School of Computing Research Dialogues Series: 2024–2025 Highlights

The School of Computing is proud to showcase the 2024–2025 Research Dialogues series — a four-part initiative designed to spotlight the impactful research being conducted by our faculty. This year’s series featured a diverse range of topics, from grant application strategies to cutting-edge developments in cybersecurity, multimedia streaming, and health tech. Whether you’re a student, researcher, or tech enthusiast, these presentations offer valuable insights into both foundational and emerging areas of computing research.

1. Dr. Omer Waqar – Navigating NSERC Discovery Grants

Dr. Omer Waqar opens the series with an in-depth guide to applying for the NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council) Discovery Grants. Drawing from his own experience, Dr. Waqar walks through the application process, explains the categories and key evaluation criteria, and shares tips for submitting a strong application. Whether you’re an early career researcher preparing your first submission or a seasoned academic seeking to sharpen your proposal, this session offers clear and actionable advice to help you navigate the process with confidence.

Watch the video!

2. Dr. Samuel Okegbile – Human Digital Twin Networks: Challenges and Future Directions

In his talk, Dr. Samuel Okegbile delves into the fascinating world of Human Digital Twins (HDTs) and their potential to enhance decision-making in cyber-physical systems. His presentation explores the challenges of ensuring secure and reliable communication between physical entities and their digital counterparts. He also discusses the future of HDTs, particularly around privacy-preserving networks that protect user data while enabling real-time interactions and analytics.

Watch the video!

3. Dr. Ziaul Hossain – Enhancing Streaming Performance with TCPnewCWV

Dr. Ziaul Hossain presents his research on optimizing Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH), the protocol used by popular platforms like YouTube and Netflix. His focus is on the TCPnewCWV update to TCP congestion control and how it influences DASH performance. The findings highlight improvements in latency reduction and bandwidth efficiency through techniques like persistent connections and pacing — offering critical insights for developers and researchers working to enhance streaming technologies.

Watch the video!

4. Dr. Ibrahim Javed – Empowering Patients with Blockchain: A Secure Platform for Genomic Data Sharing

Closing the series, Dr. Ibrahim Javed explores the intersection of healthcare and blockchain with his presentation on secure genomic data sharing. His work centers on empowering patients through a blockchain-based platform that enables transparent, privacy-preserving, and secure sharing of genetic information. This research addresses key concerns around data security, trust, and user autonomy in the context of precision medicine.

Video coming soon!

Stay tuned for future events in the School of Computing Research Dialogues series as we continue to showcase the exciting and innovative work of our faculty. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our YouTube channel to catch all the latest updates!