06. 12. 2023

The Graduate School is pleased to announce the 2023 Best Dissertation Award Winners

Congratulations to the winners of the 2023 Best Dissertation Award! A student from each of four groups – arts and humanities, biological and life sciences, physical sciences and engineering, and social sciences and education – was chosen by faculty from the broad disciplinary area. Selections were based on the originality and importance of the research, as well as the potential for the student to make an unusually significant contribution to their field.

    ARTS & HUMANITIES 

    Elizabeth Howard, English

    • Advisor: Dr. Andrew Elfenbein
    • Dissertation: The Parted Voice: Polyvocal Utterance in the Victorian Elegy
    • Current Position: Assistant Professor of Literature, Bethlehem College and Seminary

    BIOLOGICAL & MEDICAL SCIENCES

    Surabhi Talele, Pharmaceutics

    • Advisor: Dr. William Elmquist
    • Dissertation: Distribution of DNA damage response inhibitors to the central nervous system for brain tumor therapy
    • Current Position: Scientist, Bristol Myers-Squibb

    PHYSICAL SCIENCES & ENGINEERING

    Burhan Yaman, Electrical Engineering

    • Advisor: Dr. Mehmet Akçakaya
    • Dissertation: Self-Supervised Physics-Guided Deep Learning for Solving Inverse Problems in Imaging
    • Current Position: Deep Learning Scientist, Robert Bosch LLC

    SOCIAL SCIENCES & EDUCATION

    Pearl Li, Developmental Psychology

    • Advisor: Dr. Melissa Koenig
    • Dissertation: Trust and Skepticism: Children’s Use and Evaluations of Moral Testimony Across Two Cultures
    • Current Position: Postdoctoral Associate in Developmental Psychology, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University

    Honorable Mention

    • Jennifer Brown, Neuroscience, Advisor: Dr. Sylvain Lesne, Co-Advisor: Dr. Harry Orr
    • María Méndez, Political Science, Advisor: Dr. Raymond Duvall
    • Neil Razdan, Chemical Engineering, Advisor: Dr. Aditya Bhan