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 | Dr. Letham studied the intersections of human settlement and shoreline change over the last 15,000 years around Prince Rupert Harbour, British Columbia. He reconstructed sea level history to identify early archaeological sites and studied how ancient human use and modification of shorelines transformed social organization on coastal landscapes. | Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Rahman's doctoral studies dealt with interference-limited communication systems. Considering practical design aspects, such as channel state information, he developed techniques to improve power efficiency and performance fairness. His findings will help to advance communication technologies by supporting a variety of communication needs and services. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Prendergast explored early literacy in the lives of children with disabilities. She examined informational materials and interviewed parents and children's librarians and found that children with disabilities are often excluded from community-based early literacy. Her work offers recommendations for creating more inclusive programs. | Doctor of Philosophy in Language and Literacy Education (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Liu conducted a study to investigate how alloy additions affect a structure during homogenization heat treatment and to examine the high temperature strength of the AA6082 alloys. The work could assist the auto industry to replace steel components with aluminum in cars to decrease vehicle weight and reduce their environmental impact. | Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Engineering (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Dale used genomics to investigate tree diseases. She found that urban environments increased the diversity and number of alien microorganisms in soil and water. She examined DNA characteristics in an invasive pathogen responsible for sudden oak death and argued that changes at the DNA level enable rapid evolution and may explain the success of some invasive species. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Brown studied the ecological responses to ocean acidification caused by carbon dioxide emissions. She found that ocean acidification created simplified invertebrate communities with decreased biodiversity. Her results highlight the importance of considering animal communities as a whole to understand the interaction between different species. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Letham developed new laboratory techniques for analyzing fine-grained sedimentary reservoir rocks. Application of these techniques will lead to more efficient exploitation of shale oil and shale gas reservoirs. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geological Sciences (PhD) |
| 2018 | In Saudi Arabia, the country's Early Childhood Education (or ECE) workforce is composed almost exclusively of women. However, Dr. Alrasheed noticed that female voices were often missing from macro-level studies. In her doctoral work, Dr. Alrasheed interviewed six women in Saudi Arabian ECE to identify commonalities in their lives and journeys. | Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership and Policy (EdD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Handlovsky has shown how age, experience, capacity, as well as historical and ongoing discrimination influence the health and illness practices of middle-aged and older gay men. Findings show that to address the health inequities faced by gay men, health promoting efforts must be developed with recognition of men's strengths and capacities amidst discrimination. | Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Fraser studied harmonic analysis and geometric measure theory. He considered questions involving packing families of surfaces into zero-volume sets and locating patterns of points in these sets. This research connects the study of fractal sets in Euclidean spaces with the study of fractal sets in other spaces. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Mattucci performed a thorough biomechanical investigation and redevelopment of a dislocation spinal cord injury model, to better understand the most common clinical injuries. These improvements will provide future researchers a robust avenue to further investigate the importance of biomechanical factors contributing to spinal cord injury. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Izquierdo studied the constructivist art movement that established itself in Montevideo, Uruguay during the nineteen thirties and forties. Although this movement has often been viewed as an individual enterprise of its founder Joaquin Torres Garcia, Dr. Izquierdo argues in favor of ways in which we can view the collective experience in arts. | Doctor of Philosophy in Hispanic Studies (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Ziemsen developed a learning model that allows students to produce films online and in a virtual world using a process called machinima. Her goal was to help democratize film education. She engaged in her research as an a/r/tographer, by directing and producing two films and developing an online film production curriculum. | Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Studies (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Yaylaci studied the impact of civil wars on citizens' political and social trust. She shows that ethnic wars and ideological wars have contrasting effects and indicate the importance of distinguishing between different war types when examining their consequences. Her research is informative for post war reconciliation and reestablishing political order. | Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science (PhD) |
| 2018 | Traditional chemical processes can generate large amounts of waste. As such, developing chemical processes that generate less waste has a significant benefit to society. Dr. Clarkson examined the chemical properties of tungsten and molybdenum containing molecules with the goal to develop environmentally friendly processes for the synthesis of consumer products. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Bridge explored the challenges and opportunities for educators to engage in the processes of reconciliation in their teaching practice. Her study builds on a body of research exploring Indigenous pedagogical frameworks in land and place-based learning. | Doctor of Philosophy in Language and Literacy Education (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. King analyzed the politics of education reform in Germany and France in response to international comparative assessments. He demonstrated that the resilience of the policy status quo depended on the nature of political institutions, with the degree of policy change resulting from the structure of policy design institutions. | Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Huo studied English language learning, particularly reading and spelling, among children in China. She found that English vocabulary and phonological awareness have causal influence on English word reading. Her work informs the practice of English literacy education for young learners in non-English speaking countries. | Doctor of Philosophy in Special Education (PhD) |
| 2018 | Release of antibiotic resistant bacteria from wastewater treatment systems can have serious side effects. Dr. Mohammadali evaluated treated effluent and demonstrated that waste foam is also a reservoir for the generation of resistant microorganisms. These findings will inform the effective monitoring of wastewater and safe disposal of foam. | Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Ebrahimi developed new biodegradable plastics with different topologies and microstructures to replace their environmentally persistent counterparts. Her comprehensive study provides new approaches towards the development of industrially relevant catalysts for the large-scale production of biodegradable and biocompatible plastics. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical and Biological Engineering (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. McGregor showed that laser light can illuminate early malignant changes in lung tissue. Through the development of a novel medical device and clinical trial, Dr. McGregor found that adding laser Raman Spectroscopy into routine clinical procedures can help improve early lung cancer detection. | Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Oncology (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Osama introduced a comprehensive framework for identifying, diagnosing and providing solutions for transportation safety issues. He applied this framework in the City of Vancouver, and discovered new insights into bike and pedestrian networks, crash models and hot zones. His work will contribute to policy recommendations for safer active commuting. | Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Rockwell explored older adults' experiences of moving to assisted living: a relatively new model of housing and support for older adults in BC. By comparing participants' stories with the larger values and regulations of assisted living, Dr. Rockwell identified areas for improvement, as well as promising practices to help residents settle in. | Doctor of Philosophy in Social Work (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Liva developed a theory explaining how women make decisions around physical activity after giving birth. Her work indicated that women considered both the risks and accessibility associated with physical activity to bring their decisions in line with their desires. This research supports potential interventions affecting women's physical activity patterns. | Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing (PhD) |
| 2018 | In response to a scarcity of research addressing substance use in conflict and post conflict areas, Dr. Blair's work helped shed light on the intersection of mental health, HIV, and substance use in northern Uganda. Findings highlight the need to integrate rigorous evidence with community perspectives and understanding of risk. | Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD) |