Saroj Subedi, Mechanical Engineering, ” Modeling and Controlling Energy Input in Digital Light Processing Systems for Enhanced Dimensional Fidelity and Mechanical Integrity,” April 8, 2026, 9:00 a.m., EBIII-3235. Major Professor: Dr. Henry Ware.

Sarangi Joseph, Civil Engineering, “Sorption Equilbria of Per – and Polyfluoroalkl Substances (PFAS) on Activated Carbon,” April 8, 2026, 1:00 p.m., FWH 3280. Major Professor: Dr. Detlef Knappe.

Muhammad Anees, Electrical Engineering, “Stability considerations for DC Microgrids,” April 10, 2026, 11:00 a.m., Energy Board Room, FREEDM Systems Center. Major Professor: Dr. Srdjan Lukic.

James Birkett, ELPHD, “The Impact of Federal Grad PLUS Loans on Professional Degree Production: A Comparative Interrupted Time Series Analysis of Professional Masters and Doctoral Programs”, April 13, 2026, 10:00 a.m., Remote, Major Professor: Dr. Stephen Porter.

Harley Hanes, Mathematics, “Hyper-Reduction, Boundary Penalties, and Sensitivity Equations in
Projection-Based Reduced-Order Models,” April 13, 2026, 10 a.m., SAS 3282. Major Professor: Dr. Ralph Smith.

Taylor Leonard, Psychology, “Retirement Certainty and Financial Decision-making Competence: The Effect of Uncertainty on Subjective Financial Well-being,” April 13, 2026, 3 p.m., Faculty Seminar Room, 2312N, D.H. Hill Library. Major Professor: Dr. Daniel Gruehn.

Osvaldo Amilcar Rodriguez, Comparative Biomedical Science, “Multi-level Analysis of High-Fat Diet-Induced Behavioral, Microbiome, Metabolic, and Neuroimmune Changes in a Genetic Mouse Model of Parkinson’s Disease,” April 14, 2026, 11:00 a.m., 101 Research Building. Major Professors: Dr. Guohong Cui and Dr. John Meitzen.

Vinutha Ravinageswaran, Chemistry, “Exploring Interdisciplinary Knowledge Integration using Systems Thinking and Mechanistic Reasoning frameworks,” April 14, 2026, 1 p.m., COX 400. Major Professor: Dr. Maria Oliver-Hoyo.

Francisco Ponce Carrion, Mathematics, “Combinatorial Problems in Applied Algebraic Geometry,” April 14, 2026, 2:30 p.m., SAS 3282. Major Professor: Dr. Seth Sullivant.

Troy Weaver, Educational Leadership, “Thermometers and Thermostats: A Qualitative Study of Affinity Groups as a Regulating Influence on the Educational Outcomes for Black and Latino Male Students”, April 16, 2026, 12:00 p.m., Remote, Major Professor: Dr. Lance Fusarelli.

Lei Xue, Civil Engineering, “Performance evaluation of asphalt mixtures using BMD + tests and indirect tensile test,” April 16, 2026, 2:00 p.m., FWH 4280. Major Professors: Dr. Y. Richard Kim/Dr. Shane Underwood.

Javier I. Madariaga Roman, Mathematics, “Stochastic Iterations in Hilbertian Nonlinear Analysis,” April 17, 2026, 11:30 a.m., SAS 3282. Major Professor: Dr. Patrick Combettes.

Zachary Everson, Entomology, “Mealybug Management with Insecticides and Biological Control,” April 20, 2026, 1:30 p.m., Gardner 2321. Major Professor: Dr. Steve Frank.

Madhusudan Madhavan, Mathematics, “Fast Algorithms For Optimal Data Acquisition in PDE-constrained Optimization Problems,” April 21, 2026, 8 a.m., SAS Hall, Rm. 3282. Major Professors: Dr. Alen Alexanderian and Dr. Arvind Saibaba.

Tran Anh Thu Nguyen, Chemistry, “Toward the Total Synthesis of Phyllobilins: Enabling Access to Biologically Relevant Chlorophyll Catabolites,” April 21, 2026, 8:30 a.m., COX 306. Major Professor: Dr. Jonathan Lindsey.

Moumita Dey, Forest Biomaterials, “Engineering Modified Biopolymer Coatings: Mechanistic Insights for Enhanced Barrier and Mechanical Properties in Food Packaging Applications”, April 21, 2026, 9:00 a.m., Jordan Hall Addition Room 1214, Major Professor: Dr. Lokendra Pal.

Robert Smith, Operations Research, “Routes, Schedules, and Locations: Multi-Objective Problems in Emergency Logistics,” April 21, 2026, 10:00 a.m., FWH 4103. Major Professors: Dr. Brandon McConnell/Dr. Russell King.

Glenn Almelor, Operations Research, “Bayesian Inference on Extreme Values,” April 21, 2026, 2:00 p.m., SAS 3282. Major Professor: Dr. Subhashis Ghoshal.

Melody B. Hancock, Bioinformatics, “CHD7-dependent Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms Underlying CHARGE Syndrome Phenotypes In A Larval Zebrafish Model,” April 22, 2026, 2 p.m., Thomas Hall, Stephens Room 3503. Major Professor: Dr. Kurt Marsden.

Michaela E. Abbott, Public Administration, “Intersecting Justice Theories: A Framework for Understanding Trust in Law Enforcement,” April 22, 2026, 3 p.m., Remote. Major Professor: Dr. Bruce McDonald.

Adama Washington, TELS, “Beyond Access: A Phenomenological Exploration of Black Parents’ Digital Empowerment Through Community Cultural Wealth”, April 23, 2026, 12:00 p.m., CTI Building Room 333, Major Professor : Dr. Amato Nocera.

Joseph Michael Ortosky, DDN, “Uneven Ground: An asymmetrical case study of wetlands and farmland protection policy environments in North Carolina,” April 24, 2026, 9 a.m., Remote. Major Professor: Dr. Kofi Boone.

Tira Beckham, Forestry and Environmental Resources, “Governing the Margins: Municipal Underbounding and the Production of Environmental Injustice in North Carolina ETJs”, April 24, 2026, 2:00 p.m., Biltmore Hall Room 1003, Major Professors: Dr. Madhu Katti and Dr. Jennifer Richmond-Bryant.

Joanna Elizabeth Muir, Chemistry, “Synthesis of Cyclobutanone Derivatives via Stereospecific Ring Expansion of Cyclopropanone Adducts,” April 27, 2026, 9 a.m., Cox Hall, Rm. 306. Major Professor: Dr. Vincent Lindsay.

Miara Bailey-Hall, Sociology, “The Complexities of Black Consumption: Black Experiences, Coping Strategies, and Resistance to Hegemonic Ideologies of Consumption,” April 28, 2026, 10 a.m., Remote. Major Professor: Dr. Kim Ebert.

Shannon O’Neal, Psychology, “Evaluating the Effects of Metacognitive Peer Support on College Students’ Adherence to Digital Mindfulness Practice: A Mixed Methods Study,” April 28, 2026, 11 a.m., Remote. Major Professor: Dr. John Begeny.

Muhammad Abdelraziq, Electrical Engineering, “Optimization-Driven Modeling, Analysis, and Design of High-Efficiency, High-Gravimetric-Power-Density Inductive Wireless Chargers for Unmanned Aerial Systems,” April 29, 2026, 10:00 a.m., FREEDM Energy Board Room. Major Professor: Dr. Zeljko Pantic.

Hamdan Matla Alosaimi, Electrical Engineering, “Control and Integration of PV and Energy Storage Systems for STATCOM Applications,” May 1, 2026, 1:00 p.m., FREEDM, Energy Board Room. Major Professor: Dr. Subhashish Bhattacharya.

Hadhlul Aladhyani, Electrical Engineering, “Impedance-Based Stability Analysis and Grid-Forming Control of MMC-HVDC Systems for Offshore Wind Integration,” May 1, 2026, 3:00 p.m., FREEDM, Energy Board Room. Major Professor: Dr. Subhashish Bhattacharya.

Yongseok Jeon, Industrial Engineering, “Calibrating Digital Twins in Rapidly Changing Systems,” May 5, 2026, 9:00 a.m., FWH 4361. Major Professor: Dr. Sara Shashaani.

Vincent Novellino, Nuclear Engineering,” Multi-Level Hybrid Deterministic/Monte Carlo Methods for Neutral Particle Transport,” May 5, 2026, 11:00 a.m., BU 1121. Major Professor: Dr. Dmitriy Anistratov.

Kayla Hahn, Nuclear Engineering, “Plasma bubble spectroscopy: An in-situ method for material quantification of molten salts,” May 5, 2026, 3:00 p.m., BEL-1202. Major Professor: Dr. Alexander Bataller.

Keisha White, ELPHD, “To Be or Not to Be: An Exploratory Qualitative Study on Black Women District Leaders Aspiring to the Superintendency”, May 6, 2026, 10:00 a.m., Remote, Major Professor: Dr. Lance Fusarelli.

Md Mirajul Islam, Computer Science, “Offline Apprenticeship Learning for Human-centric Environments,” May 6, 2026, 11:00 a.m., Major Professor: Dr. Min Chi.

Milan Shah, Computer Engineering, “Exploring Efficient Deep Learning Training on AI Accelerators,” May 6, 2026, 12:00 p.m., EBII-3001. Major Professor: Dr. Michela Becchi.

Shalini Mukherjee, Psychology, “Daily Aging Experiences: Associations Between Personal Views on Aging, Memory Functioning, and Ecological Contexts in India,” May 6, 2026, 2 p.m., Faculty Collaborative Conference Room 2310, D.H. Hill Library. Major Professor: Dr. Shevaun Neupert.

Doan Phuong Lien Cao, Chemistry, “Design and Synthesis of Porphyrins For Cancer Treatment,” May 7, 2026, 10 a.m., COX 400. Major Professor: Dr. Jonathan. S. Lindsey.

Davis Bryars, Nuclear Engineering, “Spectroscopic Characterization of Molten Salts,” May 7, 2026, 1:00 p.m., BUI 1202. Major Professor: Dr. Alexander Bataller.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

John Yu, Electrical Engineering, “Decision-Relevant Probabilistic Forecasting for Power Systems-Methods, System-Level Evaluation, and Real-Time Implementation,” June 11, 2026, 1:00 p.m., Remote. Major Professor: Dr. Wenyuan Tang.

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.

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.

Elyse Smith, Learning and Teaching in STEM, “Equity in Numbers: Math Teacher Candidates’ Use of Cultural Capital and Prior Knowledge in edTPA Commentaries”, June 22, 2026, 2:00 p.m., Remote, Major Professors: Dr. Karen Hollebrands and Dr. Cyndi Edgington.

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.