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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Dr. Meimetis's research was devoted to medicinal chemistry. He focussed on the synthesis of biologically-active, natural marine products taken from sponges. The findings from his work will contribute towards curing diseases of the blood and prostate cancer. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2012 | Dr. Holtham developed geophysical methods to image the sub-surface of the earth. Measurements due to electomagnetic sources from lightning and solar events, were modelled to understand the physical properties of the earth. The research results can be used for resource exploration and environmental applications. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geophysics (PhD) |
| 2012 | Dr. Xu developed novel and efficient statistical methods for extracting important features from massive amounts of data. His methods are widely applicable in contemporary scientific fields such as computational biology, internet applications, and finance. His fundamental research assists us to discover new knowledge hidden from the noisy world | Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics (PhD) |
| 2012 | Dr. Xiaojun Xie examined the roles of integrins in different types of glial cells in the fruitfly nervous system development. His studies expanded our knowledge on how glial development is regulated by enviornmental information and cooperates with neuronal development. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
| 2012 | Dr. Wicks developed a method to prepare new magnetic materials. Using this method, he prepared two different magnetic semiconducting systems. This work is important because it furthers our understanding of magnetic interactions. The technique and materials studied may be used in future electronic devices to overcome the current physical limits in computing speed. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
| 2012 | Dr. Teke developed new techniques for complex radiation therapy treatments. He used those techniques on total body irradiation, in particular. His work provided information on patient-specific organ dosage, and he identified key factors to improve this type of treatment. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
| 2012 | Dr. Zhang studied in depth an extremely diverse group of jumping spiders, the subfamily Euophryinae. She inferred its evolutionary history, clarified its taxonomy, and explored its biogeography and evolution of genital organs. Her work provides the foundation for further understanding the biodiversity and evolutionary processes of this spider lineage. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
| 2012 | Dr. Mejia's research concerns probability theory and combinatorics, the mathematics of counting. She studied mathematical models of polymer molecules. Her work adds to the understanding of the shapes that these molecules can adopt. Her solution solves a fascinating mathematical open problem and can be extended to related combinatorial models. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2012 | Dr. Wong studied various problems in the field of number theory. His work sheds light on statistical properties of random matrices, and provides an explanation for certain patterns that had been empirically observed in the integers represented by a quadratic form. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2012 | Dr. Martinuk investigated several strategies for promoting students' use of their everyday knowledge in university physics class. He also showed that rigidly structured problem solving strategies fail to activate students' conceptual knowledge in the intended way. This research will inform development of improved techniques for teaching university-level physics. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |