Doctoral Citations

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
2016 Dr. Winston traced the evolution of the field of transitional justice. She showed how states decide what counts as "appropriate behavior" when addressing a history of domestic human rights abuses. Her work contributes to the conceptual understanding of international norms and their diffusion across the international system. Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science (PhD)
2016 Dr. Yao showed how the residential loads can be coordinated with the information and communication technology and be used to provide peak shaving and frequency regulation services to the electrical grid. Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD)
2016 Dr. Briceno studied spatial mixing properties of Gibbs distributions in symbolic systems and their connections with decay of correlations, uniqueness of equilibrium states, and counting complexity. Using this knowledge, he developed new techniques for representation and approximation for topological entropy and pressure. Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD)
2016 Dr. Sarif's research focused on the energy consumption issue in a wireless video surveillance network. He developed a method to assign the optimal encoding configuration that reduces the network's overall power consumption. His work also provides an insight into the effect of video content on power consumption in a video surveillance network. Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD)
2016 Dr. Norman studied the unique teacher-student relationship between itinerant teachers of the deaf and hard of hearing and their students. Her research identifies the role these teachers play in supporting the social and emotional development of deaf and hard of hearing students, and highlights itinerant teachers as key facilitators of inclusive practices in schools. Doctor of Philosophy in Special Education (PhD)
2016 Dr. Bolton used data from satellites and airplanes to study how Canada's forests change through time and vary across space. By developing new techniques to monitor large forested areas, his work will aid in national efforts to quantify the amount of carbon stored in Canada's forests, and how that carbon storage is changing. Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD)
2016 Dr. Bett studied the influence of olfaction on the behaviours of Pacific salmon during their spawning migration. He demonstrated that salmon respond differentially to olfactory cues depending on their chemical nature. His results contribute to our understanding of how Pacific salmon navigate towards spawning grounds. Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD)
2016 Dr. Rennison's research investigated the processes of adaptation and speciation using a combination of field studies and controlled experiments on threespine stickleback fish. Her work suggests that biotic interactions are key drivers of diversification and that genetic architecture plays an important role in determining adaptive responses. Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD)
2016 Dr. Munro studied the factors that influence women's choices for mode of birth after caesarean. She found that women are influenced by care provider's concerns about access to surgical services and legal liability. The Ministry of Health is using Dr. Munro's recommendations to create a strategy for supporting women's informed choices in childbirth. Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Studies (PhD)
2016 Dr. Bai completed his doctoral work in the application of mathematics and game theory. He studied how to use mathematical models to predict the expected level of vaccine coverage. His research will help inform possible strategies in public health to fight against infectious diseases. Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD)
2016 Dr. Fohring developed and tested mathematical methodologies for non-invasive monitoring of water flow in an aquifer, using synthetic numerical models of seismic tomography surveys. These studies help to determine optimal survey designs for seismic tomography while generating the best images of water flow underground. Doctor of Philosophy in Geophysics (PhD)
2016 Insects, plants, and their feeding interactions form food webs that regulate much of Earth's biodiversity. Dr. Barbour discovered that different plant genotypes support unique food chains of insect species. His work indicates that the loss of plant genetic diversity could unravel the web of interactions that sustains the diversity of life on Earth. Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD)
2016 Dr. Field studied how children who have difficulty walking due to a chronic health condition use power wheelchairs to participate in daily life. Her findings explored the feasibility of research methods and the suitability of measurement tools describing children's participation and changes in their participation following receipt of a new power wheelchair. Doctor of Philosophy in Rehabilitation Sciences (PhD)
2016 Dr. Boychuk studied the art of 16th-century Europe, with a focus on the works of Joris Hoefnagel. She demonstrated how Hoefnagel used illumination to attain a position of prominence at the courts of the Holy Roman Empire. Her research challenges established views of early modern illumination and adds to the scholarship on Central European art. Doctor of Philosophy in Art History (PhD)
2016 Dr. Towle analyzed the molecular profiles of the different stages of progression in oral squamous cell carcinoma. She further investigated several genes that were frequently deregulated in the premalignant stage of this disease in order to understand their role in this disease. This research contributes to our understanding of the development and progression of oral cancer. Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Oncology (PhD)
2016 Dr. Zhang conducted her research at the interface of chemistry and biochemistry. She studied the interaction of the starch-digesting enzyme in the human pancreas with starch and natural product mimics, to control the blood glucose level. Her novel work paved the way for treatments of diabetes and obesity. Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)
2016 Dr. Wright studied the extermination of thousands of civilians during the Korean War. He proved that state prohibitions on mourning caused a crisis for surviving families, which led to unique forms of political resistance. Dr. Wright's research increases our understanding of state violence, human rights, and transitional justice. Doctor of Philosophy in History (PhD)
2016 Phytoplankton are the forests of the ocean. Invisible to the naked eye, these organisms take up as much CO2 and evolve as much O2 as all the plants on land combined, which makes them a crucial component of our planet's climate. Dr. Schuback's work helps to more accurately estimate rates of 'phytoplankton primary productivity' in the oceans. Doctor of Philosophy in Oceanography (PhD)
2016 Dr. Lu studied social influence and its applications in viral marketing and recommender systems from a computational perspective. He proposed mathematical models to encode complex social interactions and designed algorithms to efficiently and effectively tackle influence maximization problems in such contexts. Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD)
2016 Dr. Hammond explored legal reform in Ghana, a country with multiple legal systems. She argued that for state law to be effective and meet the particular needs of its urban and rural peoples, legal reformers must consider the multilayered relationships between state law and customary law. Her work challenges conventional approaches to legal reform. Doctor of Philosophy in Law (PhD)
2016 Dr. Capelle investigated the role oceans play in controlling atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. His work identified the key processes responsible for the production and transport of the potent greenhouse gases nitrous-oxide and methane in coastal British Columbia waters and how they may respond to climate-driven ocean change. Doctor of Philosophy in Oceanography (PhD)
2016 Dr. McCollum examined the influences and understandings that lie behind levels of political participation of young Canadians. She argued that political engagement is primarily fostered through social milieus that promote participation, and that increasing individualism in Western society is impacting young people's relationship with participation. Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology (PhD)
2016 Dr. Holroyd examined the influence of Canadian immigration policies on immigrant women. Her research demonstrated the value of neighbourhood-based settlement-oriented employment programs that recognize newcomers' skills, and that promote social and economic integration by fostering their sense of citizenship in Canada. Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology (PhD)
2016 Dr. Owens explored the effects of hybridization on the genomes of sunflowers. He developed a novel method for quantifying genomic composition in hybrid species. His work has implications for how hybrid species form and how genes can move between species. Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD)
2016 Dr. Ocariza studied the causes and consequences of JavaScript bugs that occur in web applications. In his research, he developed techniques for finding and automatically fixing these bugs. With over ninety percent of the Internet using JavaScript, his techniques will help ensure that programs used by billions of people online are reliable. Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD)

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