PhD student, Sociology
Kurt’s dissertation research studies the politics of low-wage labor migration in the modern, global economy. Using a comparative case study in Southeast Asia, he discusses the hidden costs for migrant workers that come with temporary guest worker programs.
WARF
Karen García Escorcia
PhD student, Spanish
Karen studies debt as a literary motif and a protagonist that has the power to actively impact literary characters, their ideologies, and their interpersonal relationships.
Brianna Lafoon
PhD student, History and Educational Policy Studies
Brianna’s research examines how schooling intersected with nation-building and expansion in the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, specifically regarding African American, immigrant, and colonial subjects.
Steffen Silvis
PhD student, Interdisciplinary Theatre Studies
Steffen studies the role that Japanese Noh theatre played in the development of American modernist drama and dance.
Laura M. Alexander
PhD candidate, Microbiology
As a member of Dr. Jan Peter van Pijkeren’s probiotics lab, Laura focuses on the development of the probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri as a biotherapeutic delivery vehicle.
Dylan Schmitz
PhD student, Mechanical Engineering
Dylan studies how wearable robotic exoskeletons change the forces on the tendons and ligaments inside the body.
Mónica Rodríguez Morris
MS student, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Mónica’s research focuses on sustainability and life cycle assessments. Specifically, she works on the impact of bioplastics on solid waste management infrastructure and the environment.
Alexander Cole
PhD student, Physics
Alexander Cole is pursuing a PhD in physics, performing research at the intersection of string theory, cosmology, and data science. Cole is interested in connecting string theory to our universe.
Samuel Porter
PhD candidate, History
Samuel writes in his dissertation about the long process of Japan’s military demobilization after World War II. He argues that demobilization was protracted and incomplete, and that public hostility toward servicemen as well as occupation policies in Japan prevented veterans from successfully reintegrating into society once they were home.
Jorge Guerrero
PhD student, Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology
Jorge came to UW–Madison for graduate school with a SciMed GRS Fellowship and joined Nathan Sherer’s lab to study HIV transmission. He focuses on how dendritic cells – one of the first types of cells that HIV encounters when it enters the body through a mucus membrane – aid or prevent the transmission process.