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. Rose developed modern clean-energy devices called Solid Oxide Fuel Cells, which produce electricity and heat cleanly and sustainably. During his research, he developed novel materials to improve the lifetime of these clean-energy conversion devices. | Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Engineering (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Sears produced a new taxonomic treatment for a complex group of closely related plants in the Sunflower family. By synthesizing classical and contemporary methods of plant systematics, he re-evaluated the taxonomic limits of, and discovered new species in the North American Crepis agamic complex. | Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Tan investigated Singapore Biology teachers' learning through a "Learning Study Approach" to professional development. Her work revealed the potential of the Learning Study Approach to promote teacher collaboration in overcoming uncertainties associated with curricular and pedagogical reforms and their ability to use learning theories to implement effective biology instruction. | Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum Studies (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Nobre Silva studied the isotopic compositions of basalts from two major hotspot tracks, Hawaii and Ninetyeast Ridge in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, respectively. By carefullly preparing the samples, her analysis was able to identify distinct mantle components intrinsic to their deep mantle sources. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geological Sciences (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Budiman studied the ways in which Indonesian women authors who emerged after the fall of Suharto's New Order in 1998 re-imagine the nation and respond critically to the New Order's ideology of unity. This research revealed that these authors provided new understanding of Indonesian-ness by taking heterogeneity and women's perspectives into account. | Doctor of Philosophy in Asian Studies (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Zur examined how the child became the focus of contesting ideologies in children's magazines of colonial and post- liberation Korea. She traces the changing notions of national subjectivity in text and images, and also exposes voices that offered an alternative view of the child as a complex individual. | Doctor of Philosophy in Asian Studies (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Ghaffari identified CD13 as a novel surface receptor in skin cells, which upon activation increases protein degradation in wounds. These findings advance our understanding of the wound healing process and provide a new therapeutic target in treatment of post-injury scarring. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Nguyen examined the performance limits of communication systems with binary codes and proposed several novel methods to improve their transmission rates. The efficiency of his methods was demonstrated in applications such as wireless and free-space optical communications. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Roberts developed platinum-based materials that undergo reversible changes in their physical properties by shining light on them. These light-switchable materials have potential use as semiconductors in organic electronics. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Tan investigated the sources of hegemonic party resilience in the era of democracy. She examined the conditions under which elites unite and oppositions succeed or fail to form credible alternatives in Singapore and Taiwan. She found that regimes that invest in institutions and are selective in restricting civil and political liberties are more persistent. | Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Cabarcas studied the capacity of small farmers in two Ecuadorian indigenous communities to reduce pesticide environmental health risks. The study described important contextual barriers such as inequitable land distribution, unfavourable market policies, and limited state support. He uncovered local and global mechanisms of health inequities. | Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Studies (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr Oldridge developed a model of the computer vision problem of image alignment which allows appropriate image registration algorithms to be automatically selected based purely on the description of the problem conditions. His work is a key contribution towards a larger project which aims to develop problem and user-centric models for all of computer vision. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Shieh studied neighbourhood-based governance in China. As cities wrestle with pressing social issues, her work shows how the grass roots organize themselves and how they are regulated by the state. Her research contributes to the broader planning discourse on the role of community building in the governance of an urbanizing society. | Doctor of Philosophy in Planning (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. MacLean used noninvasive recordings of human brain activity to study the processing of auditory information in the cerebral cortex. She showed that sensory and executive cortical regions cooperate during the detection of changes to ongoing acoustic patterns. Her work furthers our understanding of the network nature of human brain function. | Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Crome examined the development, function and regulation of a novel immune cell population that directs immune responses in health and disease. She provided new research tools and identified novel targets for therapies aimed at preventing harmful immune responses such as transplant rejection and autoimmunity. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr Johnston developed an imaging tool to measure bone properties in people living with osteoarthritis, a debilitating joint disease. This new tool can be used in future research to clarify the role of bone in osteoarthritis development, which could improve early disease detection and treatment. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Streelasky investigated the ways urban Aboriginal children utilized wider understandings of literacy. She found that the children's practices were influenced by the technological transformations of the western world, and the locally-derived Indigenous world. This research argues for the relevance of finding a balance between these worlds for Aboriginal children in contemporary classrooms. | Doctor of Philosophy in Language and Literacy Education (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. DeBeck examined street disorder and illicit drug use in Vancouver. Her research provides compelling evidence that structural and environmental level interventions in the areas of housing, employment and supervised drug consumption facilities are likely to significantly reduce street disorder and have a positive influence on public health. | Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Studies (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr Jordan studied settlement in Canada by refugees seeking protection from homophobic or transphobic persecution. The research explores how social exclusions, stigma, and trauma challenge access to asylum and settlement. She advocated for changes to refugee reforms, presenting to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration. | Doctor of Philosophy in Counselling Psychology (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Jahng investigated communication relationships during a small group activity in an online course. She developed a model for collaborative learning in small groups and showed how to use the model to analyze communication and assess group collaborations. Her research provides online educators with concrete methods for assessing and facilitating the work of small groups. | Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum Studies (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Punchihewage developed several novel resource allocation schemes for cognitive radios. The proposed algorithms significantly improve the performance of cognitive radios by providing much higher data rates. These schemes will enable improved spectrum utilization leading to more efficient and cost effective reliable networks. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 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) |