Theses
The theses in UWSpace are publicly accessible unless restricted due to publication or patent pending.
This collection includes a subset of theses submitted by graduates of the University of Waterloo as a partial requirement of a degree program at the Master's or PhD level. It includes all electronically submitted theses. (Electronic submission was optional from 1996 through 2006. Electronic submission became the default submission format in October 2006.)
This collection also includes a subset of UW theses that were scanned through the Theses Canada program. (The subset includes UW PhD theses from 1998 - 2002.)
Recent deposits
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An exploratory analysis of the cost-effectiveness of a multi-cancer early detection blood test in Ontario, Canada
(University of Waterloo, 2023-06-08)Background: Cancer is one of the main causes of death globally and early detection of tumors through screening is key to preventing morbidity and mortality. However, screening tools only exist for a few types of cancers, ... -
Theoretical and Numerical Analyses of Laryngeal Biomechanics: Towards Understanding Vocal Hyperfunction
(University of Waterloo, 2023-06-08)Speech is a cornerstone in human communication and an irreplaceable tool for several academic, legal, and artistic careers. Producing intelligible speech is an extremely complex process, involving coupling between ... -
Object Segmentation and Reconstruction Using Infrastructure Sensor Nodes for Autonomous Mobility
(University of Waterloo, 2023-06-07)This thesis focuses on the Lidar point cloud processing for the infrastructure sensor node that serves as the perception system for autonomous robots with general mobility in indoor applications. Compared with typical ... -
Exploring Toronto's Inner Frontier
(University of Waterloo, 2023-06-05)It is without ceasing that urban spaces witness the cycle of their birth and death. Like the waves of an ocean repeatedly crashing into and withdrawing from the shoreline, the city’s sphere of production and human ... -
(Non)-Invertible Topology in Quantum Field Theory
(University of Waterloo, 2023-06-05)This thesis aims to highlight aspects of mathematics and physics that arise in topological field theories. We will consider invertible and noninvertible topological theories. In the former case, we compute the classification ... -
Higher Gauge Theory and Discrete Geometry
(University of Waterloo, 2023-06-05)In four dimensions, gravity can be seen as a constrained topological model. This provides a natural way to construct quantum gravity models, since topological models are relatively straightforward to quantize. Difficulty ... -
New approaches for the real-time optimization of process systems under uncertainty
(University of Waterloo, 2023-06-05)In the process industry, the economical operation of systems is of utmost importance for stakeholders to remain competitive. Moreover, economic incentives can be used to drive the development of sustainable processes, which ... -
Development of a Moving Front Kinetic Monte Carlo Algorithm to Simulate Moving Interface Systems
(University of Waterloo, 2023-06-02)Moving interfaces play vital and crucial roles in a wide variety of different natural, technological, and industrial processes, including solids dissolution, capillary action, sessile droplet spreading, and superhydrophobicity. ... -
Algorithms in Intersection Theory in the Plane
(University of Waterloo, 2023-06-02)This thesis presents an algorithm to find the local structure of intersections of plane curves. More precisely, we address the question of describing the scheme of the quotient ring of a bivariate zero-dimensional ideal ... -
Identifying Determinants of Performance for Females Completing a Paramedic Physical Employment Test
(University of Waterloo, 2023-06-02)Background: Sex disparities exist in employment and injury rates in the paramedic sector. Low success rates among females attempting physical employment standards could explain the elevated injury risk among female paramedics. ... -
On Nonlinear Time-Invariant Behavioural Models of Power Transistors Used in the Computer-Aided Design of Power Amplifiers
(University of Waterloo, 2023-06-01)The Radio Frequency (RF) Power Amplifier (PA) is the main consumer of power in a wireless transmitter. Energy efficient PA design aided with circuit simulation tools requires accurate nonlinear models of the power transistors ... -
Efficient Geo-Distributed Transaction Processing
(University of Waterloo, 2023-05-31)Distributed deterministic database systems support OLTP workloads over geo-replicated data. Providing these transactions with ACID guarantees requires a delay of multiple wide-area network (WAN) round trips of messaging ... -
Improving Cluster Scheduling Resiliency to Network Faults
(University of Waterloo, 2023-05-31)We present a comprehensive empirical study of the impact partial network partitions have on cluster managers in data analysis frameworks. Our study shows that modern scheduling approaches are vulnerable to partial network ... -
Children’s social perceptions and metaperceptions during an initial interaction with an unfamiliar peer
(University of Waterloo, 2023-05-31)Background. Interacting with an unfamiliar social partner is a critical first step in forming a relationship (Hinde & Stevenson-Hinde, 1987). During these initial interactions, individuals tend to be more positive than ... -
Development and Characterization of High Performance Electrically Conductive Polymer Nanocomposite for Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) Shielding Applications
(University of Waterloo, 2023-05-30)The fast-growing pace and massive utilization of compact portable electronic and wireless telecommunication systems provided an easier life for humans. However, this positive progress has come at the expense of significant ... -
Multi-sensor Fusion for Positioning and Semantic Information Extraction in Indoor Environments
(University of Waterloo, 2023-05-30)This thesis focuses on three significant challenges in multi-sensor data fusion for real-world uses: (1) Lack of multisensory datasets for mapping and positioning datasets in underground environments, (2) inefficient and ... -
Learning to Engage: An Application of Deep Reinforcement Learning in Living Architecture Systems
(University of Waterloo, 2023-05-30)Physical agents that can autonomously generate engaging, life-like behavior will lead to more responsive and interesting robots and other autonomous systems. Although many advances have been made for one-to-one interactions ... -
Weak Coherent Pulse Source and Polarization Control for Quantum Key Distribution
(University of Waterloo, 2023-05-30)The Quantum EncrYption and Science Satellite will demonstrate quantum communication from space. One demonstration will be a satellite uplink using a weak coherent pulse source. This thesis will discuss work in minimizing ... -
Aspects of Anomaly in Condensed Matter Physics
(University of Waterloo, 2023-05-30)Anomalies have proven to be an important tool for unraveling the enigmatic properties of strongly-coupled condensed matter systems. Especially, it provides powerful constraints on the emergibility problem, i.e., whether a ... -
Fatigue Testing and Analysis of Aluminum and Steel Partial Joint Penetration (PJP) Welds for Bridge Applications
(University of Waterloo, 2023-05-30)Partial joint penetration (PJP) welds are a cost-effective alternative to full penetration welds and have certain advantages, especially in situations where a full penetration weld is unnecessary and the stress on the weld ...