, Genetics and Genomics

2:00PM, JEB Room 256

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Engineered Conjugative Type IV Secretion Systems for Bacterial Antagonism Independent of Plasmid Transfer

Engineering
Chemical Engineering

Chair: Xuejun Zhu

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16382


06/3/2025 | Katherine M Berg, PHD, Plant Pathology

1:00PM, PLPM

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
The Function of Ketols in Pathogen and Herbivory Stresses of Maize and Induced Systemic Resistance

Agriculture and Life Sciences
Plant Pathology & Microbiology

Chair: Mikhailo Kolomiets

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16354


06/5/2025 | CJ J Bott, PHD, Mathematics

1:30PM, BLOC 302

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Computation of Schubert Galois Groups

Arts and Sciences
Mathematics

Chair: Frank Sottile

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16356


06/5/2025 | Adrien Robert Auguste Cassagne, PHD, Aerospace Engineering

2:45PM, HRBB Room 621

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Complex Thermo-Mechanical Loading in High Temperature Shape Memory Alloys

Engineering
Aerospace Engineering

Chair: Jean-Briac Le Graverend
Co-Chair: Dimitris Lagoudas

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16346


06/6/2025 | Archita Sharma, PHD, Biomedical Engineering

12:00PM, Room: 5039, Emerging Technologies Building

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Advanced Bioactive Materials for Skin Regeneration

Engineering
Biomedical Engineering

Chair: Feng Zhao

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16340


06/12/2025 | Jordy Cheyem Lopez Garcia, PHD, Mathematics

2:00PM, Blocker 302

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Newton polytopes and toric varieties for periodic graph operators

Arts and Sciences
Mathematics

Chair: Frank Sottile

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16377


07/18/2025 | Rorey Mattingly Yates-Iannelli, MS, Sport Management

12:00PM, Online

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:

Education and Human Development
Kinesiology & Sport Management

Chair: Paul Keiper

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da16376