Upcoming Doctoral Dissertations

"In this dissertation, I have studied the generation, manipulation, and applications of optical temporal modes for quantum information processing (QIP). The objective is to overcome some challenges facing classical approaches due to signal contamination by background noise, strong losses, and timing jitter of the measuring electronics. In this pursuit, we have demonstrated QIP applications using a variety of temporal mode measurement techniques, including time-correlated single-photon counting (TCSPC), quantum parametric mode sorting, and those with single-photon detector arrays." Read more

"The growing adoption of smart home platforms has brought convenience and automation, but also exposed critical security vulnerabilities at the edge, where device integrations and message flows occur. This dissertation systematically investigates and mitigates previously unexplored attack surfaces in smart home systems across two key dimensions: edge driver exploitation and IoT message delays." Read more

"Early and reliable diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease is challenging due to the complex interactions between protein pathology and structural neurodegeneration. The aim of the research is to develop a multiphysics framework that predicts the effect of Alzheimer’s disease on brain shape changes to distinguish between healthy and accelerated aging. As a result, we developed a framework that couples the progression of neurotoxic proteins and local tissue volume loss to capture essential hallmark features of dementia." Read more

"Traditional cementitious materials exhibit excellent compressive strength but suffer from low flexural strength and toughness. In addition, their high carbon emissions and thermal conductivity contribute to energy-intensive and environmentally unsustainable construction practices. To address these limitations, this research draws inspiration from natural materials, aiming to replicate their unique structure to improve the flexural strength, toughness, sustainability, and multifunctionality of cementitious systems. This dissertation is organized into two main research thrusts." Read more

"This dissertation presents a comprehensive investigation into the thermal transport properties of two-dimensional (2D) materials, with a focus on how strain engineering can modulate phonon and electron transport. A combination of experimental fabrication, advanced characterization, and first principles simulations was employed to uncover the underlying mechanisms governing heat and charge conduction in low-dimensional systems." Read more

"Nitro compounds are widely used in pharmaceutical, mining, and defense industries. Their high solubility, chemical stability, and resistance to degradation contribute to their persistence in industrial wastewater. This poses significant environmental and public health risks. This dissertation evaluates biochar-supported nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI-BC) composites as a sustainable treatment technology for nitro compound removal from aqueous systems. Nitroglycerin (NG), commonly found in both pharmaceutical and munitions wastewater, was selected as a model compound." Read more

"The three essays presented in my dissertation examine how gender empowerment, managerial strategy, and financial innovation shape firm outcomes under market and political uncertainty. Together, these essays contribute to a deeper understanding of how social progress, executive decision-making, and financial market developments interact to influence corporate behavior and performance ." Read more

"Financial systems are inherently interconnected, with shocks propagating through institutions in complex ways. Understanding contagion dynamics is crucial for identifying vulnerabilities, particularly during periods of financial turmoil. This dissertation explores these broader themes by combining network theory, statistical validation, and advanced risk modeling to analyze both traditional financial networks and decentralized finance (DeFi) systems." Read more