PhD Day

Advancing Research: PhD Day
May 15th | 10 am–4:30 pm
Smith Ballroom

This esearch showcase connects  Maseeh College and College of Liberal Arts & Sciences (CLAS) students at every level with advanced scholarship and discovery. PhD Day highlights the work of doctoral students while creating opportunities for undergraduate and master’s students to engage in research presentation, feedback, and academic community‑building. The program features poster sessions, lightning presentations, keynote talks, and awards recognizing excellence across degree levels. 

This effort is made possible by the PSU-Sloan Center for Systemic Change (PSU-SCSC) seed project funded by the Alfred P Sloan Foundation. PSU-SCSC is an effort to celebrate research, elevate mentorship, and recruit and retain exemplary PhD students from all backgrounds at PSU.  If you are interested in next year's PhD Day, please fIll out this form, and we'll be in touch.

2026 Awards & Recognitions

Pre-Doctoral Poster Symposium

Excellence Award in Technical Merit for Poster Presentation — Bachelors

• Claire Eliesa Barrozo, Psychology (Advisor: Rebekah Huber)
• Honorable Mention: Lindsay Tellegen, Civil Engineering (Advisor: Thomas Schumacher)

Excellence Award in Scientific Communication for Poster Presentation — Bachelors

• Oscar Moreno, Biology (Advisor: Rebekah Huber)
• Honorable Mention: Phyo Theingi, Biology (Advisor: Anupriya Agarwal)

Excellence Award in Technical Merit for Poster Presentation — Masters

• Crow Crossman, Electrical & Computer Engineering (Advisor: Christof Teuscher)

Excellence Award in Scientific Communication for Poster Presentation — Masters

• Niklas Anderson, Electrical & Computer Engineering (Advisor: Christof Teuscher)
• Honorable Mention: Rocio Compton, Mechanical Engineering (Advisor: Raúl Bayoán Cal)

Doctoral Symposium

Excellence Award in Technical Merit for Poster Presentation — Doctoral

• Wise Goodluck Datsomor, Earth, Environment & Society (Advisor: Elise Granek)
• Anadi Shakya, Computer Science (Advisor: Primal Pappachan)
• Honorable Mention: Amanda Schmidt, Biology (Advisor: Jeffrey Singer)
• Honorable Mention: Hayden Galante, Electrical & Computer Engineering (Advisor: Atul Ingle)

Excellence Award in Scientific Communication for Poster Presentation — Doctoral

• Delnaz Taherkalateh, Psychology (Advisor: Tessa Dover)
• Narges (Mahsa) Pahnabi, Civil Engineering (Advisor: Thomas Schumacher)
• Honorable Mention: Kish Moore, Mathematics Education (Advisor: Eva Thanheiser)
• Honorable Mention: Saba Izadkhah, Computer Science (Advisor: Banafsheh Rekabdar)

Excellence Award in Technical Merit for Oral Presentation — Doctoral

• Sean Stalley, Electrical & Computer Engineering (Advisor: John Lipor)
• Zein Sadek, Mechanical Engineering (Advisor: Raúl Bayoán Cal)
• MaryAnn Samson, Psychology (Advisor: Cynthia Mohr)
• Mohana Sengupta, Chemistry (Advisor: Robert Strongin)

Excellence Award in Scientific Communication for Oral Presentation — Doctoral

• Sandhyarani Dash, Electrical & Computer Engineering (Advisor: John Acken)
• Kaleb Hood, Mechanical Engineering (Advisor: Jun Jiao)
• Clover Javurek-Humig, Sociology (Advisor: Melissa Thompson)
• Jonathan Abshier, Biology (Advisor: Ken Stedman)