Current Dissertation Defenses

September

Candidate: Jasvir K. Pannu
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Mallinson Institute for Science Education
Title: Female Graduate Students’ Experiences and Career Orientations in STEM: A Comparative Case Study
Committee: Dr. Brandy Pleasants, Chair, Dr. William Cobern, Dr. Cathryn Bailey, Dr. Cody Williams
Time/Place: Monday, September 28, 2020, 10 a.m. to noon, Virtual meeting

Candidate: Kelly Vigants
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in College of Education and Human Development
Title: Providing Head Start Services Amid the Global Pandemic: Facilitators and Barriers of Capacity, Resources, and Support for Lead Teachers
Committee: Dr. Andrea Smith, Chair, Dr. Regena Nelson, Dr. June Gothberg
Time/Place: Wednesday, September 30, 2020, 10 a.m. to noon, Virtual meeting

Candidate: Prashanta Mani Niraula
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Physics Title: Enhancement of Critical Current in High Temperature Superconductors by Ion Beam Irradiation Induced Defects
Committee: Dr. Asghar Kayani, Chair, Dr. Arthur McGurn, Dr. Lisa Paulius, Dr. Ulrich Welp
Time/Place: Wednesday, September 30, 2020, 1 to 3 p.m., Virtual meeting

October

Candidate: Megan Michalczak
For the degree of: Doctor of Education
Department: Special Education and Literacy Studies
Title: Let’s Talk Fluency: Elementary Educators’ Perceptions of the Impact and Implementation of Fluency Instruction within the Leveled Literacy Intervention Framework
Committee: Dr. Susan Piazza, Co-Chair, Dr. Elizabeth Isidro, Co-Chair, Dr. Shaila Rao, Dr. Alice Hoekstra
Time/Place: Friday, October 2, 2020, 9 to 11 a.m., Virtual meeting

Candidate: Abdulaziz Alghamdi
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Civil and Construction Engineering
Title: Smaller Construction Firms Safety Culture and Climate: Robust Definition, Indicative Categorization, and Tailored Framework
Committee: Dr. Osama Abudayyeh, Chair, Dr. Xiaoyun Shao, Dr. Ahmed Al-Bayati
Time/Place: Wednesday, October 7, 2020, 9 to 11 a.m., Virtual meeting

Candidate: Sonia Amin
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology
Title: Acculturation, Psychological Well-Being and Substance Use Behaviors in Asian Indian Americans
Committee: Dr. Joseph Morris, Chair, Dr. Mary Z. Anderson, Dr. Chien-Juh Gu
Time/Place: Wednesday, October 7, 2020, Noon to 2 p.m., Virtual meeting

Candidate: Nicole L. Bradford-Love
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Interdisciplinary Health Sciences
Title: Cardiac Electrophysiology: Exploring Gender and Racial Outcomes of Paroxysmal and Persistent Atrial Fibrillation using Sotalol and Dofetilide
Committee: Dr. Kieran Fogarty, Chair, Dr. Amos Aduroja, Dr. Nicole Franklin, Dr. Kate MacPhadren
Time/Place: Thursday, October 8, 2020, 10 a.m. to noon, Virtual meeting

Candidate: Pamela R. Schwallier
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Educational Leadership, Research and Technology
Title: Schools’ Civil Rights Obligations to English Learners: Leadership Perceptions on Key Issues
Committee: Dr. LaSonja Roberts, Chair, Dr. Brett Geier, Dr. Kyle Mayer
Time/Place: Friday, October 9, 2020, 10 a.m. to noon, Virtual meeting

Candidate: Ahmad Ali Khalaif Alshawawreh
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Electrical and Computer Engineering
Title: Fault Location in Transmission Systems Based on Frequency Domain Modeling and the Two-Dimensional Numerical Laplace Transform
Committee: Dr. Pablo Gomez, Chair, Dr. Damon Miller, Dr. Richard Meyer
Time/Place: Friday, October 9, 2020, Noon to 2 p.m., Virtual meeting

Candidate: Paula Dennisse Núñez del Rosario
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Educational Leadership, Research and Technology
Title: Novice Second-Career Teachers: Experiences and Meaning-Making of the Transition Process
Committee: Dr. Regena Nelson, Chair, Dr. Patricia Reeves, Dr. Marica Fetters
Time/Place: Friday, October 9, 2020, Noon to 2 p.m., Virtual meeting

Candidate: Karem Abdelmohsen
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Geological and Environmental Sciences
Title: Response of Deep Aquifers to Climate Variability
Committee: Dr. Mohamed Sultan, Chair, Dr. Matt Reeves, Dr. William Sauck, Dr. Richard Becker
Time/Place: Wednesday, October 21, 2020, 10 a.m. to noon, Virtual meeting

Candidate: Benjamin Sanda
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Electrical and Computer Engineering
Title: Atmospheric Turbulence Distortion in Video: Restoration Utilizing Sparse Analysis
Committee: Dr. Ikhlas Abdel-Qader, Chair, Dr. Bradley Bazuin, Dr. Valerian Kwigizile
Time/Place: Thursday, October 22, 2020, 1 to 3 p.m., Virtual meeting

Candidate: Haider Mohamed Ali Abrahem Al-khafaf
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Electrical and Computer Engineering
Title: Coupled-Inductor Solid-State Circuit Breaker-Based Protection Scheme for MVDC Micro-Grids
Committee: Dr. Johnson Asumadu, Chair, Dr. Pablo Gomez, Dr. Richard Meyer
Time/Place: Thursday, October 22, 2020, 4 to 6 p.m., Virtual meeting

Candidate: Gregory Dee Greenman II 
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy 
Department: Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Evaluation 
Title: Understanding the Influence of Interdisciplinary Research: An Examination of Carol Hirschon Weiss’ Scholarship 
Committee: Dr. Daniela Schröter, Chair, Dr. Kathryn Newcomer, Dr. Michael Harnar 
Time/Place: Friday, October 23, 2020, 2 to 4 p.m., Virtual meeting

Candidate: Fehime Utkan
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Industrial and Entrepreneurial Engineering and Engineering Management
Title: Objectively Determining the Language-Related Communication Challenges for In-Flight Operations
Committee: Dr. Tycho Fredericks, Chair, Dr. Steven Butt, Dr. William Rantz, Dr. Vladimir Risukhin, Dr. Lee Wells
Time/Place: Monday, October 26, 2020, 10 a.m. to noon, Virtual meeting

Candidate: Amer Kais Obaid Aljumaili
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Electrical and Computer Engineering
Title: Automatic Food-Intake Monitoring Based IoT Embedded System for Alzheimer’s Patients
Committee: Dr. Bradley Bazuin, Chair, Dr. Janos Grantner, Dr. Maureen Mickus
Time/Place: Tuesday, October 27, 2020, 1 to 3 p.m.
Due to COVID-19 safety precautions, room capacity is limited to the doctoral committee and invited guests only

Candidate: Miguelina Adelaida Coronado Cornelio
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Educational Leadership, Research and Technology
Title: Implementing a Professional Learning Community in a Private School in the Dominican Republic: An Instrumental Case Study
Committee: Dr. Patricia Reeves, Chair, Dr. Louann Bierlein Palmer, Dr. Lisa Ryan
Time/Place: Wednesday, October 28, 2020, 3 to 5 p.m., Virtual meeting

Candidate: Mohammad Shatnawi
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Mathematics
Title: On the Local Theory of Profinite Groups
Committee: Dr. Clifton Ealy Jr., Chair, Dr. John Martino, Dr. Jeffry Strom, Dr. Justin Lynd
Time/Place: Wednesday, October 28, 2020, 4 to 6 p.m., Virtual meeting

Candidate: Hannah G. Pankratz
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Geological and Environmental Sciences
Title: Monitoring Salt Diapir Related Land Deformation and Distribution: A Geophysical and Remote Sensing Approach Jazan Province, Saudi Arabia
Committee: Dr. Mohamed Sultan, Chair, Dr. William Sauck, Dr. Alan Kehew, Dr. Racha El Kadiri
Time/Place: Thursday, October 29, 2020, 1 to 3 p.m., Virtual meeting

Candidate: Pranav Bhale
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Title: The Effect of Manufacturing on the Crystalline and Magnetic Properties of Ni-Mn-Ga Based Heusler Magnetocaloric Alloys
Committee: Dr. Pnina Ari-Gur, Chair, Dr. Matt Cavalli, Dr. Jinseok Kim, Dr. Yang Ren
Time/Place: Friday, October 30, 2020, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Virtual meeting

Candidate: Kemal Burak Bekircan
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Economics
Title: Safe Haven Currency Behavior and International Monetary Interactions
Committee: Dr. Susan Pozo, Chair, Dr. Mark Wheeler, Dr. Menelik Geremew
Time/Place: Friday, October 30, 2020, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Virtual meeting

Candidate: Esty Haryani
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: The Mallinson Institute for Science Education
Title: Are They Ready? Implementing 21st-Century Learning Skills Integration into Indonesia Science Instruction
Committee: Dr. William Cobern, Chair, Dr. Brandy Pleasants, Dr. Marcia Fetters
Time/Place: Friday, October 30, 2020, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., Virtual meeting

December

Candidate: Keneth Morgan Kwayu
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Civil and Construction Engineering
Title: Data Mining of Unstructured Textual Information in Transportation Safety Domain: Exploring Methods, Opportunities and Limitations
Committee: Dr. Valerian Kwigizile, Chair, Dr. Jun-Seok Oh, Dr. Kevin Lee
Time/Place: Friday, December 4, 2020, Noon to 2 p.m., Virtual meeting

Candidate: Zanovia Tucker
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology
Title: The Lived Experiences of African American Counselors: An Exploration of Their Reactions to Trauma Survivors
Committee: Dr. Glinda Rawls, Chair, Dr. Stephen Craig, Dr. Patricia Reeves
Time/Place: Thursday, December 10, 2020, 3 to 5 p.m., Virtual meeting

Candidate: Bethel McGrew
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Mathematics
Title: From Multi-Prime Labelings to Subset Labelings of Graphs
Committee: Dr. Ping Zhang, Chair, Dr. Gary Chartrand, Dr. Patrick Bennett, Dr. Ebrahim Salehi
Time/Place: Friday, December 18, 2020, 1 to 3 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.