Graduated, Hooded, and Starting a New Chapter

  • 1/1/2026
  • One-minute read
Smitom Borah at NC State graduation ceremony

After years of data wrangling, modeling, and more Bayesian iterations than I can count, I officially completed my PhD in July 2025. In December, I had the joy of walking at NC State’s departmental ceremony, a moment that felt long overdue to celebrate in person.

Smitom Borah with Dr. Daniel Obenour at NC State CCEE graduation
With my PhD advisor, Dr. Daniel Obenour, and CCEE Department Head, Dr. Jacqueline Gibson, at the NC State CCEE departmental graduation ceremony, December 2025.

The PhD journey, from modeling phosphorus dynamics in Jordan Lake to scaling up internal loading estimates across the U.S., has been deeply rewarding, and I’m grateful to Dr. Obenour and the entire CCEE community for the support along the way.

I’m excited to share that I also started a Postdoctoral Research Scholar position in August 2025, continuing in Dr. Obenour’s lab. The work ahead, on ensemble response curves for Lake Erie and prioritization framework for optimized nutrient management in freshwater bodies across the U.S., feels like a natural and exciting extension of everything I built during the PhD.

Here’s to the next chapter.