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. 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. Montes-Aste found fractal patterns in the temporal dynamics of commercial shrimp catches off the BC coast. He discovered a close link between a long-range temporal memory in fisheries and oceanographic variability. This led to development of a novel early warning indicator to be used in predicting major changes through the history of the fishery. | Doctor of Philosophy in Oceanography (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. Berndt showed how the specialized functions of brain neurons are controlled by signals from targets that the neurons contact. He defined how these signals are interpreted at regulatory regions of DNA. His work contributes to our understanding of brain development, and describes processes that are disrupted in degenerative neurological diseases. | Doctor of Philosophy in Cell and Developmental Biology (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Tewari completed his doctoral work in mathematics, focusing on research in the field of combinatorics, and spending many hours counting. He studied a prominent analogue of the ubiquitous Schur functions. These functions show up and have applications in fields as diverse as Informatics and Quantum theory. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (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. 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. 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. Goenaga investigated why some states are successful in providing valuable services to their populations, while others are plagued by corruption and inefficiency. He showed that the organizations that citizens adopt to interact with political authorities determine their collective capabilities to build safe and prosperous societies. | Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science (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. 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 | Since school gardens are once again growing in school grounds across North America, Dr. Ostertag decided to grow a garden here at UBC as an arts-based research project to understand what it means to teach with a garden. In the company of plants and people, she engaged with the difficult history of school gardens and their pedagogical possibilities. | Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum Studies (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Willard examined how basic cognitive functions and cultural environments come together to create complex, supernatural belief systems. She found that some people are more likely than others to see the world as supernatural. Still, cultural learning explained the most of the variance in who adopted or abandoned a specific religious belief system. | Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (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 | 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 | Dr. Smessaert studied computional models of polymer glasses with the goal to better understand plastics and related materials. He illuminated microscopic processes that link mechanical activity to weak points in the molecular structure. The results provide new insights that assist the development of a theory of plasticity for non-crystalline solids. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (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. Toloui developed a model to evaluate changes in the microstructure of oil and gas pipelines designed for the Arctic. His studies focused on the welds that are critical for the integrity of pipelines. His findings may contribute to improve safety of pipelines by providing deeper insight into microstructure changes at weaker areas of pipelines. | Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Engineering (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Forsey analyzed the relationship between New Age spiritualism and 21st century capitalism in the United States. She demonstrated how New Age attitudes about profit-making and work draw on the Hindu doctrines of Karma and Dharma. These attitudes influence a unique form of online entrepreneurship that draws on the virtues of service and generosity. | Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Ti studied the healthcare of illicit drug users in hospital settings. She found that hospitals can act as an environment that increases the risk of negative health outcomes among this population. Her research has important public health implications as it points to the need for harm reduction programs to be integrated in hospitals. | Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD) |