Defense Notices

All students and faculty are welcome to attend the final defense of EECS graduate students completing their M.S. or Ph.D. degrees. Defense notices for M.S./Ph.D. presentations for this year and several previous years are listed below in reverse chronological order.

Students who are nearing the completion of their M.S./Ph.D. research should schedule their final defenses through the EECS graduate office at least THREE WEEKS PRIOR to their presentation date so that there is time to complete the degree requirements check, and post the presentation announcement online.

Upcoming Defense Notices

Vinay Kumar Reddy Budideti

NutriBot: An AI-Powered Personalized Nutrition Recommendation Chatbot Using Rasa

When & Where:


Eaton Hall, Room 2001B

Committee Members:

David Johnson, Chair
Victor Frost
Prasad Kulkarni


Abstract

In recent years, the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and healthcare has paved the way for intelligent dietary assistance. NutriBot is an AI-powered chatbot developed using the Rasa framework to deliver personalized nutrition recommendations based on user preferences, diet types, and nutritional goals. This full-stack system integrates Rasa NLU, a Flask backend, the Nutritionix API for real-time food data, and a React.js + Tailwind CSS frontend for seamless interaction. The system is containerized using Docker and deployable on cloud platforms like GCP.

The chatbot supports multi-turn conversations, slot-filling, and remembers user preferences such as dietary restrictions or nutrient focus (e.g., high protein). Evaluation of the system showed perfect intent and entity recognition accuracy, fast API response times, and user-friendly fallback handling. While NutriBot currently lacks persistent user profiles and multilingual support, it offers a highly accurate, scalable framework for future extensions such as fitness tracker integration, multilingual capabilities, and smart assistant deployment.

Past Defense Notices

Dates

YALING LIU

A Process-Based Search Engine

When & Where:


2001B Eaton Hall

Committee Members:

Arvin Agah, Chair
Xue-Wen Chen
Man Kong
James Miller
Sarah Kieweg*

Abstract

PATRICK CLARK

Identifying Vision Disorders Using Iris Color Analysis

When & Where:


2001B Eaton Hall

Committee Members:

Arvin Agah, Chair
Swapan Chakrabarti
Jerzy Grzymala-Busse


Abstract

JAMES JENSHAK

Transmit Signal Design for Multistatic Radar

When & Where:


246 Nichols Hall

Committee Members:

Jim Stiles, Chair
Chris Allen
Shannon Blunt
Ken Demarest
Tyrone Duncan*

Abstract

CASEY BIGGS

Practical Considerations for Radar Emb edded Communication

When & Where:


246 Nichols Hall

Committee Members:

Shannon Blunt, Chair
Chris Allen
Erik Perrins


Abstract

MARTIN KUEHNHAUSEN

Service Oriented Architecture for Monitoring Cargo in Motion Along Trusted Corridors

When & Where:


250 Nichols Hall

Committee Members:

Victor Frost, Chair
Joseph Evans
Gary Minden


Abstract

MICHAEL WASIKOWSKI

Combating the Class Imbalance Problem in Small Samples and Heterogeneous Data

When & Where:


246 Nichols Hall

Committee Members:

Xue-Wen Chen, Chair
Jun Huan
Brian Potetz


Abstract

MEI LIU

Discovering Domain-Domain Interactions Toward Genome-wide Protein Interaction and Function Predictions

When & Where:


246 Nichols Hall

Committee Members:

Xue-Wen Chen, Chair
Arvin Agah
Jerzy Grzymala-Busse
Jun Huan
Robert Ward*

Abstract

ADAM SMITH

Compiler Transformations to Generate Reentrant C Programs to Assist Software Parallelization

When & Where:


246 Nichols Hall

Committee Members:

Prasad Kulkarni, Chair
Perry Alexander
Andy Gill


Abstract

JUSTIN EHRLICH

Real-Time Dynamic Instant Radiosity

When & Where:


2001B Eaton Hall

Committee Members:

Jim Miller, Chair
Perry Alexander
Gunes Ercal-Ozkaya
Man Kong
Sean Smith*

Abstract

SEAN GARRISON

A S-band Voltage Controlled Oscillator for a Highly-Integrated, Phase-Locked Loop, Frequency Synthesizer in a CMOS, Silicon-on-Sapphire Process

When & Where:


246 Nichols Hall

Committee Members:

Chris Allen, Chair
Fernando Rodriguez-Morales
Jim Stiles


Abstract