Recent Ph.D. Degrees and Dissertation Titles
Ph.D. candidates work closely with faculty members to earn their degree. Before being awarded their degree, they must submit a dissertation based on the research work they have conducted. The list below names recent Ph.D. awardees along with their faculty advisors and dissertation titles.
2020 to date
| Student | Faculty Advisor |
Dissertation Title |
| Elena Pandres | Vincent Holmberg | Synthesis, Assembly, and Integration of Semiconductor Nanowires |
| Emily Ruskowitz | Cole DeForest | Photochemical and Logic-Based Regulation over the Cellular Microenvironment |
| Ryan Stoddard | Hugh Hillhouse | Development of Stable, High Optoelectronic Quality Perovskites Using Photoluminescence, Photoconductivity, and Machine Learning |
| Le Zhen | Buddy D. Ratner | Immunomodulatory porous regenerative scar-free scaffolds for in-situ vascular engineering |
2019
| Student | Faculty Advisor |
Dissertation Title |
| Steven Adelmund | Cole DeForest | Bioorthogonal Photochemistry: Enabling Spatiotemporally Resolved Proteomics & Dynamic Materials |
| Barry Badeau | Cole DeForest | Logical Control over Biomaterial Properties through Boolean Responsive Linkers |
| Wesley Beckner | Jim Pfaendtner | Ionic Liquid Design Using Molecular Simulation and Statistical Methods |
| James Clark | Hugh Hillhouse | Earth-Abundant Thin-Film Devices for Photovoltaic and Electrochemical Applications |
| Chad Curtis | Elizabeth Nance | Trajectory features as surrogate measures of the nanoparticle-microenvironment interaction space |
| Neal Dawson-Elli | Venkat Subramanian | The Role of Data Science in Numerical Modeling of Lithium Ion Batteries |
| Yi-Ting Lee | Lilo Pozzo | Unravelling Synthesis and Transport Phenomena in Emulsion Systems with Small Angle Scattering |
| Erik Liu | Shaoyi Jiang | Development of Mixed-Charge EK Polypeptides for Protein Protection |
| Yanbo Qi | Daniel Schwartz & Venkat Subramanian | Model-based Graded Electrode Design for Lithium-ion Batteries |
| Jared Shadish | Cole DeForest | Exploiting Chemoenzymatic and Photochemical Reactions to Control 4D Protein Presentation in Cell-Laden Hydrogels |
| Joshua Smith | Shaoyi Jiang & Jim Pfaendtner | Coupling molecular dynamics and machine learning to accelerate the design of bioinspired materials |
2018
| Student | Faculty Advisor | Dissertation Title |
| Ian Braly | Hugh Hillhouse | Optoelectronic Quality and Stability of Hybrid Perovskites Determined by Steady-State Luminescence Techniques |
| Daniel David Galvan | Qiuming Yu | Improved Performance in Plasmonic Biosensors for Bacterial Detection Through Dielectric Conditioning and Dielectrophoretic Enhancement |
| Razieh Khalifehzadeh | Buddy D. Ratner | Flourination of Poly(lactides) as a Path to Enhanced Hemocompatability |
| Matthew Murbach | Daniel T. Schwartz | Linear and Nonlinear Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy for Lithium-Ion Batteries |
| Karl Oleson | Daniel T. Schwartz | Extractives of Douglas-fir and Their Implications for Biofuel Saccharification |
| Arushi Prakash | Jim Pfaendtner | Understanding Self-Assembly in Solution and at Interfaces Using All-Atom Molecular Dynamics Simulations and Enhanced Sampling Methods |
| Jessica Soto-Rodriguez | François Baneyx | Solid binding peptides: applications in affinity protein purification and bioprotonic devices |
| Honorio Valdes | Eric Stuve | An assessment of alkali metal-O2 chemistry; perspectives and prospectives |
| William E. Voje | James Carothers | Design of gRNA Expression Systems and Characterization of CRISPR Transcriptional Networks in Saccharomyces cerevisiae |
| Yuyin Xi | Lilo Pozzo | Structure Engineering of Self- and Directed-Assembled Conjugated Polymers |
| Peng Zhang | Shaoyi Jiang | Improving Safety and Efficacy of Protein Therapeutics by Chemical Modifications |
2017
| Student | Faculty Advisor | Dissertation Title |
| Tao Bai | Shaoyi Jiang | Developing Zwitterionic Hydrogel for Biomedical Applications |
| Matt Crane | Peter Pauzaskie | Laser Induced Heat and Momentum Transfer in Nanomaterial Processing |
| Kyle Caldwell | John C. Berg | Adhesion and Interphase Properties of Reinforced Polymeric Composites |
| Alexey Gilman | Mary Lidstrom & David Beck | Development of a Promising Methanotrophic Bacterium as an Industrial Biocatalyst |
| Elisa T. Harrison | David Castner | Combining Surface Analytical and Computational Techniques to Investigate Orientation Effects of Immobilized Proteins |
| John Katahara | Hugh Hillhouse | Iluminating the Potential of Thin-Film Photovoltaics |
| Karl J. Kerr | Jonathan Posner | Isotachophoresis Enhanced Point-of-Care Assays for Clinical Diagnostics |
| Janet Bickford Matsen | Mary Lidstrom | Genomics, Transcriptomics, and Statistical/Machine Learning to Enhance Understanding of Methantrophic Microbial Metabolism in Isolates and Communities |
| Manan Pathak | Venkat Subramanian | Model-based Battery Management Systems: From Theory to Practice |
| Kayla Gaye Sprenger | Jim Pfaendtner | Development and Use of Molecular Simulation Tools to Study the Structure and Function of Biomolecules at Interfaces |
2016
|
Student |
Faculty Advisor |
Dissertation Title |
|---|---|---|
| Mark D. Borysiak | Jonathan Posner | Nucleic Acid Diagnostics Using Isotachophoresis and Loop-mediated Isothermal Amplification |
| Trevor Braun | Daniel T. Schwartz | Remote Control Electrodeposition: Patterning on Substrates without Electrical Connections |
| Blake R. Hough |
Daniel T. Schwartz Jim Pfaendtner |
Computational Approaches and Tools for Modeling Biomass Pyrolysis |
| James M. Lownsbury | Charles Campbell | Adsorption Calorimetry for Energy Conversion Technologies |
|
Edward Michor |
John Berg | The Effects of Reverse Micelles on Charging Behavior in Apolar Media |
|
Brian Swift |
François Baneyx |
Engineering Solid Binding Proteins for the Biofabrication of Environmentally Friendly Multi-functional Quantum Dots |
|
Fang Sun |
Shaoyi Jiang | Developing Multifunctional Surface Chemistry for Plasmonic Biosensing in Complex Media |
2015
|
Student |
Faculty Advisor |
Dissertation Title |
|---|---|---|
|
Andrew Collord |
Hugh Hillhouse | High-Throughput Exploration of Defect Passivation Strategies for Kesterite Photovoltaics |
|
Charlie Corredor |
Jonathan Posner | Methods to Assess Presence and Biological Impact of Engineered Nanoparticles |
| Kelly Fleming | Jim Pfaendtner |
New Solution to an Old Problem: Exploring Properties of Chemical Reactions in Condensed Phases Using Molecular Simulation |
|
Pablo De La Iglesia |
Lilo Pozzo |
Structure-Property Relationships of Self-Assembled Conjugated Polymers |
|
Julee A. Floyd |
Buddy Ratner |
Drug Encapsulated Aerosolized Microspheres as a Biodegradable, Intelligent Glioma Therapy |
| Rami Foster | David G. Castner |
Using Surface Analysis to Investigate how Adsorbed Protein Structure Changes with Controlled Changes in Surface Chemistry: A Case Study Involving Bare & Sodium Styrene Sulfonate-Grafted Gold Surface |
|
Matthew M. Gacek |
John Berg |
Surfactant mediated acid-base particle charging inapolar media |
|
Ye-Jin Hwang |
Samson Jenekhe |
Studies of conjugated semiconductors for electronics and optoelectronics |
| Vance Jaeger | Jim Pfaendtner | Developing a Simulation Framework for Modeling Biomolecules in Ionic Liquids |
|
James F. Matthaei |
François Baneyx |
Two-Dimensional Protein Arrays: De Novo Design and Applications |
|
Ann K. Nowinski |
Shaoyi Jiang |
Developing Low Fouling Peptides and Zwitterionic Materials |
| Beau Richardson | Qiuming Yu |
Studies of Pyrite FeS2 Nanocyrstals and Plasmonic Nanostructures for Low Cost and High Efficiency Inverted Bulk Heterojunction Photovoltaic Cells |
|
Amanda L. Smith |
Mary Lidstrom |
Development of a novel carbon fixation pathway enabled by protein engineering |
|
Weiran Zhang |
François Baneyx |
Signal peptide and chaperone engineering for secretion and excretion in Escherichia coli |
| Leize Zhu | Qiuming Yu |
Efficient, Low-Cost Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Solar cells via Maternials, Interface, and Device Structure Design |
2014
|
Student |
Faculty Advisor |
Dissertation Title |
|---|---|---|
|
Norman D. Brault |
Shaoyi Jiang |
Multifunctional Zwitterionic Surface Chemistry for Applications in Complex |
|
Patrick R. Burney |
Jim Pfaendtner |
Molecular Modeling of Protein Stability and Conformation Preference in Ionic Liquids |
|
Helen C. Chen |
Hong Shen |
Control of endosomal Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling by nanoparticles and applications in cancer therapy |
|
Brandon L. Coyle |
François Baneyx |
Solid-binding Proteins for Modification of Inorganic Substrates |
|
Michael A. Deighan |
Jim Pfaendtner |
Simulating Protein Adsorption Phenomena for Experimental Comparison |
|
Taeshik Earmme |
Samson Jenekhe |
Studies of Solution-Processed Organic Light-Emitting Diodes and All-Polymer Solar Cells |
|
Tim C. Geary |
Stuart Adler |
Lanthanum Ferrite-Based Mixed-Conducting Electrodes for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells and Electrolyzers |
|
Bo Hu |
Mary Lidstrom |
Metabolic Engineering of the ethylmalonyl-CoA pathway in M. extorquens AM1 for 1-butanol Production |
|
Timothy J. McDonald |
Stuart Adler |
Characterization and Modeling of La{1-x}Sr{x}CoO {3-delta} Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Cathodes Using Nonlinear Electrochemical Impedance Techniques |
|
Luo Mi |
Shaoyi Jiang |
Molecular Engineering Approaches against Germs, Spores and Biofilm Formation |
|
Gregory M. Newbloom |
Lilo Pozzo |
Engineering the Multi-Length Scale Structure of Self-Assembled Conjugated Polymer Networks |
|
Jeffrey J. Richards |
Lilo Pozzo |
Structural Characterization of Composite Thin-film and Dispersed Phase Conjugated Polymer/Fullerene Composites |
|
Benjamin H. Rutz |
John Berg |
Improvement of Mechanical Properties of Polymeric Composites |
|
Qing Shao |
Shaoyi Jiang |
Understanding Properties of Zwitterionic Materials from Their Molecular Structures |
|
Trent Silbaugh |
Charles Campbell |
Thermodynamics and Kinetics of Elementary Surface Reaction Steps in Catalysis by Single Crystal Adsorption Calorimetry |
|
Christopher A. Wolcott |
Charles Campbell |
Energetics of Elementary Steps in Catalysis and Their Use to Search for New Catalysts |
|
Wei Yang |
Shaoyi Jiang |
Zwitterionic Poly(carboxybetaine) Materials for Blood-Contacting Medical Devices and Nanoparticles |
|
Xi Zhan |
Hong Shen |
Engineering blend particle delivery platform for subunit vaccines against mucosally transmitted viral infections |
2013
|
Student |
Faculty Advisor |
Dissertation Title |
|---|---|---|
|
David Y. Chiu |
James Bryers |
Evaluation of Calcium Phosphate Nanoparticles Mineralized with Proteins and Peptides for Use as Adjuvants in Protein and Nucleic Acid Vaccines |
|
Tyler A. House |
Daniel Schwartz |
Simulations of Steady Streaming Flows and the Time-Averaged Motion of Inertial Particles |
|
Andrew J. Keefe |
Shaoyi Jiang |
Discovery and Development of Synthetic and Natural Biomaterials for Protein Therapeutics and Medical Device Applications |
|
Lakshmi S. Kocherlakota |
Rene Overney |
Interfacial and Transport Properties of Nanoconstrained Inorganic and Organic Materials |
|
Ikechuwu Nwaneshiudu |
Daniel Schwartz |
Tailoring Polymer Micro-extraction Phases to Enhance the Sensitivity and Selectivity of Raman Spectroscopy |
|
Monica Ospinal-Jiminez |
Lilo Pozzo |
Engineering protein electrophoresis through surfactant design: The role of nanostructure |
|
Guoqiang Ren |
Samson Jenekhe |
Studies of Organic Semiconductor Nanostructures and Their Photovoltaic Applications |
|
Michael A. Robinson |
David Castner |
Chemical Analysis of Cells and Tissues with Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry |
|
Andrew D. White |
Shaoyi Jiang |
Modeling Nonspecific Interactions at Biological Interfaces |
|
Christina S. Yacoob |
Hong Shen |
Particle Fabrication and delivery systems for controlled release of bumped kinase inhibitors (BKIs) for malaria transmission blocking |
