Current Dissertation Defenses
January 2026
Candidate: Irene Kahvazadeh
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Computer Science
Title: Advancing Computational Frontiers in Noisy Quantum Systems with Transformative Quantum Neural Network Classifiers
Committee: Dr. Alvis Fong, Chair, Dr. Elise de Doncker, Dr. Dean Johnson
Time/Place: Tuesday, January 13, 2026, 1 to 3 p.m., Virtual meeting
Candidate: Ariel S. Martin
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Geological and Environmental Sciences
Title: Evaluating the Relationship between Mineralogy and Oxygen Isotope Incorporation in High-temperature Experimental Dolomites
Committee: Dr. Stephen Kaczmarek, Chair, Dr. Sierra Peterson, Dr. Ian Winkelstern, Dr. David Zakharov
Time/Place: Tuesday, January 6, 2026, 2 to 4 p.m., 1710 Sangren Hall
Candidate: Sawyer Osborn
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Mathematics
Title: From Total Domination to Graph Colorings
Committee: Dr. Ping Zhang, Chair, Dr. Gary Chartrand, Dr. Jeffrey Strom, Dr. Ebrahim Salehi
Time/Place: Wednesday, January 14, 2026, 1 to 3 p.m., Virtual meeting
Candidate: Ritabrato Chatterjee
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Mathematics
Title: Ramsey Chains in Graphs
Committee: Dr. Ping Zhang, Chair, Dr. Gary Chartrand, Dr. Jim Zhu, Dr. Dinesh Sarvate
Time/Place: Wednesday, January 21, 2026, 2 to 4 p.m., Virtual meeting
Candidate: Jack Alan Klee
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Public Affairs and Administration
Title: Transparency and Accessibility in State Transportation Performance Reporting: A Systematic Examination of State Department of Transportation Websites Under MAP-21
Committee: Dr. Daniela Schröter, Chair, Dr. Matthew Mingus, Dr. Kevin Corder
Time/Place: Friday, January 30, 2026, 1 to 3 p.m., 3303 Friedmann Hall
February 2026
Candidate: Nitchada Kamlue
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Mathematics
Title: A Systematic Review of How Productive Struggle is Defined in Mathematics Learning Research and an Exploratory Investigation of Prospective Elementary Teachers’ Mathematical Struggle and Progress During Their Whole-Class Discussion of a Peer’s High-Leverage Contribution
Committee: Dr. Laura Van Zoest, Chair, Dr. Theresa Grant, Dr. Jane-Jane Lo, Dr. Mariana Levin, Dr. Hiroko Warshauer
Time/Place: Friday, February 20, 2026, 8:30 to 10:30 a.m., 6625 Everett Tower
Candidate: Juan A. Lopez
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Psychology
Title: Practice Makes Perfect: Behavioral Fluency as a Paradigm for Reducing Pediatric Prehospital Dosing Errors
Committee: Dr. Heather McGee, Chair, Dr. Ron Van Houten, Dr. Jonathan Baker, Dr. John Hoyle, Dr. Jessica Van Stratton
Time/Place: Tuesday, February 24, 2026, Noon to 2 p.m., Virtual meeting
Candidate: Kyle C. VanderWall
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: History
Title: “the Thorns of the most severe virtue”: Education, Religion, and Cultural Power in Michigan, 1798-1855
Committee: Dr. Wilson Warren, Chair, Dr. José António Brandão, Dr. Ángela Pérez-Villa, Dr. Chien Juh Gu
Time/Place: Wednesday, February 25, 2026, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., 2302 Friedmann Hall
Candidate: Dawn M. Smith
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Ph.D. Program
Title: Barriers to Climate Change and Sustainability Action: Nursing Education and Practice
Committee: Dr. Kieran Fogarty, Chair, Dr. Lisa Dechano-Cook, Dr. Teddie Potter
Time/Place: Thursday, February 26, 2026, Noon to 2 p.m., Virtual meeting
Candidate: Latifa Ayad-Hall
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: English
Title: Water, Mud, Ink, Blood
Committee: Thisbe Nissen, M.F.A., Chair, Alen Hamza, Ph.D. , Shonda Buchanan, M.F.A., Sakinah Hofler, Ph.D.
Time/Place: Thursday, February 26, 2026, 2 to 4 p.m., 3025 Brown Hall
Candidate: Morgan Shiver
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: English
Title: Recognizing and Theorizing the Older Other in Children’s Literature and Media
Committee: Dr. Meghann Meeusen, Chair, Dr. Gwen Tarbox, Dr. Jonathan Bush, Dr. Michelle Abate
Time/Place: Friday, February 27, 2026, 3 to 5 p.m., 2408 Dunbar Hall
March 2026
Candidate: Lauren Shibley
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Psychology
Title: The Effects of Fluency Building on Undergraduate Student Performance
Committee: Dr. Heather McGee, Chair, Dr. Alan Poling, Dr. Kate Martini, Dr. Yngvi Einarsson
Time/Place: Monday, March 2, 2026, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., 3715 Wood Hall
Candidate: Kyle Avink
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Educational Leadership, Research and Technology
Title: Exploring the Lived Experiences of Second-Career Educators
Committee: Dr. LaSonja Roberts, Chair, Dr. Jessica Heybach, Dr. Kelly Amshey
Time/Place: Tuesday, March 3, 2026, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Virtual meeting
Previous dissertation defenses have been digitized and archived by the Western Michigan University Libraries ScholarWorks Dissertations page. Use the advance search located on the left side of the page to get dissertations sorted by author, subject, department, year published, and more.