
Charlotte Milne
Doctor of Philosophy in Resources, Environment and Sustainability (PhD)
Canada's flood mapping, what’s really at risk
A diverse range of highly ranked programs
With access to master’s and doctoral degrees through nine departments and 350 research groups, our graduate students work with world-class faculty to explore the basic sciences, and to pursue interdisciplinary and applied research across departments and units. UBC’s research excellence in environmental science, math, physics, plant and animal science, computer science, geology and biology is consistently rated best in Canada by international and national ranking agencies.
Committed to outstanding graduate training
UBC Science houses a wide range of prestigious NSERC Collaborative Research and Training Experience and related industry programs: from atmospheric aerosols to high-throughput biology, from biodiversity research and ecosystems services to plant cell wall biosynthesis, from quantum science and new materials to applied geochemistry. The options for enriched graduate training in industry related fields are almost endless.
World-class research infrastructure
Our affiliated institutes and centres include UBC's Michael Smith Laboratories, Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute, Biodiversity Research Centre, Life Sciences Institute, Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences, Mineral Deposit Research Unit, and TRIUMF, Canada’s national laboratory for particle and nuclear physics.
Top research talent
UBC Science boasts more than 50 Canada Research Chairs, 12 fellows of the Royal Society of London, and has been home to two Nobel Laureates. Our graduate students have won 15 prestigious Vanier Scholarships.
A diverse, supportive community of scholars
UBC Science is committed to excellence, collaboration and inclusion. Women account for 41 per cent of the Faculty's graduate enrollments, and the percentage of international students has increased to 50 per cent over the past decade.
Biodiversity, Evolution and Ecology
Computational Sciences and Mathematics
Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
Genomics and Biological Sciences
Human-Computer Interaction
Life Sciences
Chemistry and Materials Science
Physics
Sustainability
Designed to inspire collaboration and creativity across disciplines, the new Earth Sciences Building (ESB) lies at the heart of the science precinct on UBC’s Vancouver Campus. The $75 million facility is home to Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Statistics, the Pacific Institute of the Mathematical Sciences, and the dean’s office of the Faculty of Science. ESB’s updated teaching facilities will help Canada meet the challenges of a transforming and growing resource sector. Just as importantly, the researchers and students working and learning in the new facility will offer a valuable flow of well-trained talent, new ideas, and fresh professional perspectives to industry.
Receiving more than $120 million in annual research funding, UBC Science faculty members conduct top-tier research in the life, physical, earth and computational sciences. Their discoveries help build our understanding of natural laws—driving insights into sustainability, biodiversity, human health, nanoscience and new materials, probability, artificial intelligence, exoplanets and a wide range of other areas.
UBC Science boasts 50 Canada Research Chairs and 10 fellows of the Royal Society of London, and has been home to two Nobel Laureates.
Name | Academic Unit(s) | Research Interests |
---|---|---|
Abraham, Ninan | Department of Zoology | Mammals, pathogens, genetic analysis, proper cell funtion, development, maintenance and proper functioning of T- and B-cells |
Adams, Keith | Department of Botany | Molecular evolution, genome evolution, and gene expression |
Adem, Alejandro | Department of Mathematics | Cohomology of finite groups, orbifolds, stringy topology, algebra, sporadic simple group, group actions, arithmetic groups, K-theory, homotopy theory, spaces of homomorphisms |
Algar, Russ | Department of Chemistry | Luminescent Materials; Bio/Chemical Sensing; Materials synthesis and biofunctionalization; Understanding the nanoparticle interface; New energy transfer configurations for sensing and imaging; Point-of-care diagnostic devices; Intracellular sensing |
Allen, Susan | Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences | Atmospheric sciences; Oceanography; coastal oceanography; coupled bio-physics and chem-physics and all three models; forecast models; Oceans and Inland Waters; physical oceanography; Prediction and Climatic Modeling |
Altshuler, Doug | Department of Zoology | Zoology; flight control; visual guidance; visual neuroscience; neuroethology; avian biomechanics; aerodynamics; wing morphing; motor control |
Ameli, Ali | Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences | Geology; Applied Hydro-geochemistry; Climate Changes and Impacts; Environmental Tracer; Ground Water and Water Tables; Groundwater Ecohydrology; Groundwater-Surfacewater & land Interaction; Hydro-geological Engineering; Hydrological Cycle and Reservoirs; Numerical analysis; Watershed Management |
Andersen, Raymond | Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences, Department of Chemistry | Chemicals produced by marine organisms |
Angel, Omer | Department of Mathematics | Probability theory, percolation, random graphs, random walks, particle processes, scaling limits |
Angert, Amy | Department of Botany, Department of Zoology | Plant biology; Zoology; Biodiversity and Biocomplexity; biogeography; biological responses to climate change; Conservation Biology; Ecological and Ecophysiological Processes; evolutionary ecology; population biology |
Aronson, Meigan | Department of Physics & Astronomy | heavy-ferromagnetic compounds; charge density waves; magnetic nanoparticles |
Auger-Methe, Marie | Department of Statistics, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries | Fisheries sciences; Statistics; Zoology; Animal movement; Polar ecology; Statistical Ecology |
Auld, Vanessa | Department of Zoology | Neurosciences, biological and chemical aspects; Neurosciences, medical and physiological and health aspects; Zoology; Cell; Cell Biology; Development; Developmental Genetics; epithelia; Genetics; glia; in vivo imaging; Molecular Genetics; nervous system; Neurogenesis and Gliogenesis; permeability barriers |
Austin, Philip | Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences | global climate; climate change; greenhouse effect; global warming; clouds; lightning; storms, Cloud physics, radiative properties of layer clouds, status cirrus formation, global climate, cloug aerosol feedbacks and climate |
Aviles, Leticia | Department of Zoology | Community ecology (except invasive species ecology); Animal behaviour |
Bachmann, Sven | Department of Mathematics | Mathematics and statistics; Mathematical Analysis; quantum phenomena; Mathematical physics; Quantum statistical physics; Topological states of matter |
Baliga, Vikram | Zoology | |
Balmforth, Neil | Department of Mathematics | Fluid mechanics, nonlinear dynamics and applied partial differential equations |
Barker, Shaun | Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences | |
Beckie, Roger | Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences | Other environmental engineering and related engineering; Hydrogeology; Mine drainage; physical hydrogeology; groundwater geochemistry; groundwater contamination |
Behrend, Kai | Department of Mathematics | Moduli spaces, Gromov-Witten invariants, string theory, Donaldson-Thomas invariants, Euler characteristics, categorification |
Bennett, Michael | Department of Mathematics | Number Theory, Diophantine Approximation and Classical Analysis |
Berbee, Mary | Department of Botany | Plant biology; Mycology; Evolution and Phylogenesis; Microorganisms; Taxonomy and Systematics; fungi; molecular phylogenetics; mycology; systematics |
Berciu, Mona | Department of Physics & Astronomy | Electronic and magnetic properties of condensed matter and supraconductivity; Physical sciences; condensed matter theory; polarons, bipolarons; strongly correlated systems |
Berlinguette, Curtis | Department of Chemistry, Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering | Combinatorial Chemistry; CO2 conversion and utilization; clean energy; advanced solar cells; electrochromic windows; dynamic windows; hydrogen fuels production; catalysis; robotics and automation; machine learning / artificial intelligence |
This is an incomplete sample of recent publications in chronological order by UBC faculty members with a primary appointment in the Faculty of Science.
Year | Citation | Program |
---|---|---|
2023 | Dr. Syed's work on non-reversible parallel tempering showed how parallel computing could improve the scalability of Monte Carlo methods and solve challenging statistic inference problems. He was awarded the Pierre Robillard award for the best PhD thesis in statistics and probability in Canada. | Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics (PhD) |
2023 | Dr. Guo developed six bioinformatic programs improving the sensitivity and selectivity in metabolomics data processing. The programs increased the number of biomarkers identified for biological and clinical applications. The discoveries will lead to a more in-depth understanding of many disease mechanisms, diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
2023 | Dr. Dvorak developed a method for performing magnetic resonance imaging about 25 times faster than conventional techniques, while simultaneously improving the image quality. This method is implemented for scanners from 3 different manufacturers, including a small, portable, inexpensive scanner that could revolutionize access to MRI medical imaging. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
2023 | Dr. Niemietz defined mechanisms by which hyaluronan influences human neutrophil functionality and how this potentially contributes to childhood-onset rheumatic diseases. Her research significantly expands our understanding of neutrophils in the human inflammatory response. | Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD) |
2023 | Counting sums and differences between sets is a central part of many questions in additive combinatorics. Dr. White developed a new technique combining harmonic analysis and optimization to nearly resolve a longstanding question in this field. He expects that his new method can be extended to other problems in additive combinatorics. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
2023 | Dr. Kim's research focused on mechanisms that reduce metabolic rate in small hibernating rodents. These comparative studies take us one step closer to understanding and utilizing naturally occurring biological phenomena for biomedical advancement. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
2023 | Dr. Fink developed methods to convert CO2 or water into useful products using renewable energy. He showed that carbon capture can be directly coupled with CO2 electro-conversion to lower energy demands. He also demonstrated that hydrogen peroxide can be produced through electrochemistry to replace the current methods which consume fossil fuels. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
2023 | Dr. Anderson's research revealed ways in which the glacier runoff impacts water resources in Western Canada under climate change. He identified the communities in Alberta whose water supplies are most vulnerable to the loss of glaciers, and quantified how heat waves alter the timing and availability of water resources across BC and Alberta. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geophysics (PhD) |
2023 | Earthquakes represent the release of stress on faults, which occur in abundance in western British Columbia and Washington state due to convergence between North America and offshore oceanic plates.Dr. Merrill investigates several earthquake-dense regions in BC and Washington where fluids are interpreted to promote brittle failure. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geophysics (PhD) |
2023 | Dr. Nunez Bahena developed synthetic methodologies for accessing nitrogen-containing compounds by employing a catalyst based on an abundant metal, zirconium. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |