Central to the University of Waterloo’s mission is the creation and dissemination of knowledge. As new scholars, graduate students are expected to disclose and publicly defend their research results to ensure review from their peers and acceptance and inclusion of their findings in open scholarly discourse.
At times, graduate students may wish to protect their research results, particularly when they contain material of commercial or marketable value, or when restricted by a publication agreement. Similarly, students may require accessibility accommodations or engage in sensitive research areas which may present personal risks. These unique circumstances may result in a thesis and/or thesis defence being Held Without Public Disclosure.
The following theses have been submitted to the Faculty of Science Graduate Office and are available, unless otherwise noted, for review by any member of the University during the display period only. The display period is the time between the posting of the thesis and the examination date.
September PhD Defences
Monday, September 14, 2026 at 1:00:00 PM
PhD Candidate: Gyana Gourab MISHRA
Title: Characterizing the conserved role of palmitoylation in neurodegeneration using the model organism Drosophila melanogaster
Supervisor: Dale Martin
Department: Biology
Location/Method: Remote via MS TEAMS
Thursday, September 17, 2026 at 11:00:00 AM
PhD Candidate: Saba KARIMI
Title: Transformation of Stable Polystyrene Glasses toward Equilibrium
Supervisor: James Forrest
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method: PHY 308
Friday, September 18, 2026 at 1:00:00 PM
PhD Candidate: Fatma Hassan MOHAMMED
Title: The function and inhibition of SARS-Cov-2 main protease(mpro)
Supervisor: Todd Holyoak
Department: Biology
Location/Method:B1 266
Tuesday, September 22, 2026 at 11:00:00 AM
PhD Candidate: Eivind JOERSTAD
Title: Quantum Information Probes in Holography: Shell Geometries and Black Hole Singularities
Supervisor: Robert Myers
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method: PHY 352
October PhD Defences
Thursday, October 1, 2026 at 11:00:00 AM
PhD Candidate: I-Hsuan YEH
Title: Dopant–Carrier Exchange Coupling in Mn2+-Doped Metal Halide Perovskite Nanocrystals
Supervisor: Pavle Radovanovic
Department: Chemistry
Location/Method: C2 361
Tuesday, October 6, 2026 at 9:30:00 AM
PhD Candidate: Shilpa GORLA
Title: Determining the role of fluid flow on lens biomechanics
Supervisor: Vivian Choh
Department: School of Optometry and Vision Science
Location/Method: Optometry Bldg Rm 350
Thursday, October 8, 2026 at 10:00:00 AM
PhD Candidate: Jesus BETANCOURT
Title: Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide for Advancing Crustacean Aquaculture: Immunomodulatory, Antibacterial, and Growth-Promoting Effects in Litopenaeus vannamei
Supervisor: Brian Dixon
Department: Biology
Location/Method: Remote via MS TEAMS
Friday, October 9, 2026 at 1:30:00 PM
PhD Candidate: Wenxue ZHANG
Title: Ground state simulations of chains of confined rotors with dipolar interaction
Supervisor: Pierre-Nicholas Roy
Department: Chemistry
Location/Method: C2 361
Friday, October 16, 2026 at 1:00:00 PM
PhD Candidate: Cailum STIENSTRA
Title: Beyond Mass Spectrometry: Learning Orthogonal Chemical Representations for Scalable Structure Elucidation
Supervisor: Scott Hopkins
Department: Chemistry
Location/Method: C2 361
Monday, October 26 2026 at 1:00:00 PM
PhD Candidate: Tristan FRASER
Title: Applying Neural Network Emulators to Void-Galaxy Clustering
Supervisor: Will Percival
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method: PHY 352
November PhD Defences
Thursday, November 12, 2026 at 9:00:00 AM
PhD Candidate: Jersey Allyson FONTZ
Title: Restoring invaded wetlands: Vegetation recovery and seeding efficacy
Supervisor: Rebecca Rooney
Department: Biology
Location/Method: Remote via MS TEAMS
Recently Held PhD Defences
Tuesday, August 11, 2026 at 9:30:00 AM
PhD Candidate: Bruna SIEBENEICHLER
Title: Defining and Engineering the Structural Continuum of Bacterial Inclusion Bodies
Supervisor: Elizabeth Meiering
Department: Chemistry
Location/Method: C2 361
Tuesday, August 11, 2026 at 11:00:00 AM
PhD Candidate: Anastasiia MASHKO
Title: Systems and Protocols for Quantum Sensing of the Magnetic Field Using Atom Arrays
Supervisor: David Cory and Alexandre Cooper-Roy
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method:PHY 352
Tuesday, August 11, 2026 at 1:00:00 PM
PhD Candidate: Anne Marie YEBOAH
Title: Visual Deficits in Persisting Post-Concussion Symptoms
Supervisor: Kristine Dalton and Elizabeth Irving
Department: School of Optometry and Vision Science
Location/Method: OPT 350
Friday, August 14, 2026 at 10:00:00 AM
PhD Candidate: Sotiris MYGDALAS
Title: Spacetime Quasicrystals and Computational Complexity Theory in the Road Towards Quantum Gravity
Supervisor: Niayesh Afshordi and Latham Boyle
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method: QNC 1201
Wednesday, September 9, 2026 at 9:00:00 AM
PhD Candidate: Ashley CID
Title: Optimizing naloxone distribution in Canadian community pharmacies: Exploring barriers, intervention approaches and public funding considerations
Supervisor: Michael Beazely and Kelly Grindrod
Department: School of Pharmacy
Location/Method: Pharmacy - PHR 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2026 at 1:00:00 PM
PhD Candidate: Amy WHITE
Title: Nutrient Dynamics in Prairie Stream Systems: Patterns, Drivers, and Stoichiometric Implications Across Spatial and Temporal Scales
Supervisor: Adam Yates
Department: Biology
Location/Method:Remote via MS TEAMS
Thursday, September 10, 2026 at 2:00:00 PM
PhD Candidate: Estevao VILAS BOAS DE OLIVEIRA
Title: Theoretical Studies on Dipolar Planar Rotors in a Linear Chain
Supervisor: Pierre-Nicholas Roy
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method: Remote via MS TEAMS
September MSc Defences
Tuesday, September 15, 2026 at 9:00:00 AM
MSc Candidate: Luke SCHOFIELD
Title: Microbiology of pre-saturated gap fill bentonite compacted in pressure vessels
Supervisor: Josh Neufeld
Department: Biology
Location/Method: B1 266
Tuesday, September 15, 2026 at 1:00:00 PM
MSc Candidate: Tristan LICSKAI
Title: Crystal Structures and Nonlinear Optical Properties of Semiconducting Main Group Chalcogenides
Supervisor: Holger Kleinke
Department: Chemistry
Location/Method: C2 361
Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 2:00:00 PM
MSc Candidate: Rahaf GEISA
Title: Exploring the Biomolecular Encapsulation and Surface Bioconjugation Properties of the Supramolecular Protein: Keyhole Limpet Hemocyanin
Supervisor: John Honek and Thorsten Dieckmann
Department: Chemistry
Location/Method: C2 361
Thursday, September 24, 2026 at 9:00:00 AM
MSc Candidate: Nimesha Nadeeshani WEERASINGHE MUDIYANSELAGE
Title: Investigation of the Hydrogen Peroxide Signaling Pathway in the Proposed Halogen Cyclic Reaction Mechanism
Supervisor: Qing Bin Lu
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method: Remote via MS TEAMS
Recently Held MSc Defences
Wednesday, August 5, 2026 at 1:30:00 PM
MSc Candidate: Isabella TODD
Title: Investigating the ESRP1-CTNND1 Regulatory Axis
Supervisor: Natoya Peart
Department: Biology
Location/Method: STC 2002
Thursday, August 6, 2026 at 12:00:00 PM
MSc Candidate: Sehmimul HOQUE
Title: Toroidal Gibbs sampling using quantum and classical techniques
Supervisor: Roger Melko and Pooya Ronagh
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method: Remote via MS TEAMS
Thursday, August 6, 2026 at 1:00:00 PM
MSc Candidate: Sakshee Samir PATIL
Title: Individual Qubit Manipulation Using Dual Acousto-Optic Deflectors in a Trapped Ion Quantum Processor
Supervisor: Kazi Rajibul Islam
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method: QNC 2101
Friday, August 7, 2026 at 11:00:00 AM
MSc Candidate: Benjamin VAN OSCH
Title: Toward Automated Tuning and Charge-State Characterization of Accumulation-Mode Silicon Quantum-Dot Devices
Supervisor: Jonathan Baugh
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method: PHY 352
Friday, August 7, 2026 at 2:00:00 PM
MSc Candidate: Pedro RODRIGUEZ CRUZ
Title: Biochemical Characterization of Heterogeneous Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein A2 Inclusion Body Structure and Stability
Supervisor: Elizabeth Meiering
Department: Chemistry
Location/Method: C2 361
Tuesday, August 11, 2026 at 12:30:00 PM
MSc Candidate: Shyan MASCARENHAS
Title: HostFinder: Large-scale statistical detection of virus-host interactions across the Sequence Read Archive
Supervisor: Andrew Doxey
Department: Biology
Location/Method: B1 266
Wednesday, August 12, 2026 at 1:30:00 PM
MSc Candidate: Azharuddin Alfaz Sarfraz MOHAMMED
Title: Exploration of Time-dependent Coupled Cluster theory for the extraction of eigenvalues and eigenstate properties
Supervisor: Marcel Nooijen
Department: Chemistry
Location/Method: C2 361
Friday, August 14, 2026 at 10:00:00 AM
MSc Candidate: Ajay DASS
Title: Finite-Size Orientational Crossover in Water–Argon Chains with Optional Carbon Nanotube Confinement
Supervisor: Pierre-Nicholas Roy
Department: Chemistry
Location/Method: C2 361
Friday, August 14, 2026 at 1:00:00 PM
MSc Candidate: Amira KAMEL
Title: Selection and characterization of DNA aptamers for therapeutic drugs: voriconazole and carbamazepine
Supervisor: Juewen Liu
Department: Chemistry
Location/Method: Remote via MS TEAMS
Friday, August 14, 2026 at 3:00:00 PM
MSc Candidate: Nathania LUI
Title: From Single Binders to Sequence Populations: SELEX-Based Molecular Recognition for Environmental Detection and Cancer Cell Profiling
Supervisor: Juewen Lui
Department: Chemistry
Location/Method: C2 361
Monday, August 17, 2026 at 9:00:00 AM
MSc Candidate: Shahrzad TOFIGHI
Title: Physical Basis of the Membrane-Perturbing Activity of Antimicrobial Peptides in Bacterial Outer and Inner Membranes
Supervisor: Bae-Yeun Ha
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method: Remote via MS TEAMS
Tuesday, August 18, 2026 at 10:30:00 AM
MSc Candidate: Addison OKELL
Title: Towards FrAg Molecules for CP Violation Measurements in Nucleons
Supervisor: Alan Jamison
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method: PHY 308
Wednesday, August 19, 2026 at 11:00:00 AM
MSc Candidate: Yifan DONG
Title: Mutual Interactions between Dopant Emission Centers in Sb/Mn-Codoped Cs2CdCl4 Nanocrystals
Supervisor: Pavle Radovanovic
Department: Chemistry
Location/Method: C2 361
Wednesday, August 19, 2026 at 2:30:00 PM
MSc Candidate: Urszula MASTEJ
Title: Extending Near Infrared (NIR) Surface-Enhanced Resonant Raman Spectroscopy (SERRS) to the Biologically Silent Raman Region
Supervisor: Jung-Ho Yu
Department: Chemistry
Location/Method: Remote via MS TEAMS
Thursday, August 20, 2026 at 2:00:00 PM
MSc Candidate: Victor CHARETTE
Title: Synthesis of the Antibiotic Peptide, Olenamidonin B
Supervisor: Scott Taylor
Department: Chemistry
Location/Method: C2 361
Tuesday, September 8, 2026 at 9:00:00 AM
MSc Candidate: Parinaz RAFATI
Title: Modeling and characterization of a tunable coupler- flux qubit ultrastrongly coupled to an open transmission line
Supervisor: Adrian Lupascu
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method: PHY 308
Wednesday, September 9, 2026 at 9:30:00 AM
MSc Candidate: Lauren WEEKS
Title: Age and Sex Differences in Eastern Whip-poor-will Ecology (Antrostomus vociferus)
Supervisor: Liam McGuire
Department: Biology
Location/Method: B1 266
Friday, September 11, 2026 at 12:00:00 PM
MSc Candidate: Catalina MORALES GUTIERREZ
Title: Single-photon indistinguishability of nanowire quantum dots for entanglement swapping
Supervisor: Michael Reimer and Thomas Jennewein
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method: Remote via MS TEAMS
Friday, September 11, 2026 at 2:30:00 PM
MSc Candidate: Taylor CEY
Title: Spatially Confined Superposed Unruh-DeWitt Detector Trajectories
Supervisor: Robert Mann
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method: Remote via MS TEAMS