Articles by author: jsteepe

  • July 31 – Master of Science Thesis Defence – Fatemeh (Nanzanin) Hasheminejad

    Thursday, July 13, 2023 | By

    Master of Science thesis defence in Mathematics

    Fatemeh (Nazanin) Hasheminejad, a Master of Science candidate in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, will defend her thesis titled “Convergence Analysis of Heterogeneous Decision-making Populations Under the Coordinating Best-response and Imitation Update Rules” on Monday, July 31 at 11 AM, virtually.

    The examination committee includes Cheryl McCormick, Chair; Pouria Ramazi, Supervisor; Junling Ma, External Examiner (University of Victoria); and Henryk Fuks and Stephen Anco, Committee Members.

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  • Debiasing should be Good and Bad: Measuring the Consistency of Debiasing Techniques in Language Models – Speaker: Robert Morabito

    Tuesday, July 04, 2023 | By

    Join Us Thursday July 6th for an online presentation:
    Abstract:
    Debiasing methods that seek to mitigate the tendency of Language Models (LMs) to occasionally output toxic or inappropriate text have recently gained traction. In this paper, we propose a standardized protocol which distinguishes methods that yield not only desirable results, but are also consistent with their mechanisms and specifications. For example, we ask, given a debiasing method that is developed to reduce toxicity in LMs, if the definition of toxicity used by the debiasing method is reversed, would the debiasing results also be reversed? We used such considerations to devise three criteria for our new protocol: Specification Polarity, Specification Importance, and Domain Transferability. As a case study, we apply our protocol to a popular debiasing method, Self-Debiasing, and compare it to one we propose, called Instructive Debiasing, and demonstrate that consistency is as important an aspect to debiasing viability as is simply a desirable result. We show that our protocol provides essential insights into the generalizability and interpretability of debiasing methods that may otherwise go overlooked.

     

    DATE: Thursday (July 6) 11:00 a.m. – 11: 45 a.m. via Teams
    TEAMS LINK:  Click here to join the meeting

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  • June 5 – PhD Thesis Defence – Charles Barraco

    Wednesday, May 31, 2023 | By

    Doctoral thesis defence in Biotechnology

    Charles Barraco, a PhD in Biotechnology candidate, will defend his thesis titled “The bipartite function of Clade I TGAs: involvement in basal immunity and systemic acquired resistance” on Monday, June 5 at 10:30 a.m., in Plaza 600F.

    The examination committee members are Brian Roy, Chair; Charles Després, Supervisor; Darrell Desveaux, External Examiner (University of Toronto); Cheryl McCormick, Internal Examiner; and Tony Yan and Aleksandar Necakov, supervisory committee members.

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  • May 31 – PhD Thesis Defence – Hyun Suk (Leeko) Lee

    Monday, May 29, 2023 | By

    Hyun Suk (Leeko) Lee, a PhD in Biological Sciences candidate, will defend the thesis “Feasibility study using remote sensing technologies to improve zonal vineyard management ” on Wednesday, May 31 at 9:30 a.m., virtually.

    The examination committee members are Brian Roy, Chair; Debbie Inglis and Jim Willwerth, Co-Supervisors; Yu Jiang, External Examiner (Cornell University); Kevin Turner, Internal Examiner; and Ralph B. Brown and Marilyne Carrey, Advisory Committee.

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  • May 29 – Master of Science Thesis Defence – Hayley-Ann Bennett

    Monday, May 29, 2023 | By

    Master of Science thesis defence in Biotechnology

    Hayley-Ann Bennett, a Master of Science candidate in the Centre for Biotechnology, will defend her thesis titled “Influence of thermal treatment on aptamer structure & Synthesis and purification of modified Acinetobacter baumanii-binding aptamers” on Monday, May 29 at 10:30 AM in WH147.

    The examination committee includes Cheryl McCormick, Chair; Hongbin (Tony ) Yan, Supervisor; Richard A. Manderville, External Examiner (University of Guelph); and Aleksandar Necakov and Yifeng Li, Committee Members.

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  • May 10 – Master of Science Thesis Defence – Jamie Sapera

    Monday, May 08, 2023 | By

    Master of Science thesis defence in Earth Sciences

     

    Jamie Sapera, a Master of Science candidate in the Department of Earth Sciences, will defend her thesis titled “Glacial Dynamics and Stratigraphy in the Southern Great Slave Lake Region, Northwest Territories” on Wednesday, May 10 at 1:00 PM., virtually.

    The examination committee includes Adonis Skandalis, Chair; John Menzies, Supervisor; Brent Ward, External Examiner (Simon Fraser University); and Francine McCarthy and Roger Paulen, Committee Members.

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  • April 26 – Master of Science Thesis Defence – Jacob Medeiros

    Monday, April 24, 2023 | By

    Jacob Medeiros, a Master of Science candidate in the Department of Biological Sciences, will defend his thesis titled “Interactions between caffeic and caftaric acids, furan-derived aroma compounds, and chitosan during base wine ageing” on Wednesday, April 26, 2023 at 2 p.m., in virtual format.

    The examination committee includes Cheryl McCormick, Chair; Gary Pickering and Belinda Kemp, Co-Supervisors; Marc Bradshaw, External Examiner (Strewn Winery); Jim Willwerth, Committee Member.

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  • March 20 – Doctor of Philosophy thesis defence – Junpeng (Winston) Xu

    Wednesday, March 15, 2023 | By

    Junpeng (Winston) Xu, Doctor of Philosophy candidate in the Department of Chemistry, will defend his thesis titled “Programing strand displacement reaction pathways using small molecular DNA binders” on Monday, March 20 at 9 a.m., virtually.

    The examination committee includes Wendy Ward, Chair; Feng Li, Supervisor; Georgii Nikonov, Interim Supervisor; Chengde Mao, External Examiner (Purdue University); Shengrong Bu, Internal External Examiner; Martin Lemaire and Vaughn Mangal, Committee Members.

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  • Department of Biological Sciences Seminar Series – Friday March 10

    Friday, March 03, 2023 | By

    “Where Should we Focus to Improve Health Post-Pandemic Emergency?”
    Dr. M. Mustafa Hirji, Medical Officer of Health & Commissioner (Acting), Public Health & Emergency Services, Niagara Region
    Friday March 10th, 2023 at 12h00-13h00 EST
    Room TH 256

    Brock University_Department of BIological Sciences_Advertisement for Mustafa Hirji – Mar 10 2023

    Talk Outline:

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  • March 8 – Masters Project Presentation – Tanjim Siddiquee

    Wednesday, March 01, 2023 | By

    Masters Project Presentation in Statistics

    Tanjim Siddiquee, Master of Science candidate in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, will present her project titled “Machine Learning Approaches for Estimating Prevalence of Undiagnosed Hypertension among Bangladeshi Adults: Evidence from a Nationwide Survey” on Wednesday, March 8, 2023 at 1 p.m., in virtual format.

    Examination Committee: S. Ejaz Ahmed, Supervisor; X. Xu, Supervisory Committee Member.

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