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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Dr. Shoemaker demonstrated how visual repetition and colour construct cohesive relationships in picturebooks for young children. This work contributes to the development of a visual grammar. The findings will be useful to educators who are assessing materials created by students in multiple modes, including words, pictures, motion and sound. | Doctor of Philosophy in Language and Literacy Education (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Price worked on synthesizing new ligands for use in radioactive drugs. These "ligands" are small molecules with many "arms" that wrap around radioactive metals and deliver them selectively to cancer cells for therapy. These new synthetic ligands are much faster and more efficient and should aid in detection and treatment of many types of cancer. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Wickenden completed his research in the field of organic chemistry. His work provides alternative strategies that may be used towards the development of new pharmaceutical compounds. With these improvements, researchers may one day be able to lower the cost of drugs to the public. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Lyon examined linguistic structure and meaning in Okanagan, a Salish language spoken in British Columbia. This research provides valuable documentation of an endangered language of the Pacific Northwest, and contributes to our understanding of how human languages may vary. | Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Chan's research in mathematics focussed on harmonic analysis. In conjunction with his supervisors, he proved a result regarding finite configurations in sparse sets. This was an extension of previous work on the subject and parallels results in the discrete case, contributing to the theory of additive combinatorics in the continuous setting. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Miller developed two models to study the gene Meis1 in adult blood. She found that Meis1 is required for the hematopoietic stem cell, as well in more mature subsets of cells that generate red blood cells and platelets. As Meis1 is involved in leukemia, the model systems will serve as a tool to study both normal and malignant hematopoiesis. | Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Genetics (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Stafford's dissertation examined gender norms and sexuality in Kindergarten. Her research findings illustrate how primary schools normalize gender conforming heterosexuality at the expensive of queer and transgender people. Her work is useful to anyone concerned with safer schools or interested in gender issues in dominant culture. | Doctor of Philosophy in Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Catacoli proposed a simplified approach to predict the effect of earthquakes on bridges. He studied the rotations induced by earthquakes on skewed bridges. His recommendations will help improve the seismic design of new bridges, and retrofit of existing bridges, and provide practical guidelines for the seismic assessment of these structures. | Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Green explored the secular and ceremonial life of the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nation in the Alberni Valley on Vancouver Island. She found that claims to territory were articulated through material and expressive culture. She also produced a series of ethnographic films about her research in collaboration with Nuu-chah-nulth people. | Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Hosseini-Farahabadi discovered the important roles of a secreted protein called Wint5a during normal beak development in chickens. She showed how changes in the amount of this protein in chickens can cause several facial defects, such as loss of skeletal tissues.The findings of this study can benefit biological science and clinical studies. | Doctor of Philosophy in Cell and Developmental Biology (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Zahrani conducted research into corrosion of industrial waste heat boilers in power plants. He focused on extending the lifetime of boilers and reducing the costs related to the maintenance and shutdown of plants. The findings can directly affect the ability of Canadian mineral processing companies to compete effectively in the global market. | Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Engineering (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. King conducted research using particle physics data delivered by the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, in Geneva. He searched for evidence of two promising hypothetical models of new physics: super-symmetry and universal extra dimensions. New constraints were placed on these models, thereby providing insight into their possible properties. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Bliss investigated the syntax of Blackfoot, an Algonquian language spoken in Southern Alberta. She developed a classification of the phrases, words and morphemes that comprise sentences and noun phrases. In addition to its theoretical contribution, Dr. Bliss's dissertation contributes to the documentation of this endangered First Nations language. | Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Sweiss examined how Vancouver children spend their time after school and how participation in different programs and activities is related to their well-being. She found that children who participated in a combination of several programs and activities had higher levels of well-being than children who participated in only a few activities. | Doctor of Philosophy in Human Development, Learning, and Culture (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Ma's doctoral work focussed on development of high strength fibres by co-spinning of polyethylene with carbon nanotube. Through polymer grafting, the compatibility between carbon nanotubes and ultra high molecular weight polyethylene matrix has been greatly improved. Her study may aid further research and development of light weight armour products. | Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Engineering (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Lea created a research-based theatre script exploring experiences of two teachers living in Kenya 40 years apart. The script examined the narrative inheritances shaping their personal and professional identities. He also critiqued his playwriting process to illuminate theoretical, methodological, and evaluation insights for similar projects. | Doctor of Philosophy in Language and Literacy Education (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Wong created a computational method to increase the accuracy and efficiency of weather forecast models. Her method ensures that amounts of key atmospheric chemicals are properly conserved when carried by complicated wind patterns. This is especially important for air pollution and global climate prediction. | Doctor of Philosophy in Atmospheric Science (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Wong studied the blood pressure lowering effects of beta blockers, which are used to treat chest pain. He showed that different sub-types of beta blockers lower blood pressure by different amounts and generally have no effect on pulse pressure. His research provides new information to assist physicians and patients in clinical decision-making. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmacology (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Hall studied representations of gay men in Japanese novels and films from the 1980s to the 2000s. He showed that the concerns and desires of gay men in Japan are articulated and transnational gay culture and identity are reflected. He demonstrated that supportive, political messages can be found, even in texts with problematic representations. | Doctor of Philosophy in Asian Studies (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Emmel examined the turbulent exchange of CO2, water and energy in a forest killed by mountain pine beetles. She found that immature living vegetation took up more CO2 than was released by the mainly dead forest. She showed that forest management to retain the living vegetation could be an appropriate response from a carbon perspective. | Doctor of Philosophy in Atmospheric Science (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Force assessed a group of recordkeeping standards in relation to the admissibility of evidence in Canadian courts. He discovered inadequacies among these standards with regard to the legal obligations of organizations to create and manage their records. His research presents a model for using standards for compliant recordkeeping. | Doctor of Philosophy in Library, Archival and Information Studies (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Aziznia developed an unconventional and innovative "Swiss-roll" fuel cell architecture aimed at reducing the cost of fuel cell systems. He subsequently applied this innovative design to a variety of fuel cell chemistries. His findings will help to reduce the cost of energy conversion and may open new avenues for fuel cell technology. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical and Biological Engineering (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Peterson examined how water flows through mountain-sized piles of discarded rock at a large copper mine in Peru. She determined relationships between physical water flow and chemical water quality. Her research can be used by mine planners and government regulators worldwide to ensure that water discharged from mines to the environment is clean. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geological Sciences (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Baker examined how individual animals respond to stressors of conservation management programs. Her research shows that an animal's personality affects its ability to cope with stress and its ultimate survival. Her work can help increase survival and improve the success of endangered species recovery programs. | Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Animal Biology (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Schwartz solved various geometric problems in discrete mathematics. He showed that if a set of lines in two dimensions contains many points from a grid then many of the lines are parallel. He also showed that the same distance cannot appear too often between points in two dimensions. This work improved previous results for these problems. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |