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 MoreCanadian Immigration Updates
Applicants to Master’s and Doctoral degrees are not affected by the recently announced cap on study permits. Review more details
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. Escobar used Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy to study DAXX, a human protein that helps to control the growth and division of the cells in our bodies. Most importantly, Dr. Escobar determined the first three-dimensional structure of the protein which provides a "molecular blueprint" for understanding how it interacts with other proteins that are fundamental in diseases such as cancer. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2010 | Dr. Melnychuk used acoustic tags to monitor the movements of migrating juvenile salmon and to estimate survival rates of populations. He showed that high mortality occurred during the downstream migration and shortly after entering the Georgia Strait ecosystem. This research allows us to better understand causes for declines in salmon abundance. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
| 2010 | Dr. Liang developed and modified new synthetic methods to prepare bioactive natural products and their derivatives. These included sordarin (a potent antifungal agent), himandrine (a possible cure for a number of human ailments) and lepadiformine (a potent drug for treatment of cardiac arrhythmia). | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2010 | Dr. Zhang studied the chemistry of bis(dipyrromethene) triple-stranded complexes. He developed a method for the synthesis of novel isomer of diformyldipyrromethanes, exhibited the first pair of isolated helicates and mesocates, and proposed a new scenario for the formation of helicate versus mesocate. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2010 | Dr. Kisynski developed new techniques for probabilistic reasoning in large domains that involve multiple objects and probabilistic relations between objects. For example, in reasoning about the probability that a suspect committed a crime, we need to reason about all of the other people who could have committed the crime, even if we don't have specific information about them. Dr. Kisynski demonstrated how to improve the efficiency of reasoning in such domains. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
| 2010 | Dr. Wang developed and tested a novel observational method, combining aerial photography and water-column measurements, for studying internal features in the coastal ocean. She subsequently applied the method to study large nonlinear internal solitary waves, including their mathematical description, how they interact with other waves, and their generation mechanisms. | Doctor of Philosophy in Oceanography (PhD) |
| 2010 | Dr. Moffatt examined the types of difficulties older adults encounter when using pen-based computers such as Tablet PCs. She found three main sources of interaction difficulty and developed seven new techniques to address the difficulties uncovered. This work improves the accessibility of pen-based devices, especially for older adults. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
| 2010 | Dr. Goldbogen studied functional morphology and physiological ecology of lunge feeding in rorqual whales. He integrated data from high-resolution digital tags with morphological data of the skull to elucidate the mechanism of this unique filter feeding method employed by some of the largest animals of all-time. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
| 2010 | Dr. Popa worked on geometry processing for computer graphics and developed several novel techniques for acquisition and manipulation of shapes that deform over time. These methods support realistic modeling of complex virtual objects such as clothing or organic shapes increasing the realism of virtual environments. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
| 2010 | Dr. Hosseini developed statistical models predicting precipitation, temperature and associated extreme weather events such as drought, toward managing agricultural climate risks. He also developed a way to approximate large datasets. To assess such approximations, he introduced a novel performance metric that is invariant under re-scaling of the data. | Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics (PhD) |