university of arizona dissertation defense

Doctoral Program (Ph.D.)

General overview of the ph.d. degree.

The Ph.D. program is designed to provide students with advanced coursework and substantive research experience to prepare graduates to be the leaders in industry and academia. There is an emphasis on producing original work to present at conferences or published in peer-reviewed journals. Students who successfully complete the Ph.D. program go on to take leadership, entrepreneurial, and scholarly positions.

PhD students progress through four phases in their study.  Initially, students are required to begin  coursework  while identifying a faculty mentor to serve as their research advisor.  As students progress in coursework and research, they will be evaluated each semester on their progress towards their  Qualifying Exam  by the completion of a Portfolio (initially evaluated in the 3rd semester and completed by their 5th semester).  Students are required to complete a minor either as a CS internal minor or in another degree program at the UA (see PhD Planning Sheet ).  As research progresses and coursework is completed, students next identify their committee and propose their dissertation work during their  Comprehensive Exam , completed by their 7th semester.  Finally, once students complete their research, they will defend their  Dissertation .

Progress Through the Degree

Students should become familiar with the  Graduate College Policies  and  CSC Graduate Program Policies  and refer to them throughout the program.  Submission of  Ph.D. GradPath Forms  are required throughout the program starting with the first semester.

Students are evaluated for  satisfactory progress  every fall and spring semester. Semesters are counted from when students enter the Ph.D. program. The table below indicates when evaluations take place, along with what benchmarks are used to determine satisfactory progress.

The table below shows what the ideal progression through the Ph.D. program looks like.  View the  Ph.D. Curriculum  for a more in-depth look at the required courses.

Note: The timeline can be shifted earlier; shifting later requires approval of faculty.

*Students may elect to replace one elective course in the major and up to two courses in the internal minor with independent studies (CSC 599/699).

**4th minor course only required if minor requires four courses.

***Students cannot register for 920 until they pass their comp exam.

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Important Degree Dates and Deadlines

Timeline for master's/specialist candidates.

To see all required steps to earn your degree, please visit Steps To Your Degree .

Timeline for Doctoral Candidates

Last day to Submit Dissertations/Disciplinary Doctoral Project* to the Graduate Student Academic Services Office. * Dissertations or any other doctoral product such as DMA document or DNP project report.

Commencement

The University holds its Commencement ceremony once a year in May. Students graduating in August or December may be included in the Commencement Program in the preceding May by special request. Please contact your Degree Counselor to make the request.  Each college also holds a convocation ceremony each December and May to honor its graduates.  Information about Commencement and college convocations is available at http://commencement.arizona.edu/.

Each student's degree is posted to the student record once the Graduate College confirms that all degree requirements have been completed.  Once awarded, the degree information on the transcript will include the official degree award date for the graduation term as shown below:

PhD Dissertation Defenses

Bayesian Additive Regression Networks

Danielle Van Boxel, Program in Applied Mathematics, University of Arizona

Multi-Spacecraft Observatory Data Analysis Techniques: Uncertainty Quantification & Comparison

Theodore (Teddy) Broeren, Program in Applied Mathematics, University of Arizona

A Geometric Framework for Adversarial Vulnerability in Machine Learning

Brian Bell, Program in Applied Mathematics, University of Arizona

Michael Woodward, Program in Applied Mathematics, University of Arizona

Reduced Lagrangian and Mori-Zwanzig models: Applications to Turbulent Flows

Spectral Broadcast Structures for Both Discrete and Continuous Variables in Quantum Open Systems

Alberto Acevedo, Program in Applied Mathematics, University of Arizona

Estimating High-Contrast Power Spectra via Iterated Whitening

Jared McBride, Program in Applied Mathematics, University of Arizona

Quantifying the Impacts of Collective Behaviors on Epidemic Spread Bill Fries, Program in Applied Mathematics, University of Arizona

Optimization Based Scheme for Solving Richards' Equation Greg Johnson, Program in Applied Mathematics, University of Arizona

Receptivity of Chemically-Reacting Hypersonic Boundary Layers to Kinetic Fluctuations Kevin Luna, Program in Applied Mathematics, University of Arizona

<p><span><span><span><strong>Developments on Autonomous Task Coordination Using a Continuous Motivation State</strong><br /> Craig Thompson, Program in Applied Mathematics, University of Arizona</span></span></span></p>

Frank Whitehead Ph.D. Dissertation Defense

LET 'ER BUCK: GENDER AND ANIMAL HISTORY IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY AMERICAN RODEO

The Department of History invites you to Frank Whitehead 's Ph.D. dissertation defense. Please join by  Zoom  (Passcode: 252955) on Tuesday, April 06, 2021, at 10:00am.

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Ph.D. Dissertation Defense: Jennifer May

Ph.D. Dissertation Defense

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Closing arguments set in trial of University of Arizona grad student accused of killing a professor

FILE - Arizona graduate student Murad Dervish sits in Pima County Superior Court, May 8, 2024, in Tuscon, Ariz. Closing arguments are scheduled for Monday, May 20, in the trial of Dervish, who is accused of killing a professor on campus two years ago. (Mamta Popat/Arizona Daily Star via AP, File)

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TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Closing arguments are scheduled for Monday in the trial of a former University of Arizona graduate student accused of killing a professor on campus two years ago.

Murad Dervish, 48, faces seven felony charges including first degree murder in the death of Thomas Meixner, 52, who was shot nine times near his office and was pronounced dead at a Tucson hospital.

Defense attorney Leo Masursky told jurors that the killing wasn’t premeditated and that Dervish is “guilty except insane to second-degree murder,” an insanity defense.

Pima County prosecutors said Dervish planned the shooting and knew what he was doing.

Meixner headed the university’s Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences and was an expert on desert water issues.

Dervish was in the master’s degree program in atmospheric sciences, which is within the Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences.

Authorities said Dervish was banned from the school in January 2022 and later expelled for ongoing issues with professors after he received a bad grade.

According to a criminal complaint, a flyer with a photograph of Dervish had been circulated to university staff in February 2022 with instructions to call 911 if he ever entered the John W. Harshbarger Building, which houses the hydrology department.

The complaint also said Dervish was barred from being on school property and he had been the subject of several reports of harassment and threats to staff members working at Harshbarger.

Witnesses said Dervish was wearing a surgical mask and baseball cap as a disguise when he showed up outside Meixner’s office on the afternoon of Oct. 5, 2022, and shot the professor.

Dervish was arrested after Arizona state troopers stopped his car on a highway more than 120 miles (193 kilometers) northwest of Tucson.

Authorities said a loaded 9 mm handgun was found in the vehicle and that the ammunition was consistent with the shell casings found at the shooting scene.

Department of Geography, Environment, and Spatial Sciences College of Social Science

Dissertation defense notice: rui zhang.

Thu, May 30, 2024 10:00 AM at Virtual

Title: Toward Resilient Communities – Vulnerability Assessments of Coupled Human and Natural Systems

Day and Date: Thursday, May 30, 2024

Time: 10:00 AM EDT

If you would like to attend or obtain a copy of Rui's dissertation, please email Rui at  [email protected] .

Second stage In-person or by Zoom (Advisor and Guidance Committee will ask questions):

Faculty are welcome to stay for this stage. Graduate students and other non-committee members (e.g., family and friends) CANNOT attend the second questioning stage.

First stage In-person or by Webinar (30-60 minute uninterrupted presentation by the student summarizing the dissertation research):

Anyone, including faculty, students, and staff, is welcome to attend the presentation and participate in the initial portion of the question session, which will be moderated by the Advisor.

Successful completion of the defense and approval of the dissertation will be determined by a majority vote of the dissertation committee.

Committee Members:  

• Arika Ligmann-Zielinska, Department of Geography, Environment, and Spatial Sciences (Chair)
• Jiquan Chen, Department of Geography, Environment, and Spatial Sciences
• Mark Axelrod, James Madison College & Department of Fisheries and Wildlife
• Laura Schmitt Olabisi, Department of Community Sustainability

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Smit Desai's Dissertation Defense

Smit Desai will defend his dissertation, " Designing Metaphor-fluid Voice User Interfaces ." 

His committee includes Professor Michael Twidale, chair and co-director of research; Assistant Professor Jessie Chin, co-director of research; Professor Benjamin Cowan, University College Dublin; and Professor Christopher Peter Lueg.

Abstract: This dissertation investigates the use of metaphors in Voice User Interfaces (VUIs), with a focus on expanding beyond traditional human-centric metaphors to include non-human and fictional metaphors. The research explores how these metaphors shape user expectations, perceptions, and the functionality of VUIs, revealing the complexities of human-VUI interaction.

Through a multidisciplinary literature review, the study contextualizes metaphors within Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), highlighting their traditional role in simplifying user interfaces and shaping expectations. Unlike graphical user interfaces (GUIs) that employ metaphors like 'desktop' to aid user understanding, VUIs have predominantly utilized the 'humanness' metaphor to aid user engagement. This approach, while facilitating familiar interactions, often fails to capture the diverse, complex, and unexpected ways in which users perceive and interact with VUIs.

The design experience of developing VUIs intended to perform social roles, such as teachers, storytellers, and exercise coaches—especially for older adults—revealed how users perceive and interact with these interfaces. These investigations reveal a mismatch between the designed personas and user expectations, showcasing a fluid and context-dependent interpretation of VUI roles that is heavily influenced by personal experiences and societal norms.

Furthermore, the findings from this dissertation highlight a strong preference among users for non-human and fictional metaphors, which help mitigate some of the ethical and practical limitations inherent in human-like metaphors. This research demonstrates that user perceptions of VUIs are significantly shaped by the type of metaphor used (human, non-human, and fictional), the context of the conversation (commands, sociality, information seeking, and error recovery), and the domain of interaction (e.g., health and finance). Consequently, it suggests that VUIs should adapt based on these factors, moving away from simplistic system personas toward contextually aware metaphor-fluid design.

For any questions, please contact Smit Desai .

Dissertation Proposal Defense of Ibiayi Briggs

Princeton University School of Architecture

Announces the Dissertation Proposal Defense of

Ibiayi Briggs

Black Technical Being(s): Folk Robots, Domestic Technics, and the Ghosts of the Machine Age, 1870–1940

May 22, 2024, 1:00 PM

Committee :

Prof. Jay Cephas, Advisor (Princeton University, School of Architecture)

Prof. Tina Campt (Princeton University, Department of Art & Archeology)

Prof. Sylvia Lavin (Princeton University, School of Architecture)

Prof. Spyros Papapetros (Princeton University, School of Architecture)

 The relationship between blackness and machines has been a guiding force of technological innovation, although Black labor is often made invisible by these machines. Black technical being is a conceptual framework that makes this relationship visible by connecting the development of Black folk characters to sites of late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century industrial labor. It contends with the strange yet persistent condition of Black labor working with, being likened to, and yet being made invisible by machines, which is at the heart of American industrialization. It proposes that blackness has been the ghost in the machine of this technological progress, and that this spectral presence was shaped by the racialization instituted by the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, organized by the agricultural technics of the plantation, and modernized through the entrenchment of industrial capitalism. Folk characters were vectors of technological progress because they were narrative representations of the shifting mode of Black labor, and were also utilized as the human embodiment of emerging technologies. Three folk characters, John Henry, Mammy, and Rastus are potent examples of the coproduction of blackness and machines and their particular roles in the construction of the railroad, the mechanized home, and the world’s fair, respectively. These seemingly disparate sites are united by the presence of these Black technical beings which were heavily-trafficked in the American cultural imaginary thorough folktales created by Black workers, and their subsequent appropriation into more widespread stories, caricatures, and technical systems. These folk characters were mediators between the realities and ideals of technical systems. John Henry was a figure of the literal construction of the railroad which facilitated Black migration north, and he is an archetype of modern exhaustion and the foreboding doom of technological “progress.” Mammy was a central character in the development of domestic science manuals and home appliances, and also challenges what is actually required for the comfort and convenience demanded by new technologies. The name Rastus was bequeathed on a Westinghouse robot which tested the component parts of their appliances, and he also shows how performance and control were instrumentalized within the exhibitionary complex of world fairs. Although minstrelsy is primarily studied through histories of music and theater, this dissertation reveals minstrelsy as the embedded infrastructure of various American technologies and their resulting spatial logics.

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Chicago teen earns doctorate at 17 years old from Arizona State

Dorothy Jean Tillman II spoke at her commencement this month at Arizona State University. She successfully defended her dissertation to earn a doctorate in integrated behavioral health last December.

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Neuroscience Graduate Student Defends Thesis

Congratulations to Camille Hanes , a PhD student in the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Neuroscience , on her successful thesis defense on May 15, 2024! Camille's mentors are Dr. Joshua Weiner and Dr. Michael Dailey in the Department of Biology.