Home Navigating Your Degree Oral Defense Dates Oral Defense Dates Hongfan Chen Program: Mechanical Engineering Dissertation Title: A Physics-Data Hybrid Approach for Probabilistic Sun-to-Earth Space Weather Forecasting in Data-Sparse Settings Date: 10 Nov 2026 Time: 10:30 a.m. Location: ROOM 1642, G.G. BROWN BUILDING (GGBA) Chair: Yang Chen and Xun Huan Anil Bansal Program: Nuc Eng & Radiol Sciences Dissertation Title: Optimizing Electron Cyclotron Resonance Plasma Cathodes for Molecular Species Date: 11 Nov 2026 Time: 3:00 p.m. Location: BAER ROOM-2906 COOLEY Chair: John Edison Foster Firaol Midekssa Program: Biomedical Engineering Dissertation Title: Modular Control of Hydrogel Architecture to Drive Vascularization, Host Integration, and Parenchymal Tissue Support Date: 13 Nov 2026 Time: 1:00 p.m. Location: FMCRB 1050 (FORD MOTOR COMPANY ROBOTICS BUILDING, ROOM 1050) Chair: Brendon Baker Yun-Huai Kuo Program: Chemical Engineering Dissertation Title: Central Nervous System Anchoring Enables Efficient, Ultra-Long-Lived Drug Delivery and Targeted Date: 13 Nov 2026 Time: 2:00 p.m. Location: NCRC B10 RESEARCH AUDITORIUM Chair: Peter Tessier Ruoliu Zhang Program: Biomedical Engineering Dissertation Title: Miniaturized MEMS-Based Dual-Axis Confocal Endomicroscope for In Vivo EGFR-Targeted Imaging of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Date: 18 Nov 2026 Time: 10:00 a.m. Location: NCRC10 ACR1 Chair: James David Weiland Cynthia Zajac Program: Bioinformatics Dissertation Title: Single-Nucleus Transcriptomics and Regulatory Genomics in the Danforth Short Tail Mouse Date: 18 Nov 2026 Time: 2:00 p.m. Location: MEDICAL SCIENCE 2 2710 FURSTENBERG Chair: Stephen Cj Parker Justin Ting Program: Electrical & Computer Engineer Dissertation Title: Computational Models of Sensorimotor Behavior based in Stochastic Control Theory Date: 19 Nov 2026 Time: 10:00 a.m. Location: GGBL2540 + (HTTPS://UMICH.ZOOM.US/J/99506208174) Chair: Lisa Li Angeliz Soto Acevedo Program: Chemistry Dissertation Title: Engineering Genetically Encoded Fluorescent Integrators for Multiplexed Analyte Detection Date: 19 Nov 2026 Time: 12:00 p.m. Location: MICHIGAN LEAGUE – HENDERSON ROOM Chair: Wenjing Wang Lindsey Dehaan Program: Earth & Environmental Sciences Dissertation Title: Morphological Diversification of Fishes in the Wake of Ecological Opportunity: Insights from a Combination of Paleontological and Neontological Data Date: 20 Nov 2026 Time: 9:00 a.m. Location: NUB 2540 Chair: Matt Friedman Alice Mei Program: Mechanical Engineering Dissertation Title: Synthetic Data Generation for Scalable and Evolvable Decision-Making in Smart Manufacturing Date: 20 Nov 2026 Time: 10:30 a.m. Location: OBERT H. LURIE ENGINEERING CENTER, ROOM 4231; ZOOM: HTTPS://UMICH.ZOOM.US/J/99291206171 Chair: Chenhui Shao Evangelos Dikopoulos Program: Electrical & Computer Engineer Dissertation Title: CMOS Quantum-Inspired Solver Architectures and Circuits for Combinatorial Optimization Leveraging Continuous-Time Dynamical Systems Date: 20 Nov 2026 Time: 12:00 p.m. Location: 3316 EECS Chair: Michael Flynn Niloufar Pouyan Program: Neuroscience Dissertation Title: In the Senses of the Beholder: Sensory Sensitivity and Its Modulation in Psychedelic-Induced Altered States of Consciousness Date: 20 Nov 2026 Time: 1:00 p.m. Location: DANTO AUDITORIUM Chair: Steven Edward Harte and George A Mashour Cecilia Spesia Program: Pharmaceutical Sciences Dissertation Title: Optimization of Brain-shuttling Antibodies for Safe Repeat Administration and Long-term Efficacy Date: 23 Nov 2026 Time: 10:00 a.m. Location: NCRC BUILDING 10 RESEARCH AUDITORIUM Chair: Peter Tessier Dongjae Shin Program: Materials Science & Engin Dissertation Title: Density-Controlled Ion Transport in Amorphous Metal Oxides Date: 23 Nov 2026 Time: 12:00 p.m. Location: 2000 PML Chair: Yiyang Li Renjun Hu Program: Business Administration Dissertation Title: From Customer Information to Operational Decisions: Representation, Acquisition, and Learning in Retail Date: 23 Nov 2026 Time: 4:00 p.m. Location: ZOOM: HTTPS://UMICH.ZOOM.US/J/99878106728 Chair: Hyun-Soo Ahn and Lennart Baardman Contact Academic Records and Dissertations Hours: Academic Records and Dissertations is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The office is closed Saturdays and Sundays and on the following holidays: Thanksgiving (Thursday and the following Friday), Christmas through New Year’s, Memorial Day, Independence Day (July 4), and Labor Day. Location 0120 Rackham Building 915 East Washington Street Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1070 Contact Phone: 734.763.0171 Fax: 734.936.3335 Email: [email protected]
Hongfan Chen Program: Mechanical Engineering Dissertation Title: A Physics-Data Hybrid Approach for Probabilistic Sun-to-Earth Space Weather Forecasting in Data-Sparse Settings Date: 10 Nov 2026 Time: 10:30 a.m. Location: ROOM 1642, G.G. BROWN BUILDING (GGBA) Chair: Yang Chen and Xun Huan
Anil Bansal Program: Nuc Eng & Radiol Sciences Dissertation Title: Optimizing Electron Cyclotron Resonance Plasma Cathodes for Molecular Species Date: 11 Nov 2026 Time: 3:00 p.m. Location: BAER ROOM-2906 COOLEY Chair: John Edison Foster
Firaol Midekssa Program: Biomedical Engineering Dissertation Title: Modular Control of Hydrogel Architecture to Drive Vascularization, Host Integration, and Parenchymal Tissue Support Date: 13 Nov 2026 Time: 1:00 p.m. Location: FMCRB 1050 (FORD MOTOR COMPANY ROBOTICS BUILDING, ROOM 1050) Chair: Brendon Baker
Yun-Huai Kuo Program: Chemical Engineering Dissertation Title: Central Nervous System Anchoring Enables Efficient, Ultra-Long-Lived Drug Delivery and Targeted Date: 13 Nov 2026 Time: 2:00 p.m. Location: NCRC B10 RESEARCH AUDITORIUM Chair: Peter Tessier
Ruoliu Zhang Program: Biomedical Engineering Dissertation Title: Miniaturized MEMS-Based Dual-Axis Confocal Endomicroscope for In Vivo EGFR-Targeted Imaging of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Date: 18 Nov 2026 Time: 10:00 a.m. Location: NCRC10 ACR1 Chair: James David Weiland
Cynthia Zajac Program: Bioinformatics Dissertation Title: Single-Nucleus Transcriptomics and Regulatory Genomics in the Danforth Short Tail Mouse Date: 18 Nov 2026 Time: 2:00 p.m. Location: MEDICAL SCIENCE 2 2710 FURSTENBERG Chair: Stephen Cj Parker
Justin Ting Program: Electrical & Computer Engineer Dissertation Title: Computational Models of Sensorimotor Behavior based in Stochastic Control Theory Date: 19 Nov 2026 Time: 10:00 a.m. Location: GGBL2540 + (HTTPS://UMICH.ZOOM.US/J/99506208174) Chair: Lisa Li
Angeliz Soto Acevedo Program: Chemistry Dissertation Title: Engineering Genetically Encoded Fluorescent Integrators for Multiplexed Analyte Detection Date: 19 Nov 2026 Time: 12:00 p.m. Location: MICHIGAN LEAGUE – HENDERSON ROOM Chair: Wenjing Wang
Lindsey Dehaan Program: Earth & Environmental Sciences Dissertation Title: Morphological Diversification of Fishes in the Wake of Ecological Opportunity: Insights from a Combination of Paleontological and Neontological Data Date: 20 Nov 2026 Time: 9:00 a.m. Location: NUB 2540 Chair: Matt Friedman
Alice Mei Program: Mechanical Engineering Dissertation Title: Synthetic Data Generation for Scalable and Evolvable Decision-Making in Smart Manufacturing Date: 20 Nov 2026 Time: 10:30 a.m. Location: OBERT H. LURIE ENGINEERING CENTER, ROOM 4231; ZOOM: HTTPS://UMICH.ZOOM.US/J/99291206171 Chair: Chenhui Shao
Evangelos Dikopoulos Program: Electrical & Computer Engineer Dissertation Title: CMOS Quantum-Inspired Solver Architectures and Circuits for Combinatorial Optimization Leveraging Continuous-Time Dynamical Systems Date: 20 Nov 2026 Time: 12:00 p.m. Location: 3316 EECS Chair: Michael Flynn
Niloufar Pouyan Program: Neuroscience Dissertation Title: In the Senses of the Beholder: Sensory Sensitivity and Its Modulation in Psychedelic-Induced Altered States of Consciousness Date: 20 Nov 2026 Time: 1:00 p.m. Location: DANTO AUDITORIUM Chair: Steven Edward Harte and George A Mashour
Cecilia Spesia Program: Pharmaceutical Sciences Dissertation Title: Optimization of Brain-shuttling Antibodies for Safe Repeat Administration and Long-term Efficacy Date: 23 Nov 2026 Time: 10:00 a.m. Location: NCRC BUILDING 10 RESEARCH AUDITORIUM Chair: Peter Tessier
Dongjae Shin Program: Materials Science & Engin Dissertation Title: Density-Controlled Ion Transport in Amorphous Metal Oxides Date: 23 Nov 2026 Time: 12:00 p.m. Location: 2000 PML Chair: Yiyang Li
Renjun Hu Program: Business Administration Dissertation Title: From Customer Information to Operational Decisions: Representation, Acquisition, and Learning in Retail Date: 23 Nov 2026 Time: 4:00 p.m. Location: ZOOM: HTTPS://UMICH.ZOOM.US/J/99878106728 Chair: Hyun-Soo Ahn and Lennart Baardman
