Orna David, Learning and Teaching in STEM, “An Exploratory Case Study of Number Talk-Focused Professional Development: Examining Changes in Elementary Teachers’ Mental Addition Strategies and Sensemaking of Students’ Mathematical Thinking in Antigua and Barbuda”, May 8, 2026, 10:00 a.m., CTI Building Room 325, Major Professor: Dr. Robin Anderson.

Nisarg Joshi, Chemical Engineering, “Navigating the Molecular Design Landscape with Machine Learning: From Molecular Dynamics to Generative Modeling,” May 8, 2026, 11:00 a.m., EBI-3003. Major Professor: Dr. Jim Pfaendtner.

Felipe Sanchez, Geospatial Analytics, “Geospatial distribution and dynamics of swine diseases in the United States”, May 8, 2026, 11:00 a.m., Jordan Hall Room 5103, Major Professors: Dr. Chris Jones and Dr. Gustavo Machado.

Swastik Mittal, Computer Science, “Timing Integrity and Predictable Execution in High-Performance Real-Time Systems,” May 8, 2026, 12:00 p.m., EB II – 3265. Major Professor: Dr. Frank Mueller.

Tiffany VanDerwerker, Social Science, “There Must be Something in the Water: Evaluating Water Quality in PFAS-Impacted Coastal Plain Aquifers,” May 8, 2026, 12:00 p.m., 2405 Williams. Major Professors: Dr. Detlef Knappe and Dr. Owen Duckworth.

Rohit Singh, Computer Engineering, “Revisiting Simple Paradigms for Exploiting Control Independence in Superscalar Processors, May 8, 2026, 3:00 p.m., EBII 2095. Major Professor: Dr. Eric Rotenberg.

Ahsan Zafar, Computer Science, “Identifying Limitations of Existing Ad-Blocking Filters and Enhancing Advertisement,” May 11, 2026, 2:00 p.m., 2240P EB2. Major Professor: Dr. Anupam Das.

Bret Timmons, Horticultural Science, “Sourcing, processing, and managing wood substrates for horticultural use,” May 12, 2026, 10:00 a.m., 121 Kilgore Hall. Major Professor: Dr. Brian Jackson.

Troy Weaver, Educational Leadership, “Thermometers and Thermostats: A Qualitative Study of Affinity Groups as a Regulating Influence in the Educational Outcomes for Black and Latino Male Students”, May 12, 2026, 10:00 a.m., Remote, Major Professor: Dr. Lance Fusarelli.

Erin Huggins, Education Evaluation and Policy Analysis, “New Directions for Teacher Induction: A Qualitative Examination of Effective Practices for Supporting Novice Teachers”, May 12, 2026, 12:00 p.m., Friday Institute Discovery Room, Major Professors: Dr. Lisa Bass and Dr. Anna Egalite.

Tatiana Proksch, Material Sciences and Engineering, “Nanoscale Insight into Coupled Electro-chemo-mechanical and Thermo-mechanical Responses in Functional Materials,” May 12, 2026, 1:00 p.m., EBI-3018. Major Professor: Dr. Nina Balke.

Naimur Rahman Chowdhury, Industrial Engineering, “Location-Allocation and Multi-Agent Preferences in a Food Bank Network,” May 12, 2026, 11:00 a.m., FWH 4361. Major Professors: Dr. Osman Ozaltin/Dr. Julie Simmons Ivy.

Alexandria Nelson, Biology, “Parasite Biodiversity, Distributions, and Life Cycles in Snakes in the Southeastern United States,” May 12, 2026, 2 p.m., DCL 139. Major Professor: Dr. Skylar Hopkins.

Kalysha Wall, ELPHD, “Constructing Belonging Through Reflection: A Longitudinal Qualitative Study of First-Generation College Students’ First Semester”, May 13, 2026, 2:00 p.m., Jordan Hall Room 1214, Major Professors: Dr. David English and Dr. Paul Umbach.

Danielle Smtih, PRTM, “Beyond the End Zone: Exploring Motivations, Wellbeing, and Identity in High School Girls’ Flag Football”, May 14, 2026, 11:00 a.m., Biltmore Hall Room 4024, Major Professor: Dr. Jonathan Casper.

Erin White, Design, “Design for Food System Transformation: A Theoretical Construct and Participatory Case Study in the Sandhills Region of North Carolina,” May 15, 2026, 1 p.m., Brooks Hall Rotunda. Major Professors: Dr. Tania Allen and Dr. Kofi Boone.

Kingston Armstrong, Civil Engineering, “Identifying Regime Shifts in Freshwater Resources: Anthropogenic Stressors, Extreme Events, and Policy Implications,” May 15, 2026, 1:00 p.m., FWH 3280. Major Professor: Dr. Emily Berglund.

Tyler Goode, Aerospace Engineering, “Impact Damage Characterization and Residual Strength of Carbon Fiber Laminates Across Velocity Regimes,” May 15, 2026, 1:00 p.m., Remote. Major Professor: Dr. Mark Pankow.

Shih-Ni Prim, Statistics, “Uncertainty Quantification in Confounding Adjustment, Contour Location, and General Decision-Making,” May 18, 2026, 10 a.m., SAS 5202. Major Professors: Dr. Brian Reich, Dr. Ryan Martin, and Dr. Jonathan Williams.

Khang Nguyen, Nuclear Engineering, “Deep Neural Operator-Based Surrogate Development for Nuclear Reactor Core Design Optimization,” May 18, 2026, 11:00 a.m., BU-1121, Duke Energy Conference Room. Major Professor: Dr. Jason Hou.

Zackary Ferrin, Chemistry, “Synthetic Applications of Cyclopropanone Hemiaminals Synthesized From Modern Cyclopropanone Surrogates,” May 18, 2026, 12:30 p.m., DH Hill Library, 2312N. Major Professor: Dr. Vincent Lindsay.

Yuxuan Wu, Chemical Engineering, “Design and Evaluation of Chromatographic Separation Platforms for Next Generation Biotherapeutics,” May 20, 2026, 10:00 a.m., EBI-2018. Major Professors: Dr. Stefano Menegatti/Dr. Michael Daniele.

Briana Trager, TELS, “Sensemaking Opportunities in the Elementary Engineering Classroom: An Activity System Approach”, May 20, 2026, 12:00 p.m., CTI Building Room 317, Major Professor: Dr. James Minogue.

Zarria Tolbert, Psychology, “From Conflict to Crisis: Investigating the School-to-Mental-Health Pathway(s) through Student–Teacher Relationships and Behavioral Perceptions,” May 20, 2026, 1 p.m., Remote. Major Professor: Dr. Isaac Woods.

Benjamin Carl Kreager, Mechanical Engineering, “Small Aperture Transducers for Advanced Ultrasound Imaging and Therapy,” May 20, 2026, 1:00 p.m., EBIII-3115. Major Professor: Dr. Xiaoning Jiang.

Isabella Livingston, Genetics and Genomics, “Applications of Genetic and Genomic Tools in Wildlife Health and Conservation Studies,” May 22, 2026, 9 a.m., CVM South Theatre. Major Professor: Dr. Matthew Breen.

Keren Zhao, Mechanical Engineering, “Development of an Imageable, Shear-Thinning Laponite-Alginate Nancomposite Hydrogel for Minimally Invasive Embolization and Localized Therpy. May 22, 2026, 9:00 a.m., EBIII-3115. Major Professor: Dr. Jingjie Hu.

Megan Pike, Chemistry, “From Optimization to In-vivo Application of SABRE-polarized [1-13C]pyruvate,” May 26, 2026, 11 a.m., Plant Science Building, Rm. 3158. Major Professor: Dr. Thomas Theis.

Anastasia Sheridan-Munana, Biomedical Engineering, “Fibrin-Centric Transfusion Therapies to Establish Hemostatic Balance in Patients with Thrombotic Complications,” May 26, 2026, 1:00 p.m., CVM C120. Major Professor: Dr. Ashley Brown.

Ramil Agliamzanov, Computer Engineering, “Architecting DNA-based Archival Storage for Reduced Depletion and Regeneration,” May 27, 2026, 10:00 a.m., EBII-2095. Major Professor: Dr. James Tuck.

Jingtain Bai, Statistics, “Weak Signal Inference in High Dimensions: Theory, Dependence Leverage, and Applications to Feature-Based Transfer Learning,” May 27, 2026, 10 a.m., Remote. Major Professor: Dr. Xinge Jeng.

Samantha Kisthardt, Microbiology, “The Role of Commensal Clostridia in Bile Acid Mediated Attenuation of Clostridoides Difficile Viruclence,” June 3, 2026, 9:00 a.m., CVM Research Building, Rm 101. Major Professor: Dr. Casey Theriot.

Robert Monahan, TELS, “Game-Based Teaching: How Teachers Bridge Analog Commercial Gameplay Reasoning and Disciplinary Science Reasoning”, June 3, 2026, 10:00 a.m., Hunt Library Room 4505, Major Professor: Dr. James Minogue.

Navya Mishra, Electrical Engineering, “Engineering Novel Biohybrid Interfaces,” June 4, 2026, 9:00 a.m., EBII-3001. Major Professor: Dr. Amay Bandodkar.

Andre Moreira Nogueira, Chemistry, “Photoinduced Electron Spin Polarization of Stable Radicals using
Ligand-to-Ligand Charge Transfer Chromophores,” June 4, 2026, 1 p.m., PSB – 3158. Major Professor: Dr. David A. Schultz.

Sarah Mulutzie, Operations Research, “Behavioral Epidemiology and Policy Innovation: Developing Targeted Intervention Strategies using Agent-Based Modeling of Human Decision-Making,” June 8, 2026, 9:00 a.m., FWH 4103. Major Professor: Dr. Maria Mayorga.

Tyler R. Jarrard, Food Science, “Thermal Inactivation of the Plasmin System in Model Milk Protein Concentrate Beverages,” June 9, 2026, 10:00 a.m., G-40 / Schaub Hall. Major Professor: Dr. Haotian Zheng.

Nicole Adams, Bioinformatics, “Characterization of Complex Immune Genes in Mammalian Systems
Using Long-read Sequencing,” June 10, 2026, 9 a.m., C-120/CVM Main Building. Major Professor: Dr. Xinxia Peng.

Brandon Sulc, Chemistry, “Sulfonium Ylides as Convenient Precursors of Tertiary Cyclopropyl
Boronates, Spiro[2.3]hexan-4-ones and Cyclobutanones,” June 10, 2026, 1 p.m., D.H. Hill Library, Faculty Room 2312N. Major Professor: Dr. Vincent Lindsay.

Courtney Johnson, Forestry and Environmental Resources, “Advancing Asian longhorned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) eradication in bottomland hardwood forests: Alternative management and investigations into ovipositional behavior, biology, and remote sensing for red maple detection”, June 12, 2026, 9:00 a.m., Jordan Hall Addition Room 1214, Major Professors: Dr. Kelly Oten and Dr. Robert Jetton.

Shruthi Manjula Balakrishna, DDN, “Evaluating the Impact of Menu Formats on Perceived Safety, Brand Trust, and Dining Experience in Upscale Restaurants Post-Pandemic: A Strategic Experiential Modules (SEM) Comparative Analysis,” June 15, 2026, 9:30 a.m., Remote. Major Professor: Dr. Tania Allen.

Jill Furgurson, Forestry and Environmental Resources, “Reframing Engagement in Environmental Biotechnology Governance: Ethical Space, Plural Knowledge, and Sovereignty”, June 16, 2026, 10:00 a.m., Jordan Hall Addition Room 1214, Major Professor: Dr. Ritwick Ghosh.

Yufeng Lin, Food Science, “Valorization of whey streams: protein and permeate aspects,” June 16, 2026, 10:00 a.m., G-40 / Schaub Hall. Major Professor: Dr. Haotian Zheng.

Taylor Brooke Burrell, Animal Science, “Maximizing efficiency in raising dairy calves: Strategies for automation and crossbreeding,” June 18, 2026, 9:00 a.m., Polk 125. Major Professor: Dr. Stephanie Hill Ward.

John Yu, Electrical Engineering, “Decision-Relevant Probabilistic Forecasting for Power Systems-Methods, System-Level Evaluation, and Real-Time Implementation,” June 19, 2026, 10:00 a.m., Remote. Major Professor: Dr. Wenyuan Tang.

Elyse Smith, Learning and Teaching in STEM, “Equity in Numbers: Math Teacher Candidates’ Use of Cultural Capital and Prior Knowledge in edTPA Commentaries”, June 19, 2026, 11:00 a.m., Remote, Major Professors: Dr. Karen Hollebrands and Dr. Cyndi Edgington.

John Sanders, Forest Biomaterials, “Process Development Strategies for Deep Eutectic Solvent Based Biorefinery: Solvent Selection, Pulp Valorization, and Chemical Recovery”, June 19, 2026, 1:00 p.m., Biltmore Hall Room 1003, Major Professor: Dr. Sunkyu Park.

Nafi Ahmed, Industrial Engineering, “ML-Driven Digital Manufacturing for Biofabrication Processes and Systems,” June 22, 2026, 9:00 a.m., FWH 4280. Major Professor: Dr. Rohan Shirwaiker.

Sooyoung Kim, Chemical Engineering, “Development of piezoelectric polydimthylsiloxane foam for sensing pressure distribution and interfacial reactions between gallium based liquid metals and various substrates,” June 25, 2026, 12:00 p.m., EBI-2018. Major Professor: Dr. Michael Dickey.

Kimberly Young, Comparative Biomedical Science, “Safety and feasibility of the use of cell and gene therapy in quine ocular disease,” July 7, 2026, 1:00 p.m., C120. Major Professors: Dr. Brian Gilger and Dr. Lauren Schnabel.

Sophia Andanje, Civil Engineering, “Effect of Natural Hazards on Geotechnical Engineering Behavior of Infrastructure,” July 14, 2026, 10:00 a.m., FWH 3280. Major Professor: Dr. Brina Montoya.