Critical systems such as transportation systems require a high level of safety that can only be achieved with formal proof. Such formal proofs are typically expressed in some logic that can be verified by theorem provers. The diversity of theorem provers and logics has a negative consequence: the same theorem is proved many times and it is difficult for these systems to co-operate, because they do not implement the same logic. Logical frameworks are a class of theorem provers that overcome this issue by providing a generic framework in which we can represent and specify various logics.

There is no memorandum project overview associated with this application.

My project focuses on a particular kind of massive star that are surrounded by disks called B-emission (Be) stars. These objects
are ideal laboratories for studying disks. Massive stars can spew out a thousand times more energy per second than our Sun and
because the disk is formed from gas launched from the star, they are not shrouded in dust like star forming regions where we find
disks. They are also numerous – hundreds of Be stars exist right in our own galaxy!
Despite decades of study we still don’t know why the disk forms and this is the major puzzle in this field of research.

There is no memorandum project overview associated with this application.

In recent years technological developments have created a new paradigm where data can be obtained easily and with less effort than in the past. This shift is often called “Big Data”, and its effects can be seen as in many different fields. This proposal follows the same vein, and focusses on taking advantage of the increasing prevalence of connected devices.

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are natural bio-based nanoparticles that can be used to modify the viscosity and improve the performance of various fluids. For this reason, they are of interest to the oil and gas industry, where they can replace other expensive and non-biodegradable polymers that are commonly used. CNCs must first be modified so that they do not degrade or settle at high temperatures and pressures. To accomplish this, CNCs will be extracted from cotton using a variety of methods or by post-modifying the nanoparticle surface to have new chemical groups and new functionality.

World population is expected to increase between 8 and 11 billion people by 2050. This growth will be accompanied by an increasing demand in food. Additionally, climate change is expected to have consequences on crop productivity because there will be changes in temperature and precipitation patterns. For that reason, there is an increasing concern over food security and farmers must make use of all available technologies to meet future food needs but also make sure that the environmental impact is reduced.

The research project examines how social and political groups make critical policy choices in a challenging economic context. Focusing on the sub-provincial cases in China, the project aims to examine the process of financial reform during a period of declining economic growth. Examining the government-business relations, the research addresses the challenges that the Chinese political elites face to address the critical needs of diversifying its financial system in order to facilitate economic growth without losing control and oversight over its institutions.

Rhodnius prolixus is a hemathophagous insect that has served for decades as a model to study insect physiology. Rhodnius prolixus is also a major vector of Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas disease that kills 45,000 people annually and affects over 8 million people worldwide. The genome of R. prolixus contains ~15,500 predicted protein-coding genes. Many pathways such as the Toll and JAK-STAT pathways were present.

Hypernasality is a speech disorders that results from excessive sound coming through the nose during speech. A speaker afflicted with hypernasality may be perceived as sounding flat and monotonous because the nasal murmur masks the inflections of the fundamental frequency (Kummer, 2008). However, the masking of prosody by the nasal murmur has not been investigated systematically. The first goal of the proposed study is to investigate how the presence of hypernasality affects the listener’s perception of prosodic pitch inflections.