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Student Spotlights

Student Spotlight: Sherri Cook

Sherri’s dissertation examines the fields of waste management and water management, using environmental biotechnology models to answer important questions. Specifically, one aspect of her research focuses on how to best dispose of unused pharmaceuticals, examining the...

Student Spotlight: Yilan Zhang

“U.S. bridges were designed to serve for 50 years. Most of them were built 50-60 years ago.” Uh oh. Since many of the bridges are passing their useable service time, Yilan’s research on how we can effectively monitor the structural health of bridges is particularly...

Student Spotlight: Lauren Reed

Lauren’s dissertation focuses on “digital dating abuse,” which is repeated patterns of abusive dating behaviors using the Internet or cell phones. She is looking specifically at the gender dynamics of behaviors, motivations, experiences and consequences of digital...

Student Spotlight: Brett Baker

Brett is a non-traditional student, returning for a Ph.D. after working as a microbiology lab manager at UC Berkeley for almost 10 years. “Re-entry into the classroom was a challenge, to say the least. There are great resources and technology close at hand at U-M that...

Grad Theories

Artem’s post got me thinking about the many truths of grad school. There are, I believe, a few more that he might have missed in favour of thinking about the Bahamas. So I decided to be rebellious and do everything my Ph.D. education is supposed to teach me not to...

Student Spotlight: Nicolette Bruner

“I want to meet people who incorporate diversity and fairness into their work in non-traditional ways. Reconciling differences is a personal mission for me,” Nicolette says when talking about her goals as a member of the Bouchet Honor Society. An inductee this year,...

Student Spotlight: Genevieve Creedon

Few people use Rackham funding for a trip to Disney World, but Gen Creedon did. And to the zoo – fifty of them, in fact. Her research focuses on a comparative literature and cultural study of national parks, zoos and Disney theme parks to consider the history of...

Student Spotlight: Luciana Aenasoaie

Graduate students know the critical need for funding, but few can hold a candle to the urgency experienced by Luciana. “I came to Michigan from Romania with my parents in 1999. They wanted more for me than what Romania seemed to offer at the time. I finished high...

Student Spotlight: Robin Zheng

It’s a good thing Robin likes to travel. Her graduate studies have taken her to conferences around the globe – from Germany to South Africa to Australia to Mexico. Out of one conference on “Diversity in Philosophy” at the University of Dayton, sponsored by the...