Ph.D. candidate Wenqi Liu will defend her doctoral dissertation, titled "Examing the Climatic Effects of Cropland Expansion on Natural Grassland." Her advisor is Dr. Yuting Zhou and committee members are Drs. Hamed Gholizadeh, Saber Brasher, and Chris Zhou (NREM). General audience members are welcome to attend the research presentation and ask questions before the committee goes into closed session with the candidate.