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...
Learn MoreApplicants to Master’s and Doctoral degrees are not affected by the recently announced cap on study permits. Review more details
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.
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 |
---|---|---|
2012 | Dr. Zhdanovich studied ways in which atoms and molecules are controlled by light. In his experimental work he developed robust and effective control methods using ultra-short laser pulses. These methods can be used to study collisions between molecules, enable control of chemical reactions and assist in understanding behaviour of chaotic systems. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
2012 | Dr. Cheung developed computer methods to describe the properties of genes, diseases and drugs in quantitative profiles. In performing billions of computer comparisons, his methods for comparing profiles from different topics reveals new associations between genes and diseases, and new disease applications for existing drugs. | Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics (PhD) |
2012 | Dr. Gill investigated the existence of Axion-like particles, that are strong contenders for the dark matter in our Universe. He developed a novel method for measuring the mass of these particles by studying their signature in the light observed from strongly magnetized stars. | Doctor of Philosophy in Astronomy (PhD) |
2012 | Metals create disturbances in Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or MRI. Dr. Hoff exploited the physics of the MRI signal to obtain medical images that are free of the aberrations typically found in images taken near metallic implants in patients. These innovations will result in faster imaging of tissue surrounding implanted screws and joint prostheses. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
2012 | Dr. Madera examined ways in which synthetic proteins can strengthen the human immune response. These proteins were found to enhance the beneficial activity of immune cells taken from the blood of human participants. These findings are valuable since they contribute to the development of new medicines against infectious diseases. | Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD) |
2012 | Dr. Herrera opened new possibilities for scientific and technological applications of molecules prepared at ultracold temperatures. He developed simple but robust theoretical schemes that will allow experimentalists to tackle in a controlled way some of the outstanding problems in chemistry and physics. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
2012 | Dr. Parolin investigated the response of the element Palladium to an applied magnetic field by using a specialized technique that employs radioactive impurities. The studies were conducted using the beta-detected nuclear magnetic resonance facility at TRIUMF, located at UBC. The results provide further insights into the origin of Palladium's unique magnetic properties . | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
2012 | Dr. Mazur used numerical simulations to explore the behaviour of empty space in some of the most extreme environments in astrophysics, such as the early universe and the intense magnetic fields of neutron stars. His results contribute to our understanding of astronomy and fundamental physics. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
2012 | Dr. Hughes developed a software-based method for medical imaging, with the aim of improving the diagnosis of coronary artery disease. Dr. Hughes's technique resulted in improvements in diagnosis, compared with a leading commercial method. This has led to an interest in future clinical development and implementation. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
2012 | Dr. Stead developed new, high-efficiency, laser-based methods for the generation and detection of light at long optical wavelengths. Such radiation is of particular interest for the accurate characterization of gas mixtures and atmospheric samples due to the highly unique way in which molecules absorb this long wavelength radiation. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |