Faculty of Applied Science

The applied sciences – architecture, landscape architecture, engineering, nursing, and planning – change society's conception of what is possible as a matter of course. Applied scientists make dreams real, turn ideas into practice. We embody the interface between present and future.

A community of diverse disciplines on campuses in two cities, we recognize the promise inherent in our differences. We are at our best when faced with problems considered by most to be impossible to solve, for it is there that our varied approaches, practice cultures, and discipline-specific languages, combined, become our greatest strength.

We are a Faculty of leaders. We take the initiative. We are defined by our integrity, excellence, innovative mindset, and passionate spirit of engagement. We are ideally positioned to address some of the greatest challenges of our time. From nurses and engineers working in First Nations communities and in Africa improving healthcare, to architects, landscape architects and community planners improving the built environment, our graduate students enlist their skills and networks to truly make a difference. As part of one of the world’s premier universities, it is not just our vision to educate the next generation of leaders, it is our responsibility.

Innovation and its application is our passion in the Faculty of Applied Science. We take pride in our ability to transfer knowledge and contribute to economic growth through research and entrepreneurship.

Faculty Website

Fact Sheet

Mission

To create positive change in the world through the generation, professional embodiment, and innovative application of new knowledge.

1317

Master's Students

(2018)
577

Doctoral Students

(2018)
647

Graduate Degrees Awarded

(2018)
251

Full-Time Faculty

(2018)
73.8

million in Research Awards

(2017/2018)

Research Centres

Applied Science participates in a number of research centres and laboratories at UBC, some of which are inter-faculty collaborations and others of which are within Applied Science and involve inter-departmental collaborations.

Architecture and Landscape Architecture

Community & Regional Planning

Centre for Human Settlements

Engineering

Nursing

Research Highlights

Through leadership and the relentless charge to improve professional practice, Applied Science researchers – often in interdisciplinary and pan-professional collaborations – advance knowledge, policies and technologies, and solve the global challenges facing society. In any specific year, over 100 leading companies partner with UBC APSC to advance their research agendas.

The UBC Applied Science research enterprise helps drive the reputation of one of the top research-intensive universities in the world. Our researchers claim the spotlight in the global arena in the following research themes:

Graduate Degree Programs

Research Supervisors in Faculty

Name	Academic Unit(s)	Research Interests
Tang, Shuo	Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering	Biophotonics, biomedical optics, optical tissue imaging instrumentation, optical coherence tomography, multiphoton microscopy
Thorne, Sally	School of Nursing	Nursing, cancer care, chronic illness
Trajano, Heather	Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering	Biomass (Energy), Wood, Pulp and Paper, Biorefining, Biochemicals, Biomass extractives recovery and utilization, Catalysis, Hemicellulose, Pretreatment, Kinetics
Tran, Martino	School of Community and Regional Planning	systems science, predictive modelling and simulation for understanding and tackling societal challenges in energy and sustainability
Troczynski, Tom	Department of Materials Engineering	ceramics, coatings, biomaterials, refractories, fracture, Medical applications, Processing, microstructure and properties of ceramics
Van der Loos, Hendrik	Department of Mechanical Engineering	Rehabilitation Robotics, Human-Robot Interaction, Design for Safety, Design Methodology and Design Coaching, Roboethics
Van Duzer, Leslie	School of Architecture & Landscape Architecture	Body and Space, Contemporary Theory, Design Thinking
Van Zyl, Dirk	Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering	The contributions that mining makes to sustainable development, life cycle systems, mine earth structures (tailings, heap leach, and rock disposal facilities)
Varcoe, Colleen	School of Nursing	How the inequities of ethnicity, class, place and ability are central to violence against women, enhancing practice and policy in the context of violence and inequity
Vaziri, Reza	Department of Civil Engineering	Finite element analysis, Mechanics of composite materials, Constitutive modeling of engineering materials, Plasticity, Damage mechanics, Process modeling of composite structures, Analysis of impact and blast loading of metallic and composite structures
Veiga, Marcello	Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering	effects of metals in the environment; pollution caused by mining; social effects of mining on communities; mercury pollution on fish, Biogeochemical cycle of heavy metals in the environment, Bioaccumulation and adverse health effects of metals in the environment, specially mercury, Artisanal and small-scale gold mining, Mercury pollution from gold mining and hydroelectric reservoirs, Acid Rock DrainageProcess mineralogy applied to mining and mineral processing, Sustainable development in mining, Mining communities and social issues related to mining, Mine closure and reclamation planning
Ventura, Carlos Estuardo	Department of Civil Engineering	Earthquake engineering, structural dynamics, full scale vibration testing, shake table testing Seismic risk evaluation and hazard management studies Investigation of earthquake effects on man-made structures
Walus, Konrad	Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering	Nanoelectronic devices and circuits, quantum-dot cellular automata, single-electron transistors, quantum mechanical simulations
Wang, Rizhi	Department of Materials Engineering, School of Biomedical Engineering	Biomaterials, biomechanics Also, the structure and formation processes of biologically formed materials (eg seashells, silk, teeth) and applies the mechanisms to the design and processing of novel materials
Wang, Zhen	Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, School of Biomedical Engineering	Signal processing theory and applications, bioinformatics
Weijs, Steven	Department of Civil Engineering	Water, Hydrological Cycle and Reservoirs, Drinking Water, Fresh Water, Information, Hydroelectricity, Ice and Snow, Hydrological Prediction, hydrology, water resources management, information theory, uncertainty, experimental hydrology, sensors, mountain hydrology, droughts, floods, control of water systems
Wijewickreme, Dharmapriya	Department of Civil Engineering	Geotechnical, pipeline geotechnical engineering
Wilkinson, David	Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering	Electrochemistry, electrocatalysis, electrochemical power sources, advanced electrolysis, , hydrogen production and storage, waste water and drinking water treatment, solar fuels, carbon dioxide conversion, clean and sustainable energy and water
Wilton, Steven	Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering	Integrated Circuits, Computer Architecture, Computer Hardware, Field-Programmable Gate Arrays, Computer-Aided Design Algorithms, High-Level Synthesis
Wong, Sabrina	School of Nursing	Primary Health Care, Primary Care, vulnerable populations, marginalized groups, ethno-cultural, patient experiences, quality of care, Organization and delivery of health care, informing practice and system level interventions that seek to decrease health inequalities among Canadian residents, including people who face multiple disadvantages in accessing and using the health care system such as those who have language barriers and live in poverty
Wong, Vincent	Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering	Telecommunication networks, Computer Systems, Energy Networks and Distribution, protocol design, optimization, wireless networks, communication systems, Internet, Internet of Things (IoT), mobile computing, smart grid, energy systems
Wu, Lyndia	Department of Mechanical Engineering
Xia, Guangrui	Department of Materials Engineering	Group IV semiconductors in microelectronics; Si compatible lasers; 2D semiconductors; 3D integration of Ics; Raman spectroscopy
Yadav, Vikramaditya	Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, School of Biomedical Engineering	Biotechnology, Bioinformatics, Biomass (Energy), Bioremediation, Bioactive Molecules, Biomaterials, Structural Tissue Engineering / Biomaterials, Biological and Biochemical Mechanisms, Synthetic biology, Metabolic engineering, Biocatalysis, Bioprocess engineering, Bioremediation, Medical biotechnology, Tissue engineering, Drug delivery, Drug discovery & development, Technoeconomics, Vaccines
Yang, Tsung-Yuan	Department of Civil Engineering	Seismic behavior and design of steel, concrete and composite structures, seismic behavior and design of tall buildings, develop performance-based evaluation methodology and code design procedures for new and existing structures, using innovative structural component and systems to improve structural performance, including the use of innovative active, semi-active and passive energy dissipation systems, develop accurate and cost effective experimental methods to analyze structural response under extreme loading conditions.