Research at uOttawa is inspiring; those who conduct it, even more so. In 2022, no less three of the 13 recipients of prestigious scholarships from the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation are carrying out doctoral research at the University of Ottawa.
Coline Moreau, David Eliot and Michelle Liu are tackling the issues of the day regarding innovation and criminal law, artificial intelligence and security, and equity at the intersection of law and engineering.
Discover these three remarkable individuals’ projects, interests and deep curiosity, and learn how their daring research will contribute to a better understanding of our world and its barriers, dangers, inequities — and possibilities.
Michelle Liu, University of Ottawa, Civil Engineering
Michelle is the first person at the University of Ottawa to concurrently pursue a law degree (JD) and an engineering PhD. Her research focuses on evaluating the National Building Code through an equity lens and is jointly supervised by engineering professor Beatriz Martin-Perez and law professor Jena McGill.
Michelle earned her Honours BASc and MASc in civil engineering from the University of Waterloo and has worked in construction and design at national and international engineering firms. Michelle also worked at law firm Blake, Cassels & Graydon, where she will be articling in 2023 while continuing her doctoral work. Michelle aspires to become an academic at the intersection of engineering and law, a goal she believes the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Scholarship program will help her achieve.
Michelle’s identities and experiences motivate her to serve in roles that advance EDI, including as a member of the Equity Advisory Group of the Law Society of Ontario and Chair of the Waterloo Engineering Alumni Council. Having moved to Ontario from Montréal, Michelle is French-English bilingual, and in the summer, you can find Michelle canoeing to backcountry campsites to escape the world!
David Eliot, University of Ottawa, Critical Surveillance and Security Studies
David Eliot (he/him) is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) researcher, athlete, activist, and entrepreneur from Kingston Ontario. While attending St Francis Xavier for his undergraduate degree in sociology, David became heavily involved in the local climate movement, helping to organize a town hall, and numerous demonstrations. After graduating from St Francis Xavier, he pursued a master's degree in sociology at Queens University focusing on Artificial Intelligence at the Queens Surveillance Studies Center.
After receiving his master's David will attend the University of Ottawa to pursue his PhD as a member of the new Critical Surveillance and Security program, focusing on AI and data economies. Outside of academia David operates an award-winning entertainment production company named Eliot Entertainment.
Through Eliot Entertainment David has produced and performed in over 200 Magic shows across Canada. As an athlete, David Competed at the Provincial, National, and international level in the sport of Fencing. Through the Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s PhD scholarship program David hopes to learn invaluable leadership skills, and to make connections that will aid him in making sure his research has the maximum social impact.
Coline Moreau, University of Ottawa, Criminology
Coline Moreau has a master's degree in law from the UCLouvain in Belgium. She is currently a full-time PhD candidate in Criminology at the Social Sciences Faculty of the University of Ottawa. She is a member of the Canada Research Chair in Legal Traditions and Penal Rationality directed by Professor A. Pires.
She conducts her research in the areas of criminal law, criminology and human rights. She is particularly interested in the topics of sentencing and enforcement as well as innovation and obstacles to innovation in criminal law reform. Along with that, she conducts research in children's law concerning the effectiveness of children's rights.
She is also involved in leadership discovery and makes contributions to the University of Ottawa Leadership Academy (research assistant, teaching assistant and founder of the Leadership Academy alumni community).