AI can tell if a patient battling cancer needs mental health support
Psychiatrists and computer scientists at UBC and BC Cancer have developed a new artificial intelligence (AI) model that can accurately...
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At UBC Science, outstanding scientists and students strive to unravel the principles that underlie our universe - from the subatomic to the macroscopic, from pure mathematics to biotechnology, from ecosystems to galactic systems. Through the breadth and depth of our academic endeavours and the calibre of the people who make up our community, we take pride in discovering new scientific knowledge and preparing Canada’s and the world’s next generation of scientists.
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.
Mission
To nurture an exceptional scientific learning and research environment for the people of British Columbia, Canada, and the world.
Research Centres
Biodiversity, Evolution and Ecology
- Biodiversity Research Centre
- Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research
- Centre for Microbial Diversity and Evolution
Computational Sciences and Mathematics
- Data Science Institute
- Institute for Computing, Information and Cognitive Systems
- Institute of Applied Mathematics
- Statistical Consulting and Research Laboratory
- Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences
Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
- Geophysical Inversion Facility
- Lithoprobe: Canada's National Geoscience Project
- Mineral Deposit Research Unit
- Pacific Centre for Isotopic and Geochemical Research
- Seismic Laboratory for Imaging and Modeling
Genomics and Biological Sciences
- Centre for High-Throughput Biology
- Geomatics for Informed Decisions Network
- Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics
- Michael Smith Laboratories
Human-Computer Interaction
- Institute for Computing, Information and Cognitive Systems
- Vancouver Institute for Visual Analytics
Life Sciences
- Centre for Blood Research
- Centre for Microbial Diseases and Immunity Research
- Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health
- International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries
- Life Sciences Institute
- Michael Smith Laboratories
- Neglected Global Diseased Initiative
Chemistry and Materials Science
- Advanced Materials and Process Engineering Laboratory
- Max Planck-UBC Centre for Quantum Materials
- Quantum Devices Group
- Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute
Physics
- Antihydrogen Trapping and Spectroscopy at CERN
- Pacific Institute for Theoretical Physics
- TRIUMF: Canada’s National Laboratory for Particle and Nuclear Physics
- UBC ATLAS Project at Large Hadron Collider
Sustainability
Research Facilities
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.
Research Highlights
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.
Schools / Departments
Graduate Degree Programs
Recent Publications
This is an incomplete sample of recent publications in chronological order by UBC faculty members with a primary appointment in the Faculty of Science.
Recent Thesis Submissions
Doctoral Citations
A doctoral citation summarizes the nature of the independent research, provides a high-level overview of the study, states the significance of the work and says who will benefit from the findings in clear, non-specialized language, so that members of a lay audience will understand it.
| Year | Citation | Program |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Dr. Pietromonaco studied curve-counting in certain geometries with singular points. His new results lead to some beautiful formulas, and reveal some new structure in the enumerative geometry of these singular spaces. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Wharton studied metal-based radioactive drugs for the diagnosis and therapy of cancer. His work led to the development of several radiopharmaceuticals which achieved effective imaging of tumours. His research deepens our understanding of viable approaches to drug design and has implications for the further advancement of cancer treatments. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Cristiani studied the movement of marine invertebrates among different areas of the British Columbia coast. His research modeled the spatial extent of animal dispersal and predicted where habitat is connected. This work is now being incorporated into planning the placement of marine protected areas to better conserve biodiversity. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Baker studied metals in which electronic motion does not obey Ohm's law. He looked at metals where electrons develop preferred directions of motion because of strong interactions with the ionic lattice. He developed a theory of how this leads to new electrical and optical properties, and measured these novel effects in palladium cobalt oxide. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Ju developed prediction methods that go beyond classical settings. Her proposals are built upon the idea of ensemble learning and use data that contain extreme or function-valued variables. The resulting algorithms provide computational tools for practitioners to deal with complex data seen in various applications. | Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Blain tested for predicted effects of competitive interactions among co-occurring fish phenotypes in post-glacial lakes. She demonstrated weak or no evidence for predictions from theory for selection and evolution in solitary stickleback populations and some evidence for habitat and trait repeatability in assemblages of sympatric salmonids. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Jung investigated the regulation of respiratory gases within the gastrointestinal tract and cardiovascular system in teleost. She also studied the potential implications associated with osmoregulation and digestion. Her research illuminates maintenance of blood homeostasis despite the extreme extracorporeal environment in the tract. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. DeLisle used quantum information theory to study electromagnetic and gravitational fields. His work argued that upcoming laboratory experiments should be capable of observing quantum superpositions of space-time, and resulted in the discovery of a new kind of electric current, responsible for emitting the longest wavelengths of light in Nature. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Christidis developed a new class of statistical algorithms designed to analyze data in high dimensions. He made theoretical and computational contributions to support his work. His methods were applied to study the relationship between genetic patterns and different types of diseases. | Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Bruns examined the mechanisms of heat transport in carbon nanotubes at the atomic level. He showed that the small spatial dimensions of these materials require a rethinking of some fundamental laws of thermal science. His research improves our understanding of the thermal performance of some technologically important materials. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |