AI can tell if a patient battling cancer needs mental health support
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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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Dr. Cowan worked on various second and fourth order elliptic equations with real world applications. For instance, he studied the mathematics of micro-electro-mechanical systems, which combine electronics with miniature-size mechanical devices. Many of his results extend theory known for the Second Order case to the Fourth Order case. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2010 | Dr. Brodeur performed the first direct mass measurement of very exotic helium isotopes featuring a nuclear halo to a precision of 10 parts per billion using the TITAN Penning trap at TRIUMF. The results were compared to ab-initio nuclear theory and indicated the need for 3-nucleon interaction. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
| 2010 | Dr. Barrett investigated the genetics of adaptation to new environments using a combination of field experiments with threespine stickleback fish and theoretical models of population genetics. He demonstrated that ecological mechanisms play an important role in the origin and maintenance of biological diversity in new environments. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
| 2010 | Dr. Goodman studied the internal and external structure of invasion percolation, a mathematical model for the injection of fluid in a random medium. This research helps us understand how a random process can deterministically find the phase transition between two different kinds of behaviour. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2010 | Dr. Bradley developed new approaches for generating three-dimensional models from images. His main contribution was to perform passive reconstruction of the shape and motion of deforming surfaces. As a result of this work, 3D models of performing actors can be obtained in a less-invasive way, advancing the technology used in the visual effects industry for films. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
| 2010 | Dr. Tompkins studied Boolean satisfiability, a fundamental problem in logic that lies at the heart of computer science and artificial intelligence. He advanced the state of the art for solving this problem with Local Search, and developed an advanced software architecture for representing and designing algorithms to solve the problem. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
| 2010 | Dr. Tse studied the cellular mechanisms that regulate the function and development of B cells, which produce antibodies to fight infections. She showed that certain proteins are key regulators of trafficking and cell signaling. Her work contributes to our understanding of B cell cancers and inflammatory diseases. | Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD) |
| 2010 | Dr. He explored the theoretical connections between string theory and condensed matter systems. His results improve our understanding of superconductivity, Fermi liquids, and other exotic low-temperature phenomena. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
| 2010 | Dr. Rummer discovered a novel mechanism in which oxygen delivery to muscle can be greatly increased in fish, well beyond that of other vertebrates. Muscle oxygenation may represent the first step in the most successful adaptive radiation event among vertebrates, that of the fishes. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
| 2010 | Dr. Woods identified a number of natural products, both known and unknown, from marine and plant sources. Identified compounds have activity relating to the treatment of diabetes, cystic fibrosis, and cancer. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |