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

Computational Sciences and Mathematics

Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences

Genomics and Biological Sciences

Human-Computer Interaction

Life Sciences

Chemistry and Materials Science

Physics

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

Department

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
2011 Dr. Penoff studied the communication aspects of large-scale, parallel computer programs that execute across a cluster of computers constructed from off-the-shelf software and hardware. New communication features were added to existing open source projects, and the features were found to enhance the performance and reliability of previous approaches. Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD)
2011 Dr. Klaus studied the symmetries of Spheres. This brought to the surface deep and beautiful connections between algebra and geometry. These interplays can be further exploited to better understand both algebra and geometry. Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD)
2011 Dr. Kim studied the poorly understood outer pollen wall of flowering plants and mosses. He examined genes and enzymes which generate the building blocks of the pollen wall, and discovered male-sterile mutants related to the pollen wall formation. This work has contributed to the understanding of the construction of pollen walls. Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD)
2011 Dr. Riche quantified the seasonal circulation of seawater in the Strait of Georgia using sophisticated mathematics and a unique set of monthly observations taken over the years 2002 to 2005. He also quantified the seasonal growth and abundance of marine microscopic algae and showed that some of their nutrient requirements differed from estimates made in previous studies. Doctor of Philosophy in Oceanography (PhD)
2011 Eszter Boros investigated a variety of acyclic chelates for the rapid and efficient coordination of radiometals. One lead compound, H2dedpa, was identified and further investigated for nuclear medicine applications such as myocardiac perfusion and cancer imaging. Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)
2011 Dr. Sember studied problems involving points in the geometric plane, where each point's location has some amount of uncertainty, and developed a number of algorithms for generating figures from such points. These figures can provide a more accurate view of certain types of uncertain data. Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD)
2011 Dr. Charish showed that Drosophila septate junctions and Gliotactin are necessary for epithelial cell division. This work demonstrates a new and unconventional role for junctional proteins Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD)
2011 Dr. Marchand used computer simulations to study models which describe polarons, objects composed of one electron and a surrounding cloud of sound waves. He discovered that the properties of polarons can be significantly modified in those models. This work extended previous techniques to allow these more complex models to be investigated efficiently. Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)
2011 Dr. Markel investigated how variable ocean climate, marine protected areas, and the loss of top predators such as sea otters affect rockfish population dynamics on the west coast of Vancouver Island. His findings contribute broadly towards understanding how marine species and ecosystems respond to climate change and overfishing. Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD)
2011 Dr. Charbonneau contributed to the description of an exotic new current, which is not generated by a voltage, like a typical electrical current, but is generated by the processes that occur in the dense cores of neutron stars and the remnants of high-energy particle collisions. His work furthers our understanding of matter in extreme environments. Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)

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