Defense Announcements

02/3/2026 | Kuan-Ling Liu, PHD, Entomology

8:30AM, ZOOM

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
NAVIGATING A CHANGING WORLD: MULTIDIMENSIONAL RESPONSES OF TWO ANT SPECIES TO HUMAN-ALTERED LANDSCAPES

Agriculture and Life Sciences
Entomology

Chair: Edward Vargo

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22544


02/5/2026 | Christopher Evan Van Pelt, MS, Materials Science and Engineering

9:00AM, RDMC 202

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Electrochemical Characterization of Redox-Active Copolymers for Energy Storage

Engineering
Materials Science & Engr

Chair: Emily Pentzer

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22520


02/5/2026 | Brent Michael Stout, PHD, Nuclear Engineering

9:00AM, AIEN, Room 211

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
The Reactor Selection Discipline: An Evaluation and Decision Framework for the Best-Choice Selection of Advanced Nuclear Systems

Engineering
Nuclear Engineering

Chair: Mark Kimber

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22535


02/9/2026 | Morgan James Chapman, PHD, Medical Sciences

10:00AM, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN (in-person) Zoom available

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
ALTERNATIVE SPLICING OF INNATE IMMUNE TRANSCRIPTS AND ITS IMPACT ON MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS INFECTION

Medicine
College of Medicine

Chair: Carolyn Cannon

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22522


02/10/2026 | Kaylee Raye Kipp, PHD, Biomedical Sciences

12:00PM, VENI 106A

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
EVALUATION OF MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES RELATED TO PARASITE CONTROL AND ANTHELMINTIC RESISTANCE IN RANCHED AND WILD BISON HERDS IN THE UNITED STATES

Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Veterinary Pathobiology

Chair: Guilherme Gomes Verocai

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22515


02/10/2026 | Nahom Habtemariam, PHD, Nuclear Engineering

1:00PM, College station

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Modeling of Radiation-Induced Effects in Thick Liquid Wall Inertial Fusion Energy Chambers

Engineering
Nuclear Engineering

Chair: Carlo Fiorina

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22541


02/10/2026 | Olivia Faith Dingus, PHD, Biomedical Engineering

1:00PM, tbd

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Adhesive Multi-Network Hydrogels for Cartilage repair

Engineering
Biomedical Engineering

Chair: Melissa Grunlan

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22543


02/11/2026 | Kyler Ray Scott, PHD, Computer Engineering

3:00PM, WEB 333C

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Flash-based Deep Neural Network Acceleration

Engineering
Electrical & Computer Eng

Chair: Sunil Khatri

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22533


02/12/2026 | Paco Eudes Fontaine, PHD, Marine Biology

9:00AM, MAIN 410 (RGSO Conf Room)

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Habitat use and trophic ecology of three estuarine predatory fishes in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico

Marine Sci & Maritime St
Marine Biology

Chair: Robert Wells

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22547


02/16/2026 | Megan Elizabeth Miller, MS, Physiology of Reproduction

9:30AM, KLCT 126 (Animal Science Faculty Lounge)

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Maternal Nutrient Restriction Programs Fetal Hepatic DNA Methylation in Ovine Monozygotic Twins

Agriculture and Life Sciences
Animal Science

Chair: Michael Satterfield
Co-Chair: Jennifer Zoller

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22538


02/16/2026 | Lei Wang, PHD, Statistics

4:00PM, https://tamu.zoom.us/j/95970636027

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Advances in Truncated Latent Gaussian Copula Models: Dimension Reduction for Microbiome Data and Correlation Estimation in Sparse Multivariate Longitudinal Settings

Arts and Sciences
Statistics

Chair: Xiaoqing Wang
Co-Chair: Irina Gaynanova

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22551


02/17/2026 | Maureen Kelly, PHD, Biomedical Sciences

12:00PM, VENI 106 A (Open); VIDI 349 (Closed)

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
EVALUATING THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF CUTANEOUS AND BLOOD-BORNE FILARIAL NEMATODES IN COMPANION ANIMALS

Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Veterinary Pathobiology

Chair: Guilherme Gomes Verocai

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22514


02/17/2026 | Junhua Huang, PHD, Agricultural Economics

1:00PM, TBD

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Three Essays on The Impact of COVID-19 Nutrition Policies on Grocery Shopping Behavior of Low-income Households

Agriculture and Life Sciences
Agricultural Economics

Chair: Henry Bryant
Co-Chair: Pourya Valizadeh

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22552


02/18/2026 | Benjamin Maurice Thomas, PHD, Genetics and Genomics

3:00PM, MREB2 room 1403

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Development of Protein Diagnostics and Therapeutics for Shiga Toxin producing E. Coli

Agriculture and Life Sciences
Biochemistry & Biophysics

Chair: Zhilei Chen

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22516


02/19/2026 | Paige Graves Seitz, PHD, Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communications

9:00AM, TBD

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Adult Learner Motivation and Engagement: An Exploratory Study of Agricultural Nonprofit Members' Participation in Asynchronous Online Learning

Agriculture and Life Sciences
Ag Leadership, Educ & Comm

Chair: Theresa Murphrey

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22524


02/19/2026 | Samantha Dyanne Aguilar, PHD, Educational Psychology

1:00PM, EDCT 715B

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Cultural Congruity for Latino Students in STEM: Fostering STEM and Ethnic Identity

Education and Human Development
Educational Psychology

Chair: Jeffrey Liew

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22517


02/20/2026 | Karissa L. Palmer, PHD, Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communications

9:00AM, AGLS 129

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
GOT MILK!: USING RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIALS TO INVESTIGATE HOW LABELING INFLUENCES CONSUMERS’ DECISION TO PURCHASE DAIRY AND PLANT-BASED MILK

Agriculture and Life Sciences
Ag Leadership, Educ & Comm

Chair: Holli Leggette

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22521


02/20/2026 | Hannah Rose Stalb, MS, Ecology and Conservation Biology

10:00AM, Zoom: https://tamu.zoom.us/j/91948346762?pwd=DVtwE7vOYzT9n9STpNa2a0hnC7QJRr.1 Meeting ID: 919 4834 6762 Passcode: 299304

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
WELDER FLATS: MEASURING, MODELING, AND INFORMING HYDROLOGIC RESTORATION IN A HYPERSALINE SALT MARSH

Agriculture and Life Sciences
Ecology & Conservation Biology

Chair: Russell Feagin

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22526


02/20/2026 | Poojashree Boopathyraj Chettiar, PHD, Medical Sciences

1:00PM, MREB 2 - Room 1403

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
PKC-dependent NMDAR depression by striatal glutamate delta-1 (GluD1) receptor underlies cognitive flexibility

Medicine
College of Medicine

Chair: Shashank Dravid

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22537


02/20/2026 | Madison Marie Weinrich, PHD, Kinesiology

1:00PM, Rudder Tower - Room 404

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Lissajous feedback utilization in Parkinson's Disease: A bimanual coordination perspective

Education and Human Development
Kinesiology & Sport Management

Chair: Deanna Kennedy

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22553


02/24/2026 | Kerim U. Kizil, PHD, Business Administration

2:30PM, Wehner 304

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Essays on Managing Operational Performance in Complex Systems

Mays Business School
Information & Operations Mgmt

Chair: Chelliah Skriskandarajah
Co-Chair: Jon Stauffer

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22548


02/25/2026 | Junho Moon, PHD, Materials Science and Engineering

12:30PM, RDMC 208

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Stimuli-responsive, Programmable Shape Morphing Materials via Stereochemical Control and Microgel Assembly

Engineering
Materials Science & Engr

Chair: Svetlana Sukhishvili

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22534


02/25/2026 | Chimuanya Princess Osuji, DRPH, Public Health Sciences

1:30PM, TBA

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Examining delayed care and its associated factors among U.S. adults with chronic diseases

School of Public Health
School of Public Health

Chair: James Burdine
Co-Chair: Ellisa Jones-Mckyer

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22527


02/26/2026 | Kiran Alla, MS, Horticulture

1:00PM, Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Centre, Uvalde, TX

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Genome-Wide Association Study of Southern Native Tepary Beans and Rhizosphere Microbiome Dynamics of Summer Cover Crops

Agriculture and Life Sciences
Horticultural Sciences

Chair: Vijay Joshi
Co-Chair: Shuyang Zhen

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22549


03/2/2026 | Wesley Allen Arend, MS, Ecology and Conservation Biology

10:00AM, Wildlife, Fisheries, & Ecological Sciences Building

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Systematics of the mud darter 𝘌𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘢 𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦 and the gumbo darter 𝘌𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘪 (Teleostei: Percidae).

Agriculture and Life Sciences
Ecology & Conservation Biology

Chair: Kevin Conway

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22540


03/2/2026 | Karina Lee Hissen, PHD, Biomedical Sciences

11:00AM, VIDI 106

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Investigating Dietary L-glutamate Effects on the Intestinal Mucosa of Hybrid Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis ♀ × Morone chrysops ♂)

Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Veterinary Pathobiology

Chair: Michael Criscitiello

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22525


03/2/2026 | Sahir Gagan, PHD, Atmospheric Sciences

12:00PM, Eller O&M, TAMU, College Station

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
ADVANCING METHODS TO QUANTIFY AND ELUCIDATE THE CHEMICAL EVOLUTION OF EMERGING POLLUTANTS IN THE ATMOSPHERE

Arts and Sciences
Atmospheric Sciences

Chair: Yue Zhang

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22550


03/2/2026 | Nereyda Yovana Ortiz Osejo de Lemus, PHD, Sociology

2:00PM, West Campus Social Science Building

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Push–Pull, Herd Effects, and Spatial Context in U.S. Residential Mobility: Evidence from County-to-County Flows

Arts and Sciences
Sociology

Chair: Ernesto Amaral
Co-Chair: Mary Campbell

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22523


03/2/2026 | Ruifeng Chen, PHD, Toxicology

3:00PM, HPEB LL46

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
THE ROLE OF STRIATAL NEURONS AND NEUROTRANSMITTERS IN ACTION-OUTCOME CONTINGENCY

Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Vet Physiology & Pharmacology

Chair: Jun Wang

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22528


03/2/2026 | Siddhesh Sunil Sabnis, PHD, Medical Sciences

3:00PM, MREB 2 - Room 1403

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Gain-of-function of GluD1 signaling in the spinal cord underlies neuropathic pain

Medicine
College of Medicine

Chair: Shashank Dravid

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22531


03/4/2026 | Robert Matthew Stellbauer, PHD, Water Management and Hydrological Science

1:30PM, https://tamu.zoom.us/j/5202321740

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
BEYOND INFRASTRUCTURE: MULTIPLE USE WATER SERVICES AND EXPERIENCES WITH HOUSEHOLD WATER INSECURITY

Arts and Sciences
Geography

Chair: Wendy Jepson

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22546


03/4/2026 | Zhongjia Gao, PHD, Mechanical Engineering

1:40PM, MEOB 224

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Additive Manufacturing and Solvent-free Battery Electrode Manufacturing by Processing Dry Fine Powders

Engineering
Mechanical Engineering

Chair: Heng Pan

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22539


03/4/2026 | Bailey Grace Sizemore, MS, Biomedical Engineering

2:00PM, 600 Discovery Dr, College Station, TX 77845

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
A TUNABLE SILICONE PHANTOM ARM WITH EMBEDDED ARTERIES FOR CARDIOVASCULAR DEVICE TESTING

Engineering
Biomedical Engineering

Chair: Gerard Cote

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22542


03/5/2026 | Vanessa D. Verner, PHD, Sociology

1:00PM, TBD

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
"Not By the Commission of Men's Hands": Gender, Race and Class Politics within Black Pentecostalism

Arts and Sciences
Sociology

Chair: Sarah Gatson

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22532


03/5/2026 | Yufei Huang, PHD, Neuroscience

2:00PM, MREB2 Room1403

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
Neural Circuit Mechanisms Underlying Cognitive Inflexibility in Early Alzheimer’s Disease

Medicine
College of Medicine

Chair: Jun Wang

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22545


03/6/2026 | Richard Edmund Rosas, PHD, Oceanography

9:00AM, TBD

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
AN EXAMINATION OF NATURAL ENVIRONMENTAL PROCESSES AND THE INFLUENCE ON SE AWATER CARBONATE CHEMISTRY PARAMETERS

Arts and Sciences
Oceanography

Chair: Niall Slowey

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22530


03/6/2026 | Rusali Saha, MS, Computer Science

2:00PM, PETR 314

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
A COMPREHENSIVE MULTILINGUAL, MULTICULTURAL INVESTIGATION OF BIAS IN LARGE LANGUAGE MODELS

Engineering
Computer Science & Engineering

Chair: Kuan-Hao Huang

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22536


03/19/2026 | Niaz Azeez, MS, Mathematics

10:00AM, Zoom

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:

Arts and Sciences
Mathematics

Chair: Oksana Shatalov

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22518


03/27/2026 | Regan N. Gardner, MS, Sport Management

11:00AM, 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#da22529


05/5/2026 | Jeong Jae Han, PHD, Interdisciplinary Engineering

1:00PM, WEB232

Tentative Title of Thesis / Dissertation / Record of Study:
DEVELOPMENT AND CHARACTERIZATION OF A HIGH-THROUGHPUT DRUG SCREENING PLATFORM TARGETING ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANT MICROBES BASED ON DROPLET MICROFLUIDICS TECHNIQUE

Engineering
Multidisciplinary Engineering

Chair: Arum Han

| Direct Link: https://grad.tamu.edu/aggie-life/Defense-Announcements#da22519