Meet Our Students and Recent Graduates
In this section, we showcase just a few of our many outstanding students and recent graduates.
ENGINEERING
Ping Yan, Computer Science and Engineering
Ping Yan, a 2006 Computer Science and Engineering Ph.D. recipient, is now the senior biometrics engineer for Swift Biometrics, a start-up company in Delaware that is developing iris biometrics. “My work has built on my dissertation research in biometrics under the direction of Prof. Kevin Bowyer. I am designing and implementing algorithms and techniques for iris recognition that have dramatically improved the accuracy and speed of the process.”
Joshua Cameron, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
In addition to writing his dissertation on the physics of compressor systems, Joshua Cameron, Ph.D., Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, 2007, designed and commissioned a transonic axial compressor facility that has gained Notre Dame recognition as the site of one of the best gas-turbine research facilities in the world. The fact that Notre Dame is one of only five institutions world-wide designated a GE-USA facility is due primarily to his doctoral work.
Nicholas Kottenstette, Electrical Engineering
Nicholas Kottenstette received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Notre Dame in May 2008 and is now a research scientist within the Institute for Software Integrated Systems at Vanderbilt University’s School of Engineering.
At Vanderbilt, Dr. Kottenstette is continuing research begun as a student at Notre Dame under the direction of Prof. Panos Antsaklis on the control of passive systems over wireless networks. His focus will be a new National Science Foundation program that will contribute to a scalable computational method of composition for large-scale, real-world cyber physical systems (such as automobiles and unmanned air vehicles) and improve the safety of interaction between those systems and humans.
HUMANITIES
Marlene Daut, English
The research of Marlene L. Daut, a 2008 Notre Dame English Ph.D. recipient, focuses on American and Afro-Caribbean literature. With job offers from several outstanding English departments across the country, she accepted a position at the University of Miami. Marlene received several awards and travel grants as a student—among them, a Ford Dissertation Fellowship, the Erskine A. Peters-Reid fellowship, and a Nanovic Institute grant to support research at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France and at the Centre des Archives Nationales d’Outre-Mer in Aix-en-Provence.
James Hussar, Ph.D. in Literature
James Hussar of the Ph.D. in Literature Program was named Notre Dame’s top humanities student in 2008 for his work on Jewish themes and literature in Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. With four published articles, a book under review by Stanford University Press, and numerous teaching awards, he was sought after by several universities and accepted a position as an assistant professor at California State University at Fullerton, which has an outstanding Center for Latin American Studies. Read more
Charles Pence, History and Philosophy of Science
Charles Pence earned his undergraduate degree in Philosophy from Princeton University. His specific research interest in the History and Philosophy of Science program is the philosophy of biology and physics.
“I came to Notre Dame particularly because of the way the History and Philosophy of Science Program approaches our discipline. It has been incredibly enriching, as a philosopher, to be able to pursue philosophical questions within their full historical context. Furthermore, the quality of the faculty is outstanding, and the collegial and collaborative atmosphere among the graduate students adds to the experience."
Jennifer Rosato, Philosophy
Jennifer Rosato is in her fifth year of Notre Dame’s Ph.D. program in Philosophy. Her research interests are focused mainly in continental, particularly French, philosophy.
“I chose Notre Dame for my graduate study because the philosophy department here is truly excellent and has strengths in diverse areas. We have such a large department that incoming graduate students with varied philosophical interests—like me—needn’t feel pressure to specialize too soon . . . My financial support here has been top-notch. In addition to my full-tuition benefit and stipend, I received a Nanovic Institute grant that allowed me to travel to France for two weeks in order to do preliminary dissertation research. Read more
SCIENCES
Angela Bobeldyk, Biological Sciences
Angela Bobeldyk is a Ph.D. candidate in Biological Sciences, where she works with Prof. Gary Lamberti on the ecology of invasive aquatic species. Angela is currently working as a Sea Grant Fellow at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) headquarters office in Washington, D.C. Her assignment is the Congressional Analysis and Relations Division, a fast-paced office that provides strategy development and coordination for NOAA research. She will return to Notre Dame’s campus in early 2009 to defend her dissertation. Read more
Tao Li, Physics
While a doctoral student, Tao Li, advised by Prof. Umesh Garg of the Notre Dame Physics Department, conducted groundbreaking experiments in the area of nuclear incompressibility, an important quantity in nuclear physics. His work has a direct bearing on one of the central questions in astrophysics and cosmology: What is the minimum mass of a black hole? Dr. Li’s work has already produced important and far-reaching results—some of which were published in Physical Review Letters, the most selective journal in physics, even before he received his doctorate. Dr. Li was honored with a Kaneb Center teaching award and the inaugural Cornelius P. Browne Fellowship in the Department of Physics.
Bennett Streit, Chemistry
Bennett Streit, a Ph.D. student in Chemistry and Biochemistry, was awarded a Science to Achieve Results (STAR) fellowship by the Environmental Protection Agency for his pioneering work on a mechanism to convert chlorite, a highly toxic chemical abundant in the environment due to its use as an industrial bleaching agent, into harmless chloride and oxygen. The fellowship will pay his graduate stipend and offers additional funds for travel and equipment. Read more
SOCIAL SCIENCES
Guillermo Montt, Sociology
Guillermo Montt is beginning his second year in Notre Dame’s Sociology doctoral program. His main interest is social stratification and the sociology of education.
“Notre Dame fosters a great collaborative environment that supports innovative research ideas . . .The potential of the Department of Sociology is enormous, as it is recruiting some of the best academics in the field . . . Also, Notre Dame is a great place to live and to raise a family.” Read more
Ozlem Kayhan Pusane, Political Science
Ozlem Kayhan Pusane, a native of Ankara, Turkey, is a Ph.D. student in Political Science. Under the direction of Prof. Keir Lieber, she researches how domestic security threats affect civil-military relations, with a particular focus on Turkey and Peru.
“Notre Dame’s Kellogg Institute for International Studies and Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, with their resources in democratization and conflict resolution, have been invaluable assets throughout my study. And, Notre Dame has provided great funding opportunities for me.” Read more
