Carl Forsberg
History of American Foreign Relations
Previous degree from Yale University
UT Austin: Department of History
Carl Forsberg studies patterns in 20th century American foreign policy. He has a particular interest in the ambiguity of U.S. relations with allied and client states in the Middle East and South Asia, and in cases in which alliances have developed, or U.S. power has been manipulated, in ways ultimately contrary to American interests and intentions.
Ayse Gursoy
Information Science
Previous degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology
UT Austin: School of Information
Ayse Gursoy is interested in exploring the realm of digital archives with respect to video and computer games. She wants to investigate existing practices in preservation of games as cultural artifacts, current industry standards of institutional memory, as well as how digital games represent the experience of navigating the information space of the archive.
Xinying Hao
Quantitative Marketing
Previous degree from Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
UT Austin: Department of Marketing
Xinying Hao studies marketing analytics using statistical tools, such as semi-parametric methods, Bayesian estimation, and data mining approaches. She is particularly interested in big data research related to social networks and online marketing.
Tengfei Jiang
Materials science for advanced microelectronics
Previous degree from Ohio State University
UT Austin: Department of Mechanical Engineering
Tengfei Jiang’s research is focused on the effects of material and processing on the stress and reliability of 3-D integrated circuits, an emerging technology for high-performance microelectronics. In her thesis research, she explores the potential of applying advanced techniques, including synchrotron x-ray microdiffraction, to investigate the material properties and stress characteristics in 3-D integrated circuits with the goal of improving the performance and reliability of the circuits.
Celil Refik Kaya
Music Performance
Previous degree from Mannes College The New School of Music
UT Austin: Butler School of Music
Celil Refik Kaya was the 2012 winner of the most prestigious guitar concerto competition, the JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition. Among other awards and competitions, he was awarded first place in the 2013 Philadelphia Classical Guitar Competition; second prize in the most prestigious solo guitar competition—the 2012 Guitar Foundation of America's International Concert Artist Competition; and second prize in the Louisville Guitar Festival Competition.Kaya will perform his debut at New York City's Carnegie Hall as a featured artist in the D’Addario Foundation Concert Series on October 17, 2013. He currently studies guitar performance with internationally recognized concert artist and teacher, Professor Adam Holzman of UT Austin.
Addison Kemp
Physical Anthropology
Previous degree from Mount Holyoke College
UT Austin: Department of Anthropology
Addison Kemp is interested in the evolution of and relationship between morphology and biological function. She is particularly interested in hand morphology and arboreal locomotion and approaches these topics from evolutionary, biomechnical, developmental and comparative perspectives.
Carly D. Kenkel
Adaptation in Reef-Building Corals
Previous degree from State University of New York at Stony Brook
UT Austin: Section of Integrative Biology
Carly Kenkel is interested in how broadly dispersing marine organisms adapt to local environments and in integrating knowledge of local adaptation into conservation management strategies. Her dissertation research is focused on identifying the physiological and genetic mechanisms that enable corals in the Florida Keys to inhabit reefs of variable environmental quality.
Yongjin Lee
Computational Materials Science
Previous degree from Seoul National University, Korea
UT Austin: Department of Chemical Engineering
Yongjin Lee is interested in how to design new materials for renewable energy, including thermoelectric waste heat recovery. He has focused his research particularly on developing a predictive computational tool and using it to investigate the fundamental mechanisms underlying thermal transport in various nanostructured materials and their composites for thermoelectric applications.
Kara Leimberger
Biological Anthropology
Previous degree from Duke University
UT Austin: Department of Anthropology
Kara Leimberger studies primate behavior and ecology and is broadly interested in questions surrounding group living, cooperation, and how animals navigate their social environments. She intends to approach these topics by examining the social dynamics of lemurs in Madagascar.
Kathleen McElroy
News Media Studies
Previous degree from New York University
UT Austin: Department of Journalism
Kathleen McElroy is interested in the intersection of reader engagement (especially comments) and news media coverage, potentially focusing on less-scrutinized productions like obituaries, food reporting and cultural reviews.
Brittany Needham
Microbiology and Vaccine Development
Previous degree from Brigham Young University
UT Austin: Department of Molecular Biosciences
Brittany Needham is studying the Gram-negative bacterial surface, which is covered with a complex molecule called lipopolysaccharide (LPS) that stimulates a potent immune response during infection, but can potentially be adapted to for use in vaccines.
Cody Schank
Biogeography and Conservation
Previous degree from University of Virginia
UT Austin: Department of Geography and the Environment
Cody Schank is interested in using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to model habitat suitability for endangered species based on satellite imagery, climate data, and topography. He will explore a variety of field techniques and modeling frameworks to determine the best methods to use when studying rare species for which limited prior information exists.
Stephanie Strauss
Mesoamerican Archaeology, Epigraphy, and Art History
Previous degree from Yale University, George Washington University
UT Austin: Department of Art History
Stephanie Strauss' research explores the interconnectedness of text and image in early Pre-Columbian art, specifically the ways in which motif construction, deconstruction, and isolation catalyzed the invention of hieroglyphic writing in the New World. Her work builds upon an interdisciplinary background in archaeology, linguistic anthropology, and art history, and aims to situate early Mesoamerican hieroglyphic writing systems into their greater social context.
Michael Turner
Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures
Previous degree from University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
UT Austin: Department of Middle Eastern Studies
Michael Turner studies the language and culture of the Middle East and North Africa, with a focus on the Arabic dialects and Amazigh (Berber) languages of the modern-day Maghreb. He seeks to understand their respective development as a product of language contact and population movements.
Kathryn Van Winkle
Performance as Public Practice
Previous degree from Swarthmore College, National University of Ireland - Galway
UT Austin: Department of Theatre and Dance
Kathryn Van Winkle is studying audience response and developing an ethnography of theatre audiences, informed by her work as a performer, director, and dramaturg. She is also interested in the effects of globalization on theatre and in contemporary productions of Greek drama.
Han-Gyol Yi
Communication Sciences and Disorders
Previous degree from Northwestern University
UT Austin: Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders
Han-Gyol Yi is interested in using neuroimaging technique to discover the biological correlates of cross-cultural and linguistic experiences.
Xinyu Zhang
Accounting
Previous degrees from Tilburg University, Tilburg, Netherlands;
Bocconi University, Milan, Italy; and Fudan University, Shanghai, China
UT Austin: Department of Accounting
Xinyu Zhang is interested in the influence of various accounting mechanisms on human behavior. She uses experiments to study how people’s judgment and decision-making are influenced by accounting regulation, incentives and control systems.
Contact: Dr. Marvin L. Hackert
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