Current Dissertation Defenses
May 2026
Candidate: Sanjoy Kumar Bhowmik
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Civil and Construction Engineering
Title: Strategies for Extending the Service Life of Prestressed Concrete I-Shaped Beams
Committee: Dr. Upul Attanayake, Chair, Dr. Yufeng Hu, Dr. Jinseok Kim, Dr. Purushotham Pakala
Time/Place: Monday, May 11, 2026, 9 to 11 a.m., G-209 Floyd Hall, Parkview Campus
Candidate: Yu Cheng
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Political Science
Title: Bringing the State to the Villages: Poverty Alleviation and Local Governance in Rural China
Committee: Dr. Yuan-kang Wang, Chair, Dr. Priscilla Lambert, Dr. Jim Butterfield, Dr. Xingmiu Liao
Time/Place: Monday, May 11, 2026, 10 a.m. to noon, Virtual meeting
Candidate: Heather Staal
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Ph.D. Program
Title: Personal and High-Intensity Gait Factors Associated with Balance and Walking Improvement with Outpatient Stroke Rehabilitation: A Retrospective Study
Committee: Dr. Diane Dirette, Chair, Dr. Rob Lyerla, Dr. Amy Yorke
Time/Place: Monday, May 11, 2026, Noon to 2 p.m., Virtual meeting
Candidate: Ali Schroeder
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Psychology
Title: PORTL as a Teaching Tool for Applied Skills in Adult Learners
Committee: Dr. Stephanie Peterson, Chair, Dr. Alan Poling, Dr. Traci Cihon, Dr. Jennifer McComas
Time/Place: Monday, May 11, 2026, 2 to 4 p.m., 1509 Wood Hall
Candidate: Md Sanyat Rabby
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Mallinson Institute for Science Education
Title: Inclusive Teaching in College-Level STEM: Tensions Between Instructors’ Beliefs, Values, and Classroom Practices
Committee: Dr. Brandy Pleasants, Co-Chair, Dr. Charles Henderson, Co-Chair, Dr. Heather Petcovic, Dr. Ernest Behringer
Time/Place: Monday, May 11, 2026, 6 to 8 p.m., 1408 Wood Hall
Candidate: Sophia Khan
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: English
Title: The Unreal City
Committee: Thisbe Nissen, M.F.A., Chair, Alen Hamza, Ph.D., Jil Larson, Ph.D., Hannah Lillith Assadi, M.F.A.
Time/Place: Tuesday, May 12, 2026, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., 2033 Brown Hall
Candidate: Elisa A. Ortega-Schultz
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
College: Education and Human Development
Title: Walking the Path of Conocimiento: Understanding and Navigating Workplace Conflict Through a Chicana Feminist Lens
Committee: Dr. Adam Manley, Chair, Dr. Beixi Li, Dr. Melba Vélez Ortiz
Time/Place: Wednesday, May 13, 2026, 9 to 11 a.m., Virtual meeting
Candidate: Austen Thomas
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Title: Investigating the Impact of Electrical Facility Effects on Time-Resolved Behavior in Hall Effect Thrusters
Committee: Dr. Kristina Lemmer, Chair, Dr. Nicholas Taylor, Dr. John Williams, Dr. Joshua Rovey
Time/Place: Wednesday, May 13, 2026, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., D-208 Floyd Hall, Parkview Campus
Candidate: Erica Michelle Fernandes
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Ph.D. Program
Title: Predicting Clinical Outcomes of Non-specific Low Back Pain by Studying the Interaction of Clinical and Demographic Factors of a Retrospective Data Set
Committee: Dr. Diane Dirette, Chair, Dr. Rob Lyerla, Dr. Kieran Fogarty, Dr. Alessander Santos
Time/Place: Wednesday, May 13, 2026, Noon to 2 p.m., Virtual meeting
Candidate: Amanda E. Scott
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: English
Title: The First Museum
Committee: Thisbe Nissen, M.F.A., Chair, Allen Webb, Ph.D., Alen Hamza, Ph.D., Rajiv Mohabir, Ph.D.
Time/Place: Wednesday, May 13, 2026, 2 to 4 p.m., 3025 Brown Hall
Candidate: Darryl Jent
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Mathematics
Title: Reduced Product Type Monoid-Module Extensions
Committee: Dr. Jeffrey Strom, Chair, Dr. John Martino, Dr. Timothy Clark, Dr. Nicholas Scoville
Time/Place: Thursday, May 14, 2026, Noon to 2 p.m., 6625 Everett Tower
Candidate: Abdullah Tarek Mohmmad Ibrahim
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Geological and Environmental Sciences
Title: Cenozoic Extensional Tectonism in NE Africa: Insights on Neotectonics, Strain Accommodation and Landscape Evolution
Committee: Dr. Mohammad Sultan, Chair, Dr. Peter Voice, Dr. Neil Sturchio
Time/Place: Wednesday May 20, 2026, 2 to 4 p.m., Virtual meeting
June 2026
Candidate: Samantha Strine
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Sociology
Title: Bridging the Gap: Action-Oriented vs. Community-Minded Mentalities and Behaviors in Cold Case Investigation Units
Committee: Dr. Barry Goetz, Chair, Dr. Ashlyn Kuersten, Dr. Ronald Kramer, Dr. Beixi Li
Time/Place: Wednesday, June 17, 2026, 1 to 3 p.m., Virtual meeting
Candidate: Patrick Clouse
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Mallinson Institute for Science Education
Title: The Impact of Using History on Learning in Physics Laboratory Settings
Committee: Dr. David Rudge, Chair, Dr. Cody Williams, Dr. Diana Sachmpazidi
Time/Place: Tuesday, June 30, 2026, 6 to 8 p.m., 1408 Wood Hall
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.