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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Dr. Chen developed an innovative wood building material, box-based cross laminated timber, for use in building floors. As the first research of its kind in North America, her work contributes to the understanding of floor systems for commercial and non-residential applications, particularly in tall and long-span situations where conventional timber framing has limitations. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Azizi examined designing new microstructures for low-carbon steels suitable for car bodies. He proposed a new approach to refine the structure of these steels resulting in improved properties. These improvements can potentially reduce weight and gas emission in automotives. | Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Engineering (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Soolanayakanahally studied native balsam poplar trees to understand how they adapt to Canadian temperate and boreal climates. His findings show that balsam poplar can accommodate a diversity of climates, but because of adaptation to different day-lengths at different latitudes, existing populations are restricted in their ability to benefit from climate change. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
| 2011 | Root categorization provides an insight into the structure of a language. Dr. Armoskaite explored categorization in Blackfoot (Algonquian) and Lithuanian (Baltic). The distinct paths of categorization revealed that the concept of "category" is a feature driven construct rather than a primitive. | Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Moussavi examined the efficacy of a previously unused oncolytic virus in mouse models of prostate cancer. She found that one strain of this virus was able to selectively infect and destroy tumour cells while sparing normal tissue. This research provides support for the use of the virus as a treatment for prostate cancer. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Wang developed multiple imputation methods that have applications to the problem of missing data in multivariate one-sided tests in medical, pharmaceutical and sample survey studies. He applied these methods to studies of mental distress and HIV dynamics. | Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Terpstra explored innovation implementation in an interorganization tobacco cessation network using complexity theory. Her research demonstrates the value in using a systems paradigm and qualitative data to study implementation phenomena. The findings of her study can be used to improve tobacco cessation efforts in North America and globally. | Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Studies (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. McLane examined how climate impacts tree germination, survival and growth. She assessed the potential for whitebark pine, which is endangered in Canada, to grow in locations north of its current range. She also assessed the growth potential of lodgepole pine populations under diverse temperature regimes. This research will help forest professionals and conservationists forecast changes in forest productivity and species survival as temperatures warm. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Gillies studied the role of American presidential advisers in the fiscal policy-making process of the contemporary White House. He subsequently developed a theory of presidential adviser selection and argues for presidents to strongly consider the benefits of mixed adviser sets to guard against being captured by a particular type of thinking. | Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Wen studied a recently-discovered gene family of metalloproteinases, with a focus on their function and regulation in human endometrial physiology and pathology. The results support the idea that these genes could be useful prognostic biomarkers of recurrent pregnancy loss and endometrial cancer. | Doctor of Philosophy in Reproductive and Developmental Sciences (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Walker investigated the nature of and reasons behind recent adult literacy policy reform in New Zealand. Her research illuminates how different interest groups, and current and historical policies and political ideologies, came together to form substantive economic and social policy. | Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Studies (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Foist developed several methods that enhance the quality of data which come from spectroscopic measurements used to study biomolecules, such as DNA. His methods were demonstrated to be generally superior to other popular methods and will benefit researchers in a broad range of disciplines that utilize spectral analyses. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Phillips explored how medieval reading paradigms differ from our own. She analyzed several medieval textual groups using theoretical models based on genealogy and thing-theory, both of which resonate with medieval assumptions about knowledge and identity. These models enhance our understanding of the apparently miscellaneous nature of medieval literature. | Doctor of Philosophy in English (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Rathbun investigated how multiple treatment interventions across a landscape affect mortality and growth within actively managed stands in a forest. This research provides models created for use in managed forest stands, where variable retention systems may occur, filling a gap in available models on the BC Coast. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
| 2011 | During strong earthquakes, shaking soils can behave like liquids and flow. Dr. Naesgaard's study of these phenomena and his development of engineering design procedures and computer models for analysis, will assist in building safer soil structures. | Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Tupper analyzed Health Canada's policy response to ayahuasca, a traditional indigenous Amazonian medicine, psychoactive substance, and sacrament for the Brazilian Santo Daime religion. His research critiqued the government's attempt to balance competing interests of drug control, criminal justice, public health, and human rights such as religious freedom. | Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Studies (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Szeftel examined the connectivity of water flow between hillslopes, the riparian zone and the stream channel. His research highlights the role of topography in controlling connectivity and implications for predicting streamflow response at different spatial and temporal scales. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Closson examined how early adolescents vary their aggressive and pro-social behaviours toward different peers. Her study demonstrated that a richer understanding of the complex social processes involved in the early adolescent peer group benefits from identifying the targets of youths' behaviours. | Doctor of Philosophy in Human Development, Learning, and Culture (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Luger studied poetry that was written and circulated in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Her dissertation revealed a large and diverse archive of post-9/11 poetry; it demonstrated that poetry, while sometimes considered marginal in contemporary culture, is integral to the ways we understand, mourn, and witness historical trauma. | Doctor of Philosophy in English (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Zeng studied the biological and molecular functions of MAP kinase cascades in plant development. Her work has expanded the understanding of the regulatory network in controlling plant root architecture and pollen formation. | Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD) |
| 2011 | Alkenes, such as ethylene or styrene, serve as chemical building blocks for everything from medicines to plastics. In studying phosphorus-containing analogues of alkenes, Dr Bates has discovered unexpected reactivity and developed several new classes of phosphorus compounds | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr Micko examined and defined the geological architecture of the Central Zone alkalic copper-gold porphyry deposit Galore Creek district in northwestern British Columbia. Based on in-depth mineralogical and geochemical studies, she was able to develop an evolutionary model for the deposit and subsequently provide new exploration tools for the mining industry. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geological Sciences (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Tastekin examined the Qur'anic scholarship of a nineteenth-century German-Jewish scholar of Islam, Abraham Geiger, to uncover connections between the disciplines of Islamic studies and literary studies. She argued that Geiger's representation of Judaism and Islam as the sources of modernity contributed to a cosmopolitan understanding of Europe. | Doctor of Philosophy in English (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Dugal-Tessier designed and synthesized an unprecedented class of chiral ligands based on the phosphaalkene motif. He also showed the practical utility of these ligands by obtaining high selectivities in an organic transformation. His research could fill an important gap in ligand design with applications ranging from the polymer to the pharmaceutical industry. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr Slobodov investigated the consequences of dimensionally reducing space-times with rotational symmetry. This is a useful technique for simplifying a variety of problems in general relativity, including the numerical simulation of head-on black hole collisions. He found that reduced space-times tend to have singularities, negative energy and faster-than-light matter flows, complicating numerical simulations. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |