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
2013 Dr. Monroy developed an equation to predict lateral soil forces on pipelines buried in trenches. By conducting full-scale tests and numerical modeling, he simulated the development of soil forces. His research adds to our knowledge about the seismic design of buried pipelines, which will contribute to efforts to make pipelines safer. Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering (PhD)
2013 Dr. Xu examined an inexpensive and sustainable method to remediate acid rock drainage with efficiency. She applied the regeneration routine to treat drainage resulting in less waste water volume. In this way, the used sorbent can also be re-utilized thereby reducing the solid waste generation. Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical and Biological Engineering (PhD)
2013 Dr. Troncoso-Valverde studied models of gaming where auctioneers use information about the characteristics of their products to attract buyers. He found that auctioneers release more information when they compete for the same pool of buyers. His findings contribute to our understanding of the role played by information in competitive environments. Doctor of Philosophy in Economics (PhD)
2013 Dr. Hiebert studied the political and aesthetic theory underlying the body of work of George Woodcock, the prolific writer who forged relations between Vancouver and the Dalai Lama in the sixties. The intellectual and geographical mobility of Woodcock is shown essential to the role he played in the formation of Canadian literature as a field. Doctor of Philosophy in English (PhD)
2013 Dr. Jongkees investigated bacterial enzymes known as unsaturated glucuronyl hydrolases, which can cause food poisoning and infections following surgery. He studied how these enzymes work chemically, in order to discover ways to stop them working. Understanding the enzymes could lead to better food preservatives and treatments to prevent infection. Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)
2013 Dr. Marsden studied the role of law in the lives of individuals with uncertain migration status. She found that these migrants faced barriers both in workplace rights and in obtaining access to education, health care, and social benefits. She argues that social exclusion of migrants is maintained through these areas of the law. Doctor of Philosophy in Law (PhD)
2013 Dr. Zwicker examined the effect of parent-child relationships on stepfamily functioning. With the increasing prevalence of complex family systems in Western society, this research points to important ways in which broad stepfamily dynamics affect the success of remarriages. Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)
2013 Dr. Pandey investigated the motion that buildings experience in earthquakes. He analyzed seismic records for buildings and developed a model that incorporates interaction between soil, foundation and structure. He found that the current building code provisions relating to motion in buildings with slab foundation are inaccurate and need re-examination Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering (PhD)
2013 Dr. Shilliday studied trauma and World War Two in the French contemporary novel. Her research explored the works of World War Two survivors and authors and second-generation writers. Her findings underline the importance of an empathetic engagement with testimony, an aesthetic relationship to the text and a sense of responsibility towards history. Doctor of Philosophy in French (PhD)
2013 Dr. Magzul examined and compared the adaptation to climate change by two Indigenous communities: the Blood Tribe (Blackfoot) in Canada and Patzun (Maya) in Guatemala. This research shows that traditional livelihoods and economic independence lead to stronger social support systems, which in turn lead to greater adaptability and adaptive capacity. Doctor of Philosophy in Integrated Studies in Land and Food Systems (PhD)
2013 Dr. Whitehead evaluated a new class of painkillers. These peripheral analgesic drugs block pain at the site of origin, and do not cause patients to become sedated. . This new analgesic class is expected to have tremendous benefit for treatment of arthritis and neuropathic pain. Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmacology (PhD)
2013 Dr. Samadian studied at the iCapture centre in St Paul's hospital. He proposed a pathway towards "in silico" clinical research, investigating methodologies to facilitate the representation and sharing of clinical knowledge. The goal of the research is to provide a decision support framework to help clinicians make efficient healthcare decisions. Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics (PhD)
2013 Dr. Southey investigated systems to help robots recognize objects. He studied the role of qualitative 3D spatial relationships that allows robots to differentiate between likely and unlikely spatial configurations, in order to detect objects. Someday it could help robots in tasks like personal care which require them to recognize household items. Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD)
2013 Dr. Wiens studied the experiences of mothers living with the challenges and uncertainties associated with an adult child's mental illness. The findings of this research were best understood through the conceptual lens of nonfinite loss and have significant implications for theory, research, and counselling psychology practice. Doctor of Philosophy in Counselling Psychology (PhD)
2013 Dr. Kulakov studied the evolution of microstructure during the processing of ferrite-martensite dual-phase steels. He then developed a mathematical model to describe the microstructure evolution. The model will be used for the optimization of the industrial processing of dual-phase steels. Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Engineering (PhD)
2013 Dr. Sakakibara studied the confidence, mobility, and participation in daily and social activities of adult wheelchair users. His findings demonstrate that confidence with wheelchair use has important implications for mobility and participation. His work provides a foundation for developing strategies to enhance confidence for those using wheelchairs. Doctor of Philosophy in Rehabilitation Sciences (PhD)
2013 Dr. Pawliuk completed his doctoral studies in the field of Electrical and Computer Engineering. His focus was on microscopy and he searched for ways of improving the resolution of imaging systems. His most notable contributions were in the development of novel electromagnetic scattering models. Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD)
2013 Dr. Sham showed that the cells that line the intestines produce a protein that dampens inflammation, to maintain a healthy relationship with our gut microbiota, or bacteria. Without this protein, gut cells can attack our micro-biota, leaving us open to infection. His research identifies a key role for our micro-biota in protecting us from disease. Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD)
2013 Dr. Meger conducted research in the field of Computer Science. He developed methods for robotic vehicles to understand the objects in their environment, using camera sensors. His work has resulted in one of the world's most capable robots for this task and been demonstrated to improve the performance of autonomous driving and home-assistant devices Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD)
2013 Dr. Valizadeh's research focused on embedding information in digital media such as image and audio signals. The outcomes of his work include enhanced security of digital media and prevention of multimedia content piracy. This research significantly contributes to protecting the rights of intellectual property owners such as movie and song producers. Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD)
2013 Dr. Talhouk developed algorithms to estimate the relationship between data measurements to improve the understanding of how they simultaneously change under different conditions. Modelling the heart rate of patients under anesthesia and modelling the daily return of stocks in a financial portfolio are examples of ways these algorithms can be used. Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics (PhD)
2013 Dr. Folz conducted research in probability and analysis, with an emphasis on random walks. He proved results relating the large-scale geometry of graphs to various behaviors of interest for the associated random walks. He developed techniques that have been used by other researchers and improved substantially upon prior results in this area. Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD)
2013 Dr. Al-Kiswany developed a data storage system for scientific applications, such as bioinformatics. The storage system makes the most of each application's characteristics and the capabilities of computer video cards, to improve system performance significantly. Ultimately, this will help scientists to solve more complex problems in a shorter time. Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD)
2013 Dr. Hutchinson examined how young children learn to regulate emotions, learning, and social interactions in classrooms. She found classroom tasks and teacher support were essential in children's developing self-regulation. Her study adds to growing evidence indicating the importance of self-regulation for children's success in the early school years. Doctor of Philosophy in Human Development, Learning, and Culture (PhD)
2013 Dr. Jalalinejad studied electrostatics phenomena in gas-solid fluidized beds. Using a computational model, she showed that electrical charges play an important role in gas-solid flow. Her findings assist polymer industries to have a better understanding of this phenomenon and to improve reactor performance. Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical and Biological Engineering (PhD)

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