UBC evolutionary biologist Dr. Dolph Schluter named AAAS Fellow
Internationally renowned evolutionary biologist Dr. Dolph Schluter has been elected to the newest class of American Association for the...
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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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Dr. Bauerschmidt studied problems related to the mathematical analysis of long chains of molecules, so-called polymer chains. Physicists and chemists have been interested in properties of these chains for decades, but their rigorous mathematical study has proven to be challenging. Dr. Bauerschmidt's thesis contributes to this theoretical understanding. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2013 | Dr. de Souza studied nonparametric regression, a statistical technique that allows for varying forms of data dependencies. She proposed a new methodology to study dependencies when crucial information is absent from the data. She applied her method to determine power usage in buildings when the status of cooling and heating devices is not recorded. | Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics (PhD) |
| 2013 | Dr. Rastkar conducted research in Human-centric Software Engineering. She developed techniques to produce text summaries for a variety of software artifacts generated during the software development process. By conducting user studies, she showed that those summaries help software developers address their information needs more quickly and easily. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
| 2013 | Dr. Yang investigated symmetries and exact solutions for partial differential equations. He introduced a new method for seeking further symmetries and he also obtained new solutions for the non-linear Kompaneets equation. Researchers in applied mathematics and physics may benefit from his results. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2013 | Dr. Wright studied the ecology of microbes living in the oxygen starved waters of the Northeast Pacific Ocean. Her research showed that an abundant group of bacteria called Marine Group A may play a role in marine sulfur cycling. These results will assist us in understanding the impact of microbial processes on marine ecosystems and climate. | Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD) |
| 2013 | Dr. Dzikowski studied ruby and sapphire bearing rocks near Revelstoke, British Columbia and Kimmirut, Nunavut. Her work describes how gem corundum formed in these rocks and provides exploration strategies for finding more of these types of deposits. This work will assist those studying and searching for gem corundum deposits around the world. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geological Sciences (PhD) |
| 2013 | Dr. Lucido studied advanced modelling techniques for treatment planning in Radiation Oncology. He designed a method to incorporate microscopic details into clinical treatment planning, to more accurately predict the patient's response to the therapy. This was the first approach capable of making use of these details for realistic clinical situations. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
| 2013 | Dr. Chen conducted his research in the field of quantum gravity. He developed a model of gravitational field which hypothesized that although the space-time is continuous when viewed on a large scale, a closer view shows it is actually made up of discrete points. This work has provided a means to remove anomolies from quantum gravity calculations. . | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
| 2013 | Dr. Smithyman developed novel methods that enable processing of on-land seismic data, to generate detailed geophysical images. He applied the new techniques to produce models of rock type in the Nechako-Chilcotin plateau, British Columbia. These models can be used to infer rock type and interpret underground geology, from surface to about 2 km depth. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geophysics (PhD) |
| 2013 | Dr. Pang studied Geometric Analysis. Together with his supervisors, he obtained results on the uniqueness of solutions of certain nonlinear differential equations, and how to construct minimal surfaces, which are surfaces of critical area, in general boundary situations. These works enhance the theory of minimal surfaces. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |