M.Sc. and Ph.D. Defences

Below is the schedule of upcoming defences for graduate students in the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science. Defences are currently being held remotely due to COVID-19. If you wish to attend, please email statgrad at sfu.ca.

Fall 2022

Date	Time	Location	Degree	Speaker	Title / Abstract Link
September
23	10:30AM (PDT)	Hybrid - LIB 7200 and Zoom	Ph.D.	Shaun McDonald	Novel Approaches to Uncertainty Quantification in Nonparametric Settings

Summer 2022

Date	Time	Location	Degree	Speaker	Title / Abstract Link
August
29	2:00PM (PDT)	Remote	M.Sc.	Youwei Yan	Modeling the Multi-Peak Structure of the Solar Cycle
26	1:30PM (PDT)	LIB 2020	M.Sc.	Lei Chen	On the calculation of risk measures for variable annuities with guaranteed benefits
24	1:00PM (PDT)	Remote	M.Sc.	Jacob (Xuankang) Zhu	Efficient learning algorithms for classification of data by a nonlinear decision boundary
18	11:00AM (PDT)	Remote	Ph.D.	Luyao Lin	Emulation and Calibration of Computer Models with Unknown Constraints
03	1:00PM (PDT)	Remote	M.Sc.	Hasan Nathani	Exploring Associations of Respiratory Symptoms and Lung Function Measures with Occupational Exposures for the Canadian Obstructive Lung Disease (COLD) Study
July
28	10:00AM (PDT)	Remote	M.Sc.	Mandy Yao	Effect of Stochastic Model Error on the Convergence and Accuracy of Markov Chains

Spring 2022

Date	Time	Location	Degree	Speaker	Title / Abstract Link
April
12	9:30am (PDT)	Remote	M.Sc.	Zayed Shahjahan	Bayesian Variable Selection in Regression with Genetics Application
20	1:00pm (PDT)	Remote	M.Sc.	Mengqi (Molly) Cen	A PDE-Based Bayesian Hierarchical Model for Event Spread, with Application to Covid-19 Infection
25	3:00pm (PDT)	Remote	M.Sc.	Wen Tian (Wendy) Wang	Selection Between Variance-Optimal and Bias-Optimal Designs When Some Two-Factor Interactions Are Important
29	10:00am (PDT)	Remote	Ph.D.	Faezeh Yazdi	Fast Deep Gaussian Process Modeling and Design for Large Complex Computer Experiments
29	10:30am (PDT)	Remote	M.Sc.	Winfield Chen	Towards efficient population-level genome-wide association studies

Fall 2021

Date	Time	Location	Degree	Speaker	Title / Abstract Link
November
17	4:00pm (PST)	Remote	M.Sc	Kangyi (Ken) Peng	Bayesian Approaches for Critical Velocity Models

October
14	3:00pm (PDT)	Remote	M.Sc	Xueyi (Wendy) Xu	A Particle Markov Chain Monte Carlo Approach for the Estimation of CBD-Type Models

September
13	9:30am (PDT)	Remote	Ph.D	Christina Nieuwoudt	Simulation and Statistical Methods for Family-Based Sequencing Studies

Summer 2021

Date	Time	Location	Degree	Speaker	Title / Abstract Link
August
24	9:30am (PDT)	Remote	Ph.D.	Charith Karunarathna	Sequence Clustering for Genetic Mapping of Binary Traits
18	10:30am (PDT)	Remote	M.Sc	Gloria (Xuefei) Yang	Covariance-adjusted, Sparse, Reduced-Rank Regression with Adjustment for Confounders
17	10:30am (PDT)	Remote	M.Sc	Zubia Mansoor	Exploring Out of Distribution: Deep Neural Networks and the Human Brain
13	10:30am (PDT)	Remote	M.Sc	Joosung (Sonny) Min	Q-Learning with Online Trees
4	1:00pm (PDT)	Remote	M.Sc	Vivian (Yige) Jin	Numerical Approximation Algorithms for Pension Funding
July
22	2:30pm (PDT)	Remote	M.Sc.	Seyeon Kim	Applications of Reserving Methods for Property and Casualty Insurance in Modeling of Mortality Rates
7	3:00pm (PDT)	Remote	M.Sc.	Peter Tea	The Analysis of Serve Decisions in Tennis using Bayesian Hierarchical Models
June
18	1:30pm (PDT)	Remote	Ph.D.	Cheng-Yu Sun	Factorial Designs under Baseline Parameterization and Space-filling Designs with Applications to Big Data

May
19	2:30pm(PDT)	Remote	M.Sc.	Louis Arsenault-Mahjoubi	On the Bayesian Estimation of Jump-Diffusion Models in Finance

Spring 2021

Date	Time	Location	Degree	Speaker	Title / Abstract Link
April
26	1:00pm (PDT)	Remote	M.Sc.	Lisa McQuarrie	Autoregressive Mixed Effects Models and an Application to Annual Income of Cancer Survivors
21	10:30am (PDT)	Remote	M.Sc.	Yunwei Tu	Post-selection Inference
14	10:30am (PDT)	Remote	M.Sc.	Nikola Surjanovic	An Efficient Approach to Pruning Regression Trees Using a Modified Bayesian Information Criterion

Fall 2020

Date	Time	Location	Degree	Speaker	Title / Abstract Link
December
17	10am (PST)	Remote	M.Sc.	Renny Doig	Efficient Bayesian Parameter Inference for COVID-19 Transmission Models
16	1:00pm (PST)	Remote	M.Sc.	Dylan Maciel	Systematic Comparison of Designs and Emulators for Computer Experiments Using a Library of Test Functions
November
25	2:30pm (PST)	Remote	M.Sc.	James Thomson	Contextual Batting and Bowling in Limited Overs Cricket
16	1pm (PST)	Remote	M.Sc.	Cherie Ng	A Flexible Group Benefits Framework for Pricing Deposit Rates

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