Degrees Awarded 2014/2015
Education Office
Thursday, June 4, 2015
Degrees awarded during the 2014/2015 academic year. Degrees are conferred in September, February and June.
Doctoral Degrees
September 2014
| Name | Program | Advisor | Thesis Title |
| Julien de Wit | Planetary Sciences | Sara Seager | Maps and Masses of Transiting Exoplanets: Towards New Insights into Atmospheric and Interior Properties of Planets |
| Alejandra Quintanilla Terminel | Geophysics | Brian Evans | Strain Heterogeneity During Creep of Carrara Marble |
| Maria Gabriela Melo Silva | Geophysics | Allison Malcolm | Using Relative Traveltimes: SVD-Enhanced Seismic Interferometry and Microseismic Location Uncertainty |
| Michael M. Sori | Planetary Sciences | Maria Zuber | Judging a Planet by Its Cover: Insights into Lunar Crustal Structure and Martian Climate History from Surface Features |
| Britta M. Voss | Chemical Oceanography | Edward Boyle | Spatial and Temporal Dynamics of Biogeochemical Processes in the Fraser River, Canada: A Coupled Organic-Inorganic Perspective |
| Di Yang | Geophysics | Allison Malcolm | Full Wavefield Inversion Methods for Monitoring Time-Lapse Subsurface Velocity Changes |
| Ping Zhai | Physical Oceanography |
Amy Bower & Lawrence Pratt (WHOI) |
Buoyancy-Driven Circulation in the Red Sea |
February 2015
| Name | Program | Advisor | Thesis Title |
| Sudhish K. Bakku | Geophysics | Michael Fehler | Fracture Characterization from Seismic Measurements in a Borehole |
| Michael P. Byrne | Climate Physics and Chemistry | Paul O'Gorman | Land-Ocean Contrasts Under Climate Change |
| Frank J. Centinello III | Geophysics | Maria Zuber | Positioning in Geophysics: Applications to GPS Seismology, Airborne Gravimetry, and the Dawn Spacecraft at Vesta |
| Min Ding | Marine Geology and Geophysics |
Jian Lin (WHOI) |
Lithospheric Dynamics of Earth's Subduction Zones and Martian Tectonic Provinces |
| Elizabeth J. Drenkard | Marine Geology and Geophysics |
Anne Cohen & Daniel McCorkle (WHOI) |
Exploring the Climate Change Refugia Potential of Equatorial Pacific Coral Reefs |
| Katherine L. French | Chemical Oceanography | Roger Summons | Testing the Ancient Marine Redox Record from Oxygenic Photosynthesis to Photic Zone Euxina |
| Jill M. McDermott | Chemical Oceanography |
Jeffrey Seewald (WHOI) |
Geochemistry of Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent Fluids from the Mid-Cayman Rise, Caribean Sea |
| Jean-Arthur L. Olive | Marine Geology and Geophysics |
Mark Behn (WHOI) |
Mechanical and Geological Controls on the Long-Term Evolution of Normal Faults |
| Morgan E O'Neill | Atmospheric Science | Kerry Emanuel | A Theory for Polar Cyclones on Giant Planets |
| Frederick D. Pearce | Geophysics | Clark Burchfiel | Seismic Imaging of the Western Hellenic Subduction Zone: The Relationship Between Slab Composition, Retreat Rate, and Overriding Lithosphere Genesis |
| Andrew R. Whitehill | Geology, Geobiology and Geochemistry | Shuhei Ono | Mass-Independent Sulfur Isotope Fractionation During Photochemistry of Sulfur Dioxide |
June 2015
| Name | Program | Advisor | Thesis Title |
| Andrea R. Dubin | Marine Geology and Geophysics |
Bernhard Peucker-Ehrenbrink (WHOI) |
A Magmatic Trigger for the Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum? |
| Marilena Oltmanns | Physical Oceanography |
Fiamma Straneo (WHOI) |
Strong Wind Events across Greenland's Coast and their Influence on the Ice Sheet, Sea Ice and Ocean |
| Alan Richardson | Geophysics | Bradford Hager | Seismic Imaging Using Internal Multiples and Overturned Waves |
| Aaron L. Scheinberg | Planetary Sciences | Lindy Elkins-Tanton | The Influence of Core Crystallization and Mantle Overturn on Ancient Dynamos |
| Andrey H. Shabelansky | Geophysics | Allison Malcolm | Theory and Application of Source Independent Full Wavefield Elastic Converted Phase Seismic Imaging and Velocity Analysis |
| Aditi Sheshadri | Atmospheric Science | Alan Plumb | Variability of the Stratospheric Polar Vortex and Its Impact on Surface Climate Patterns |
Masters Degrees
September 2014
| Name | Program | Advisor | Thesis Title |
| Flora Min | Atmospheric Science | Susan Solomon | Influence of Recent Asian SO2 and Asian NOx Emissions Change (2001 to 2010) on Particulate Matter: Shifts in Asian Sulfate Enhancement over US Surface, Major Production Pathway, and Lifetime |
| Elise M. Myers | Earth and Planetary Sciences | Roger Summons | Complex Lipids in Microbial Mats and Stromatolites of Hamelin Pool, Shark Bay, Australia |
June 2015
| Name | Program | Advisor | Thesis Title |
| Hao-Yu Derek Chang | Atmospheric Science | Kerry Emanuel | Assessing Impact of the Sulfate Aerosol First Indirect Effect on Tropical Cyclone Activity |
| Neesha R. Schnepf | Earth and Planetary Sciences | Benjamin Weiss | Sensing the Conductivity of the Upper Mantle and Lithosphere Using Ocean Tidal Magnetic Field Satellite Measurements |
| Sandra M. Shedd | Climate Physics and Chemistry | Kerry Emanuel | Tropical Cyclone Precipitation Risk in the Southern United States |
| Ho Chit (Hosea) Siu | Earth and Planetary Sciences | Richard Binzel | A Discrete Forward-Modeling Method for Characterizing Occultation Lightcurves of Tenuous Planetary Atmospheres |
Bachelors Degrees
June 2015
| Name | Program | Advisor | Thesis Title |
| Casey C. Hilgenbrink | Undergraduate | Lodovica Illari | Understanding the Spatial Distribution of the Southern Hemisphere Near-Surface Westerlies and Its Trends |
| Kelly A. Kochanski* | Undergraduate | Bradford Hager | Ice and the Apparent Seasonal Variation of GPS Positions for Alaska |
| Molly R. Kosiarek | Undergraduate | Richard Binzel | First Autonomous Telescope at Wallace Observatory: Impact and Preliminary Results |
| Hollie M. O'Brien | Undergraduate | Richard Binzel | Variable Star Photometry in a Secondary School Curriculum |
| James R. Pershken | Undergraduate | Oliver Jagoutz | Controlling Factors on Mesozoic and Cenozoic Metamorphism and Deformation in the Maria Fold and Thrust Belt and Colorado River Extensional Corridor, Southeastern California and Western Arizona |
| Ashley J. Peters* | Undergraduate | Richard Binzel | A Near-Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Survey of B-Type Asteroids |
* Double-Major