Graduate Students

Graduate education is a catalyst, sparking change in individuals, industries and institutions.

By virtue of their preparation and motivation, graduate students seek innovation, question intellectual boundaries and work beyond disciplinary borders. At the University of Delaware graduate education thrives as there is emphasis on student success, mentoring and inclusion. With the recent establishment of a Graduate College at UD cultivates the dynamic spirit and approaches of graduate students and advancing UD’s contributions to research, scholarship, innovation and discovery while ensuring students are the central focus.

A typical day in the life of a graduate student starts at 6am and often does not end until over 11 hours later. It is probably a cliché to say that no two days are alike for a graduate student. Days during semesters are filled with seminars, lab work, writing thesis chapters and putting together lab meetings. We would like to give you a glimpse into this world discovery, creativity and scholarly achievement across disciplines.

 
Liz Coward is a postdoctoral researcher in environmental chemistry at the University of Delaware, has seen firsthand the sobering impact climate change is having on permafrost in its natural environment. Coward works in the lab of Donald Sparks, Unidel S. Hallock du Pont professor of plant and soil sciences and director of the Delaware Environmental Institute, where she is studying core samples of permafrost collected from Alaska, among other things.

Coward grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she spent a lot of time outdoors, wondering about how the environment works. Research emerged as a fascinating option for the future during her undergrad years at Haverford College. Her advisor there, chemist Helen White, was studying samples from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Assisting with that work prompted Coward to get serious about research.

 
Elvis Osamudiamhen Ebikade is a fourth-year doctoral student studying chemical engineering under the advisement of Dion Vlachos, director of the Delaware Energy Institute. Ebikade earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Lagos in Nigeria. An undergraduate mentor and fellow of the Delaware Environmental Institute, Ebikade is eager to use his catalysis research to help solve global environmental challenges. He is co-founder of Lignolix, a UD-developed startup company focused on sustainably making materials from renewable biomass, such as lignin, a major component of trees, and pulp and paper waste that is typically thrown away. The startup recently earned funding to scale their work at Delaware Innovation Space, a public-private partnership between UD, DuPont and the state of Delaware..

 
Sanchita Balachandra is a fourth-year doctoral student studying chemical engineering under the advisement of Dion Vlachos, director of the Delaware Energy Institute. Ebikade earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Lagos in Nigeria. An undergraduate mentor and fellow of the Delaware Environmental Institute, Ebikade is eager to use his catalysis research to help solve global environmental challenges. He is co-founder of Lignolix, a UD-developed startup company focused on sustainably making materials from renewable biomass, such as lignin, a major component of trees, and pulp and paper waste that is typically thrown away. The startup recently earned funding to scale their work at Delaware Innovation Space, a public-private partnership between UD, DuPont and the state of Delaware..

 
Alexandra “Lexie” Tabachnick was born in Philadelphia, the first of three children. Her mother is a preschool teacher, her father is in historic preservation. She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of Chicago and her master’s at Villanova University, where she studied risk and resilience in families who were homeless.

 
Ahad Behboodi is a post-doctoral fellow with the University of Delaware’s Horn Entrepreneurship program. Behboodi is leading work to commercialize a promising robotic ankle brace for children with cerebral palsy, which grew out of his UD doctoral work with Samuel Lee, an associate professor in the College of Health Sciences. Behboodi earned his doctoral degree in biomechanics and movement science at UD in 2019.

 
Nefetaria Yatesis working on a Ph.D. in education. A graduate of UD’s Africana studies program, she is doing research on identity development, resilience and agency for youth in pan-African communities. Specifically, her work focuses on black girls’ experiences in formal learning contexts like traditional classrooms, as well as informal spaces, such as after-school programs.

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Pablo McConnie-Saad, Whittington Graduate Fellow and Public Administration Fellow, received his master’s in public administration at UD and is working on a doctoral degree in urban affairs and public policy. He has been a legislative fellow, serving as primary staffer for the state House Revenue and Finance Committee and the Economic Development, Banking, Insurance and Commerce Committee. In his current role, he has written for the Biden Blog on topics such as “The Challenge of Our Time.”
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