Caroline de Lima Vargas Simoes, Harold Hodgins, and Jacqueline Caminiti are among this year’s recipients of the prestigious Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship (Vanier CGS). The Vanier CGS program awards $50,000 per year for three years to students completing their doctoral studies in social sciences and humanities, natural sciences, engineering, and health.
The Vanier Scholarship program was developed by NSERC to attract and retain world-class doctoral students that establish Canada as a global centre of excellence in research and higher learning. Vanier scholars are chosen based on their academic excellence, research potential, and leadership qualities. The Faculty of Science is proud to present the following Vanier CGS scholars:
Project title: Why does matter not like to be packed? A quantum information perspective of the difference between fermions and bosons
Project Summary: Quantum mechanics and relativity are two successful theories. We have been able to combine special relativity and quantum mechanics into quantum field theory in flat spacetime. One step ahead, we have developed quantum field theory in curved spacetimes, which describes how quantum matter is affected in the presence of a fixed background that has gravity. We are also seeking to understand how quantum matter affects gravity (that is, the gravitational field is also dynamical).
One of the most relevant problems that theoretical physics faces is how to quantize gravity itself. Recently, the field of QI theory (which describes how information is processed, stored, and communicated if it respects quantum mechanics) has provided new tools to study old questions. Broadly, I am interested in answering the following: What new aspects of quantum field theory in curved spacetimes and quantum gravity can we learn by using QI theory? Through these projects, I aim to explore how tools from QI theory can enhance our understanding of the interplay between gravity and quantum mechanics.
What is the impact of this scholarship?
I’m honoured to receive the Vanier scholarship. What excites me most is that Vanier shares my values and recognizes me as a whole person. I am extremely passionate about both physics and my fight against injustices. For several years, I’ve been committed to promoting the inclusion of minorities in STEM, which included founding organizations to support this cause. It is gratifying to see my EDI efforts acknowledged alongside my academic achievements and to be valued as a whole person.
Learn more about Caroline.
Project title: Exploring Previously Unexplorable Genomic Landscapes
Project summary: As the cost of DNA sequencing has fallen, the volume of genomic data in public databases has increased exponentially. While some species are over-represented with thousands of genomes available to study (e.g. model organisms and human pathogens), roughly 83% of sequenced species have only a single genome available to study. This limits our understanding of the genomic diversity, biological function, and evolutionary history of most species.
My PhD research uses the petabytes of data in the NCBI Sequence Read Archive (SRA) to expand the knowledge of under-represented species. Building off my MSc research, I am creating a set of bioinformatic tools that search the SRA for under-represented species, assemble their genomes, and detect new genes and functions for a variety of biological and biomedical applications.
What is the impact of this scholarship?
My research has the potential to accelerate genomic-driven discoveries across numerous fields including microbiology, genetics, biotechnology, and evolutionary biology by enabling researchers worldwide to leverage the enormous volume of data in the SRA. Receiving a Vanier scholarship means that I can focus on my research. I am honoured to join this group of esteemed scholars.
Project title: Illuminating AdS/CFT and flat holography with quantum information perspectives and techniques
Project summary: The motivating question for my research is the problem of quantum gravity: how to combine our theory of spacetime geometry (i.e. gravitation) with the principles of quantum mechanics. In recent years, holography has emerged as a powerful guide in answering this question. Holography is the idea that certain quantum systems without gravity can be equivalently described in terms of a partner system involving not only quantum mechanics but also “emergent” gravitational effects. Since our world might work this way, it is important to understand how it works. For example, what properties of the quantum system determine the causal properties and dynamics of the “emergent” geometry? Conversely, what can geometry tell us about entanglement and information in quantum systems? And finally, how can we generalize holography beyond the traditional setting of Anti-de Sitter spacetimes to spacetimes that better describe our world?
What is the impact of this scholarship?
I feel very lucky to have received the Vanier scholarship. It gives me time, freedom, and confidence to focus on the work that I enjoy and value the most, as well as the opportunity to travel for collaborations and conferences, which are essential in a field as dynamic as theoretical physics.
Dean of Science
ESC 254
University of Waterloo
200 University Avenue West
Waterloo, Ontario
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The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is co-ordinated within the Office of Indigenous Relations.
