A doctoral citation summarizes the nature of the independent research, provides a high-level overview of the study, states the significance of the work and says who will benefit from the findings in clear, non-specialized language, so that members of a lay audience will understand it.
| Year | Citation | Program |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Former U.S. President Bush once said, "The world is addicted to oil". To address this, Dr. Zhong examined the possibility of making bioethanol from sustainably sourced wood residues as an alternative to oil for transport. Her research advances the industrialization of lignocellulosic bioethanol production. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Rabayrol studied the formation of gold deposits in Anatolia in Turkey. He showed the genetic relationship between the Arabian continental collision, mantle flow, magmatism and gold mineralization. His research provides the mining industry with a new exploration model in Anatolia, and insights into metallogeny in collisional tectonic domains. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geological Sciences (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Kreynes studied how specific cell signalling mechanisms impact a plant's ability to produce flavonoid antioxidants in order to improve our understanding and yield of beneficial phytochemicals. Flavonoids help plants cope with stress, and are components in medicinal plants that can help us treat diseases and live longer healthier lives. | Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Haddad developed novel flexible and breathable electrodes to monitor electrodermal activity, which is a biological signal related to the neurological system. This work improved our understanding of the impacts of electrode design on bio-signal monitoring and identified effective materials for wearable medical devices. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. McArthur studied neglected viral diseases, looking for better ways to measure viruses and their ability to infect humans. He developed analytic methods targeting dengue, Zika, and Ebola viruses, and applied them to discover new antivirals. His results advance our understanding of these viruses and may lead to a universal virus diagnostic test. | Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Garcia completed his doctoral studies in the field of Chemistry. He developed numerical methods that speed up the process of solving the Schrodinger equation for large molecules. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Khoshkholgh studied the analysis and design of large-scale wireless cellular networks comprising of millions of devices. He developed sophisticated mathematical models permitting fast and accurate performance evaluation of such networks without requiring expensive and time-consuming industry simulations. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Solomonian explored the relationship between culture and photography amongst the shishalh Nation, showing how photography is connected to, and shaped by, place, history, memory, as well as politics and power. This research highlights the importance of family photograph collections to communities, as an often-overlooked aspect of Indigenous visual-material culture. | Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Nutini studied greedy optimization methods for large-scale machine learning. She showed how to theoretically and empirically speed up these methods by leveraging their flexibility and exploiting problem structure. Her work revitalized the use of greedy methods for solving popular machine learning problems, proving that sometimes, greed IS good. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Forgaard investigated the extent to which stretch reflexes in the arm can change, based on voluntary intentions. His findings revealed a strong link between reflexive and voluntary upper-limb motor control. This work increases our overall understanding of how humans control rapid goal-directed movements. | Doctor of Philosophy in Kinesiology (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Pena tracked understandings of "Visual Literacy" across disciplines through the last century. He curated a full-text database of scholarly writing on the topic and designed a text analysis tool to visualize relationships among writings. This study advances understandings of Visual Literacy and provides a unique tool for text analysis. | Doctor of Philosophy in Language and Literacy Education (PhD) |
| 2018 | Using time series of satellite images, Dr. Lu quantified the dynamics between urban green space and socio-economic development within the pan-Pacific region from 1984 to 2012. His interdisciplinary research innovatively applied Earth observation technique, unlocking new ways of studying economy and urbanization. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Green examined the literary features of texts produced in medieval England dealing with the reckoning of the calendar and the nature of time, which have usually been regarded as 'scientific'. His research provides evidence that these often-neglected works exerted more influence than previously recognized on medieval English literary production. | Doctor of Philosophy in English (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Paik studied the mechanism involved in somatostatin-mediated protection against progression of Alzheimer's disease. He examined the effect of somatostatin on protecting blood brain barrier integrity and neurite stability. The findings from this research may be used in developing a novel therapeutic application in treating Alzheimer's disease. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmaceutical Sciences (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Lovering investigated how charged particles and temperature affect the the interactions of water and minerals. This work helps us understand ice formation in natural environments. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Armstrong investigated the presence of plant carbohydrate degrading genes present in terrestrial, aquatic, engineered and host associated environments using functional metagenomic methods. This revealed novel genes and previously uncharacterized modes of degradation and enabled the development of new synthetic tools. | Doctor of Philosophy in Genome Science and Technology (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Garcia examined the law and practice of citizen participation in resource allocations in Brazil. Her research offered new data on the workings of participation in health systems. This advances our understanding about the significant role of citizens in ensuring accountable resource allocations that both improve access and support population health. | Doctor of Philosophy in Law (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Tanzil investigated how local cloud resources can be utilized for 5G wireless networks. His proposed computation and caching methods reduce operating cost of 5G networks while maintaining quality of experience. His findings enable users to enjoy a wide variety of augmented reality and personal assistance applications using mobile devices. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Meier studied visual perception in children with typical and atypical development. She discovered that children don't see motion like adults do until they're 16 years old, and that people with "lazy eye" see motion similar to young children. This work has implications for improving vision in children impacted by neurodevelopmental disorders. | Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Ong investigated how perceptions of 'success' impact motor learning. She showed that experiences of 'error' neither negatively nor positively impacted learning, as long as participants improved and were aware of how they were performing. This research undermines newer claims on error-reduction methods for positive learning outcomes. | Doctor of Philosophy in Kinesiology (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Ghanouni developed a novel client-centred virtual reality gaming program as a therapeutic intervention for children with autism to enhance their socio-emotional skills. This trans-disciplinary project illuminates the role of community as equal partners with researchers during the design and development of products that can meet end users' needs. | Doctor of Philosophy in Rehabilitation Sciences (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Li identified gene SRRM4 as a powerful driver and therapeutic target for a special type of drug-resistant prostate cancer. This study provides insights into personalized medicine-based strategies for prostate cancer patients and may guide future development of novel therapeutics for drug-resistant prostate cancer. | Doctor of Philosophy in Reproductive and Developmental Sciences (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Copeland studied the role of targeted protein degradation in regulating the plant immune system. His research contributed to the knowledge of how excessive accumulation immune receptors is avoided. | Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Polovy presented the creation, using a specialized sequence of laser pulses, and preliminary lifetime measurements of Lithium-6 molecules that are 1,000,000 times colder than outer space, in several quantum configurations. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Lee examined the work of American photographers who arranged multiple photographs in sequence beginning in the late 1960s. He then revealed how their work influenced the practice and discourse of photography in France over subsequent decades. | Doctor of Philosophy in Art History (PhD) |