Congratulations, Summer 2018 Ph.D. Grads!
The College of Sciences celebrated its new Ph.D. graduates in a reception hosted by Dean Michael Johnson. Twenty students were recognized at the ceremony with their family members and faculty advisors by their side. Associate Dean Teresa Dorman honored each student individually by presenting their research and a brief description of their dissertation. Afterward, the group toasted their hard work with a champagne toast. You can view the photo album here.
Biology
Dr. Jason Strickland earned a Ph.D. in Conservation Biology with a dissertation titled, “Evolution and Distribution of Phenotypic Diversity in the Venom of Mojave Rattlesnakes.” His advisor is Dr. Anna Savage.
Dr. Yuanmeng ‘Miles’ Zhang earned a Ph.D. in Conservation Biology with a dissertation titled, “The Evolution of Peristenus: Taxonomy, Phylogenetics and Ecological Speciation.” His advisor is Dr. Barbara Sharanowski.
Chemistry
Dr. Jessica Chappell earned a Ph.D. with a dissertation titled, “Quantification of spectral interferences present in optical emission spectroscopy line assignment.” Her advisor is Dr. Matthieu Baudelet.
Dr. Hugh Hayes earned a Ph.D. with a dissertation titled, “Advancements in liquid chromatography for the determination of polycyclic aromatic compounds in environmental samples.” His advisor is Dr. Andres Campiglia.
Dr. Matthew Logan earned a Ph.D. with a dissertation titled, “Design, Synthesis, Stability, and Photocatalytic Studies of Sustainable Metal-Organic Frameworks.” His advisor is Dr. Fernando Uribe-Romo.
Dr. Xiaoyan Lu earned a Ph.D. with a dissertation titled, “Polyelectrolyte Complex Based on Poly(Acrylic Acid): Mechanical Properties and Applications.” Her advisor is Dr. Lei Zhai.
Physics
Dr. Jonathan Lee earned a Ph.D. with a dissertation titled, “Impact of Radiation and Electron Injection on Carrier Transport Properties in Narrow and Wide Bandgap Semiconductors.” His advisor is Dr. Elena Flitsiyan.
Dr. Michael Lodge earned a Ph.D. with a dissertation titled, “Experimental Evidence of Ballistic Nanofriction and Scattering in Dirac Materials with Pseudospin Degree of Freedom.” His advisor is Dr. Mashairo Ishigami.
Dr. Charles Schambeau earned a Ph.D. in the Planetary Sciences track with a dissertation titled, “Analysis of Nucleus Properties of the Enigmatic Comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1”. His advisor is Dr. Yan Fernandez.
Dr. Matthew Wilcox is earning a Ph.D. with a dissertation titled, “Undergraduate Student Agreement with Reformed Introductory Physics Classes.” His advisor is Dr. Jacquelyn Chini.
Psychology
Dr. Keri Bayley earned a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with a dissertation titled, “Subjective-Objective Discrepancies Among Patients with Sleep Complaints in the Patient-Centered Medical Home.” Her advisor is Dr. Jeffrey Cassisi.
Dr. Lauren Friedman earned a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with a dissertation titled, “Applied Problem Solving in Children with ADHD: The Mediating Roles of Working Memory and Mathematical Calculation.” Her advisor is Dr. Mark Rapport.
Dr. Benson Munyan earned a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with a dissertation titled, “Odorants, Memory and Presence in Warfighters: Do the Scents of War Matter?” His advisor is Dr. Sandra Neer.
Dr. Jeremy Stout earned a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with a dissertation titled, “Sleep Disturbances Among Firefighters: The Impact of Shift Work on Sleep and Cognition.” His advisor is Dr. Deborah Beidel.
Political Science
Dr. Clayton Besaw earned a Ph.D. in Security Studies with a dissertation titled, “Altruistic Punishment Theory and Inter-Group Violence.” His advisor is Dr. Gunes Murat Tezcur.
Sociology
Dr. Boniface Noyongoyo earned a Ph.D. with a dissertation titled, “My Plate, Your Food: Foodways of International Students in US’ Colleges and Universities.” His advisor is Dr. Elizabeth Mustaine.
Dr. Jolene Vincent earned a Ph.D. with a dissertation titled, “Serial Murder Mysteries: Revisiting Definitional Issues, Data Challenges, Archaic Theories, and Myths Using Empirical Evidence.” Her advisors are Drs. Lin Huff-Corzine and Jay Corzine.
Mathematics
Dr. Rajitha Puwakgolle Gedara earned a Ph.D. with a dissertation titled, “In Quest of Bernstein Inequalities: Rational Functions, Askey-Wilson Operator, and Summation Identities for Entire Functions.” His advisor is Dr. Xin Li.
Dr. Kyle Trainor earned a Ph.D. with a dissertation titled, “Hilbert Series for Graphs, Hypergraphs, and Monomial Ideals.” His advisor is Dr. Joseph Brennan.
Dr. Alexander York earned a Ph.D. with a dissertation titled, “Quasi-Gorenstein Modules.” His advisor is Dr. Joseph Brennan.