Positions Available

thank you for your interest in joining our lab. However, I am not currently accepting new graduate students at this time. I will not likely be accepting new students until fall 2025. However, please check back here for updates.

IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR AN INDEPENDENT STUDY PROJECT, PLEASE REVIEW THE PROJECTS BELOW TO SEE IF ANY ARE OF INTEREST. IF SO – FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME SO THAT WE CAN DISCUSS THEM FURTHER. I AM ALSO OPEN TO CHATTING ABOUT OTHER IDEAS YOU MIGHT HAVE, PARTICULARLY THOSE THAT FIT WITHIN ANY OF MY RESEARCH PROGRAMS.

I am currently looking for students interested in pursuing undergraduate independent studies (or co-op positions, if funding is available). Below are some of the ongoing research projects that might be of interest. I also regularly post new opportunities as they arise.

Computer Science (Mesh Technology & The Digital Divide, Decolonization & Indigenization Of Software Design, Pedagogy, Community-Engaged Scholarship, And Risk Assessment)

• CIS4900/CIS4910 students to help collect and analyze data related to the changing cost of conducting science. Specifically, this would involve collecting data on changes in conference costs, scientific materials, etc. – especially in relation to COVID19. These data will be used to determine a “science price index” (similar to the idea of the consumer price index).
• CIS4900/CIS4910 students to help develop an online tool to support animal nutrition. Specifically, this will involve converting a large excel spreadsheet into a user-friendly tool. This work is a collaborative effort with Dr. Kate Shoveller (Department of Animal Biosciences).
• CIS4900/CIS4910 students to assist with drafting review papers within the Mobile Ad Hoc Network domain. This work will involve assisting with literature reviews, synthesizing information, and co-authoring documents for submission to conferences or academic journals.
• CIS4900/CIS4910 students to analyze data related to youth mental health before and during various stages of the COVID19 pandemic.
• CIS4900/CIS4910 students to help design and launch a longitudinal survey to better understand overwork, burnout, and stress for students studying computer science. This will require the development of a Qualtrics survey, a Research Ethics Board application, analysis of data, and drafting of a paper for peer review.
• CIS4900/CIS4910 students to assist with the development of community-identified and community-led web and mobile (Android or iOS) applications for data collection and information sharing.
• CIS4900/CIS4910 students to explore case studies of software designed for Indigenous communities, with a particular focus on best practices, design tools used, and domain of application (e.g. health apps, environmental monitoring apps, games, language apps, social media).
• CIS4900/CIS4910 students to explore community-engaged scholarship as a pedagogical tool for improving the educational experience of undergraduate students studying computer science & software design (specifically), and in STEM more broadly. Students could
  1. identify best practices for developing a community-engaged Computer Science (or STEM) classroom,
  2. explore existing and/or develop new tools to support a community-engaged classroom,
  3. evaluate the effect of community-engaged learning on different elements of the student experience,
  4. evaluate the effect of community-engaged classrooms on the community,
  5. explore intellectual property rights pertaining to systems developed with and for the community in a community-engaged classroom,
  6. develop criteria for selecting a community partner such that their challenge meets the learning objectives of the course, or
  7. investigate methods in which students play a role in selecting the community partner (and how best to deal with potential moral objections).
• CIS4900/4910 students to help update and develop teaching tools and materials for the delivery of CIS3750.

Mathematics & Statistics (Spatial Statistics, Bayesian Analysis, And Public Health & Ecological Risk Assessment)

• MATH4600/STAT4600 students to conduct a study to evaluate the impact of missing data when latent profile analysis is used to investigate and understand burnout and overwork.
• MATH4600/STAT4600 students to determine the most appropriate form of the Deviance Information Criterion (as per Spiegelhalter, 2002, and Celeux, et al., 2006) for evaluating spatial Poisson mixture models.
• MATH4600/STAT4600 students to apply a novel environmental Agent-Based Model to explore different ecological and conservation challenges, or to evaluate different management practices.