New Dissertations Available in the Library

The Graduate School is pleased to announce new dissertations are now available in the J.R. van Pelt and Opie Library from the following programs:

  • Biological Sciences
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Chemical Engineering
  • Chemistry
  • Civil Engineering
  • Environmental Engineering
  • Forest Science
  • Geology
  • Materials Science and Engineering
  • Mathematical Sciences
  • Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
  • Rhetoric and Technical Communication


Zeyad Ahmed
Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Engineering
Advisor: David W Hand
Dissertation title: The Quantification of the Fly Ash Adsorption Capacity for the Purpose of Characterization and Use in Concrete

Abdallah Al-Habahbeh
Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematical Sciences
Co-Advisors: Franz Xaver Tanner and Kathleen Anne Feigl
Dissertation title: Simulations of Newtonian and Non-Newtonian Flows in Deformable Tubes

John Armstead
Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
Advisor: Scott Andrew Miers
Dissertation title: Novel Automotive Waste Heat Recovery Techniques

Justin Carlson
Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical Engineering
Advisor: Surendra K Kawatra
Dissertation title: Beneficiation of High-MgO Sedimentary Phosphate Ores

Felicia Chong
Doctor of Philosophy in Rhetoric and Technical Communication
Advisor: Karla Marie Kitalong
Dissertation title: How Do We Teach Usability? An Investigation of Usability Instruction in Technical Communication

Mary Christiansen
Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering
Advisor: Lawrence L Sutter
Dissertation title: An Investigation of Waste Glass-Based Geopolymers Supplemented with Alumina

Rudiger Escobar Wolf
Doctor of Philosophy in Geology
Advisor: William I Rose
Dissertation title: Volcanic Processes and Human Exposure as Elements to Build a Risk Model for Volcan de Fuego, Guatemala

Kristen Gabby
Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical Engineering
Advisor: Timothy C Eisele
Dissertation title: Selective Mercury Sequestration from a Silver/Mercury Cyanide Solution

Aytug Gencoglu
Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical Engineering
Advisor: Adrienne Robyn Minerick
Dissertation title: Effects of Ion Limiting Conditions on the Behavior of Microfluidic Devices

Rabi Gyawali
Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Engineering
Co-Advisors: Veronica Webster Griffis and David W Watkins
Dissertation title: A Hydro-Climatic Modeling Framework for Adaptive Water Resources Management in the Great Lakes Basin

Na Hu
Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry
Advisor: Sarah A Green
Dissertation title: Acetyl Radical in Tobacco Smoke: Detection, Quantification and Simulation

Sapna Kumari
Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematical Sciences
Co-Advisors: Huann-Sheng Chen and Hairong Wei
Dissertation title: Identification of Genes Controlling Biological Processes and Pathways Through Statistical Analysis and Network Reconstruction

Kaela Leonard
Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical Engineering
Advisor: Adrienne Robyn Minerick
Dissertation title: Alternating Current Dielectrophoretic Manipulation of Erythrocytes in Medical Microdevice Technology

Julian Mills-Beale
Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering
Advisor: Zhanping You
Dissertation title: Characterization of Asphalt Materials Containing Bio Oil from Michigan Wood

Ali Mirchi
Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering
Advisor: David W Watkins
Dissertation title: System Dynamics Modeling as a Quantitative-Qualitative Framework for Sustainable Water Resources Management: Insights for Water Quality Policy in the Great Lakes Region

Bryan Murray
Doctor of Philosophy in Forest Science
Advisor: Christopher Raymond Webster
Dissertation title: Spatial and Temporal Patterns in Ungulate-Ecosystem Interactions

Matthew Nielsen
Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering
Advisor: Megan C Frost
Dissertation title: Development of Optically Based pH Sensing Hydrogel and Controlled Nitric Oxide Release Polymer

Michael Pyrkosz
Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
Advisor: Charles D Van Karsen
Dissertation title: Reverse Engineering the Structural and Acoustic Behavior of a Stradivari Violin

Joanna Schreiber
Doctor of Philosophy in Rhetoric and Technical Communication
Advisor: M Ann Brady
Dissertation title: Scientific Management Systems as Enframing or Empowering: How Lean and Six Sigma Define Technical Communication

Xiaobo Song
Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
Co-Advisors: Jeffrey Donald Naber and John H Johnson
Dissertation title: A SCR Model Based on Reactor and Engine Experimental Studies for a Cu-zeolite Catalyst

Brett Spigarelli
Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical Engineering
Advisor: Surendra K Kawatra
Dissertation title: A Novel Approach to Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage

Srinivasa Rao Sripathi
Doctor of Philosophy in Biological Sciences
Co-Advisors: Wan Jin Jahng and Ramakrishna Wusirika
Dissertation title: Biochemical and Cellular Mechanisms of Retina and Retinal Pigment Epithelial Apoptosis

Harsha Surenahalli
Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
Co-Advisors: Gordon G Parker and John H Johnson
Dissertation title: Dynamic Model Based State Estimation in a Heavy Duty Diesel After treatment System for Onboard Diagnostics and Controls

Nina Tyminska
Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry
Co-Advisors: Marta Wloch and Loredana Valenzano
Dissertation title: Modern Computational Chemistry Methods for Prediction of Ground- and Excited-State Properties in Open-Shell Systems

Lisa Watrous
Doctor of Philosophy in Rhetoric and Technical Communication
Co-Advisors: Patricia J Sotirin and Stephen Thomas Pluhacek
Dissertation title: Living with Differences: From Everyday Fundamentalisms to Invitational Communication

Huan Yang
Doctor of Philosophy in Biological Sciences
Advisor: Jason Robert Carter
Dissertation title: Influences of 24-Hour Sleep Deprivation on Cardiovascular and Neural Control at Rest and During Stress Tests in Humans

Junqing Zhang
Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Science and Engineering
Advisor: Yun Hang Hu
Dissertation title: Properties and Structures of Li-N Based Hydrogen Storage Materials