Congratulations to four graduate students in the Department of Physics and Astronomy who successfully defended their theses in April!
The students were:
![Bellis](/sites/physics.uiowa.edu/files/styles/medium/public/2021-08/Bellis%2C%20Zoe.jpg?itok=i9E-taAJ)
Zoe Bellis
MS Thesis Title: “Undergraduate Learners' Prior Knowledge in an Introductory Astronomy Course”
Thesis Committee: Keri Hoadley, Cornelia Lang, Jodi Linley
![Photo of Sarah Conley](/sites/physics.uiowa.edu/files/styles/medium/public/2023-03/SarahHorvath-21.jpg?itok=rafwOAoU)
Sarah Conley
Ph.D. Thesis Title: “Characterizing the Velocity Space Signatures of Electron Landau Damping”
Thesis Committee: Greg Howes, Jasper Halekas, Allison Jaynes, Fred Skiff, Kris Klein
![Riley Troyer](/sites/physics.uiowa.edu/files/styles/medium/public/2022-01/riley_troyer.jpg?itok=I_T_U4py)
Riley Troyer
Ph.D. Thesis Title: “The Implications and Characteristics of Diffuse-Like but Dynamic Aurora”
Thesis Committee: Allison Jaynes, Casey DeRoo, David Miles, Jasper Halekas, Robert Michell
![simons](/sites/physics.uiowa.edu/files/styles/medium/public/2021-08/Daniel%20Simons.jpg?itok=BcE8i4ug)
Daniel Simons
Ph.D.Thesis Title: “The Z-expansion: Applications in Particle Decay and Scattering Processes”
Thesis Committee: Yannick Meurice, Vincent Rodgers, Wayne Polyzou, Jane Nachtman, Michael Wagman