Upcoming Doctoral Dissertations

School of Engineering and Science

DISSERTATIONS IN NOVEMBER

November 18, 2026 - Faranak Mankavi

Candidate

Faranak Mankavi

Date

Wednesday, November 18, 2026

Time

12:00 PM (Eastern)

Title

Fabrication and Characterization of Conductive Scaffolds for Localized Electrical Stimulation to Enhance Neuronal Network Formation

Location

Burchard 715

"Repair and manage peripheral nerve injuries particularly those large gap defects remain as significant clinical challenges, where conventional treatments often fail to achieve full functional recovery. Scaffold-guided regeneration of neural tissues paves a promising avenue to repair such nerve damage. In recognition of the unique physicochemical and hierarchical structure of native microenvironment that nerve cells reside, various nano/microfabrication technologies have been explored to recapitulate such complexities in the scaffold design. While recognizing the importance of structural and topological guidance in directional extension of axons and neurites of neuronal cells, the current progress still lacks the combination of topological guidance with localized stimulation for better regeneration." Read more

DISSERTATIONS IN DECEMBER

December 1, 2026 - Zhuzhu Wang

Candidate

Zhuzhu Wang

Date

Tuesday, December 1 , 2026

Time

09:00 AM (Eastern)

Title

Enhancing Power System Frequency Response with HVDC Connected Offshore Wind Farms: Adaptive Control and Coordinated Optimization

Location

Burchard Building 219

"With the increasing penetration of wind energy into modern power systems, conventional synchronous generators are progressively displaced by converter-interfaced generation, resulting in reduced system inertia and weakened frequency response capabilities. As a prominent and rapidly growing source of wind power generation, offshore wind farms (OWFs) connected to onshore power grids through high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) transmission systems have significant potential to provide fast grid frequency support by utilizing their available kinetic energy and power reserves." Read more

To view past Doctoral Dissertations, please visit this website.