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Dissertation Completion Fellowships announced

June 23, 2010

KALAMAZOO--Six WMU doctoral students were named recipients of Dissertation Completion Fellowships for 2010-11 by Western Michigan University's Graduate College. Two full-year fellowships worth $20,344 each and four half-year fellowships worth $10,172 each were awarded. Each recipient also receives paid tuition during the fellowship period and $500 for reimbursement of dissertation expenses. The annual competition for the fellowships drew 19 applications.

2010-11 Dissertation Completion Fellowship recipients

Nabeel T. Alshabtat was awarded a half-year fellowship. A mechanical and aeronautical engineering student, his advisor is Dr. Koorosh Naghshineh, and the working title of his dissertation is "Beading and Dimpling Techniques to Improve the Vibration and Acoustic Characteristics of Plate Structures." His research focuses on use of structural and acoustic modeling tools to develop a cost-effective way to produce quiet plate structures by adding dimples and beads. Alshabtat earned bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of Jordan. He is a 2010 recipient of the Department Graduate Research and Creative Scholar Award.

Irene Elksnis-Geisler was awarded a full-year fellowship. A history student, her advisor is Dr. Marion Gray, and the working title of her dissertation is "The Gendered Plight of Terror: Annexation and Exile in Latvia 1940-1953." Her dissertation focuses on Latvian women's experience of annexation and exile during and after World War II, when, after successive occupations by first the Soviet Union and then by Nazi Germany, more than a quarter million Latvians fled their homeland. Geisler is currently on a Fulbright Dissertation Fellowship in Latvia to collect oral histories and women's narratives of those who experienced invasion and exile. She expects to get her doctoral degree in history from WMU in June 2011. She earned her bachelor's degree in history from the University of Michigan in 1979, a master's degree in organizational management from Spring Arbor University in 2005 and a Master of Liberal Studies degree in women and gender studies from Eastern Michigan University in 2006. She is the recipient of numerous awards including the Judith Stone Award from the Department of History and a 2010 All-University Graduate Research and Creative Scholar Award.

Marchion J. Hinton was awarded a full-year fellowship for her dissertation "Treating Depression and Low Self-Esteem: Contemporary Behavior Therapy vs. Supportive Therapy." A psychology student, her advisor is Dr. Scott Gaynor. Her dissertation research uses an evidence-based approach to examine the effectiveness of two therapies for depressive symptoms and low self-esteem in undergraduate students. She earned her bachelor's degree from Butler University and her master's degree from WMU, and she is studying for her doctorate in clinical psychology. Hinton is a 2009 recipient of a departmental Graduate Research and Creative Scholar Award at the master's level.

Lars Kohler was awarded a half-year fellowship. A chemistry student, his advisor is Dr. Elke Schoffers, and the working title of his dissertation is "Organic Synthesis of 1,10-Phenanthroline Derivatives and Their Application." The compounds involved in his research promise to be useful in a variety of applications. They can serve as catalysts in chemical reactions, as potential antibiotics and antitumor agents, and they seem to be promising candidates for nerve gas sensors. Kohler earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from Justus Liebig University in Giessen, Germany. He is a 2010 recipient of the Gwen Frostic Doctoral Fellowship and a departmental Graduate Research and Creative Scholar Award. In 2008, he received his department's Graduate Teaching Effectiveness Award.

Andrew Riley was awarded a half-year fellowship. A psychology student, his advisor is Dr. Scott Gaynor, and the working title of his dissertation is "Identifying Mechanisms of Change: An Open Trial of Behavior Therapy for the Treatment of Youth Depression." Riley's dissertation is based on clinical treatment of depression in a public school setting, and in it he examines possible mechanisms through which effective therapies actually work.

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Media contact: Deanne Puca, (269) 387-8400, deanne.puca@wmich.edu

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