Congratulations to Christian Phillips who successfully defended his MS thesis, "Towards Molecular Dynamics as a Tool for Assessing Protein Designs for Stability and Function," on June 5th, 2024. Christian collaborated with Professors Jim Pfaendtner and Dave Beck on many interdisciplinary computational studies, including protein-protein interactions, protein designs, and materials science. Through the application of large language models and molecular dynamics simulations, Christian engineered a thermostable red fluorescent protein for use in microscopic imaging experiments. Christian is now seeking opportunities at interdisciplinary research institutions, where he hopes to build on his computational skills and continue advancing the field of protein engineering through collaborative efforts.