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 | NID |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Dr. Li studied the way in which the implantation of human placenta is regulated by a protein named activin. That protein is found where the fetus connects with the mother. The findings provide insights into the biology of placenta implantation, and can improve the diagnosis and treatment methods used in pregnancies with dysfunctional placenta. | |
| 2015 | Dr. Read analyzed the windstorms that affected southwest BC from 1994 to 2012, and modeled related damage to the electrical grid. Power outages were found to be nearly certain for winds above 60 km/h, and outage frequency increased exponentially with peak wind speed. Outage forecasts help utilities improve grid resiliency, keeping our cell phones on. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. McAuliffe studied speech perception, the field in linguistics that focuses on how listeners are able to perceive and understand speech. Specifically, he focussed on perceptual learning, which refers to how listeners update their perceptual system in response to hearing speech. His findings contribute to cognitive models of speech perception. | Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Boulton-Funke completed her doctoral research in the field of Curriculum Studies. Focussing on teacher education, she explored the practices of teachers of visual arts. Her findings will help us understand how creative thought, intuition and memory can influence the approaches used in the practice of visual arts teachers. | Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum Studies (PhD) |
| 2015 | Can combinatorial models be used to study linear polymers? Dr. Wong used mathematical models to predict the physical behaviour of linear polymers confined in a slit, concluding that the results realistically mimic experimental findings. The methods in this project can be used to study a variety of other problems both within and outside mathematics. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Lee studied the neural basis of stress and emotional behavior in adolescence. She found that neural and behavioural responses to stress exposure differ across the life span. Her research enhances our understanding of how stress and cannabis exposure affects the developing brain, behaviour, and the development of stress-related disease. | Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Goessling studied the ways in which youth activists in a social justice organization construct meaning from their experiences. This research resulted in a set of narratives describing what it means to be a youth in a neoliberal society. These stories of young people's engagement with society reveal ways in which youth transform it, and themselves. | Doctor of Philosophy in Human Development, Learning, and Culture (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Ardila Garcia examined the diversity of fungal parasites, or Microsporidia, in the Northwest Pacific ocean. He discovered and characterized the first case of a microsporidian infection in a marine roundworm. This discovery led to novel insights into the co-evolution of host-parasite interactions between microsporidian parasites and roundworms. | Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Muthukrishna developed theories to explain the evolution of the human brain and human social networks. He used mathematical and computational modeling techniques to construct theories, then tested them using psychological experiments. His findings suggest that human "smarts" are acquired, not hardwired, and the key lies in our social networks. | Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Cassels studied the ways in which we measure children's ability to understand what other people are thinking and feeling. Her research revealed how elements of the measurement process can bias this assessment. Her research highlights changes that can be made to improve the accuracy of measurement instruments for children. | Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Mehranpour created a model to identify which proteins are better targets for drugs, and which part of each protein interacts with drugs and enzymes. This model can be used by biochemists and biologists to probe the behaviour of proteins in different diseases, with the goal of controlling the progress of diseases such as Cancer and Alzheimer's. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Fayyazi studied the way in which structures that have deep foundations, such as bridges and high-rise buildings, push against the soil when horizontal pressure from earthquakes or other forces exist. His research covered a wide range of foundations for which limited data exist. His findings contribute to safer and more reliable foundation designs. | Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Kasahara completed his doctoral studies in the field of Chemistry. He developed a synthetic route towards an intermediate for a complex natural product. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Ruby completed her doctoral studies in the field of Electrical and Computer Engineering. She focussed on scheduling and resource allocation, which are important tasks in the radio resource management layer in wireless communication systems known as LTE. She proposed three uplink scheduling and resource allocation schemes for LTE-Advanced systems. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Hoiles completed his doctoral studies in the field of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He constructed predictive models of engineered tethered bilayer lipid membranes. These models provided novel insights into biological membrane dynamics and the development of tethered membrane based bio-sensors. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Han applied analytical and numerical methods of quantum mechanics to solve several controversies in molecular physics. He showed the common mechanisms in the formation of ultracold molecules, and the response of molecules to coherent and incoherent light. His work outlined a consistent, novel route towards laser control of molecular processes. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Cai studied the 802.11 interference problem in WiFi networks, and showed a direct correlation between network congestion and wireless interference. He argued for trading some bandwidth for less interference and better fairness in 802.11 networks. He proposed a system to identify interference by correlating throughput changes of wireless devices. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Zhang studied navigation systems in small robots. He developed the technology so that those mobile robots can learn to detect obstacles and people in a home environment, and avoid bumping into them. This research shows promising developments in the use of robots to assist the elderly and the differently abled in daily activities. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Scholes examined how American periodicals materially shaped the ethos of women's poetry in the mid-nineteenth century. She argues that this ethos directly impacted Emily Dickinson's representation of herself as a poet, and reveals Dickinson's life-long avoidance of publication as a commitment to specific, interpersonal, non-public, poetic address. | Doctor of Philosophy in English (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Yu studied econometric models that may have multiple equilibria. He developed an approach to detect multiplicity of equilibria directly from observed variables. His study advanced our understanding of the relationship between the equilibrium behaviour and distribution patterns of data. | Doctor of Philosophy in Economics (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Ford studied the properties of thousands of galaxy clusters in large astronomical surveys. She developed new techniques for measuring the amount and distribution of dark matter, using the gravitational bending of light rays. This work contributes to our understanding of structure formation in the universe. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
| 2015 | Air quality models help scientists to study how air pollution depends on weather and harmful emissions. Dr. Shi explored novel statistical approaches to evaluating air quality models. The application of these methods revealed fresh insights, linking the predictions from the model performance to specific weather and emission conditions. | Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Ramogida developed new medical imaging agents for positron-emission tomography scans, to detect cancer and heart disease using radioactive metals. She studied methods to safely incorporate the metals into pharmaceuticals. These non-conventional metals have the potential to mitigate the global shortage of the metal used in current imaging agents. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2015 | The marine gas dimethyl sulfide plays a role in natural climate regulation by bridging the atmospheric and oceanic sulfur cycles. Dr. Asher developed new methods to measure the variability and production of this gas across time and space. Her work advances our understanding of the marine sulfur cycle and informs climate change research. | Doctor of Philosophy in Oceanography (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Campbell studied change in the culturally diverse students in engineering design teams. Buying into teamwork, claiming viable roles and navigating team perspectives were found critical to early professional development. This suggests a need for an explicit curricular focus on teamwork, intercultural and communicative skills, and formative assessment. | Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum Studies (PhD) |