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...
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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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Dr. Purcell investigated why social spiders are generally restricted to the tropical rainforest, while their non-social relatives occur in a broader range of environments but are absent from the rainforest. Her findings suggest that social behaviours may evolve in part to enable groups to overcome environmental disturbances and predation in some environments. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
| 2009 | Dr. Wood studied how interactions among species in a marine ecosystem can be used to explain species diversity and the responses of ecosystems to environmental change. His research demonstrated the potential to predict ecological dynamics using simple organismal traits, such as body size, without the need for detailed information on communities. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
| 2009 | Dr. Young studied how plants make pectin. The plant cell uses the Golgi apparatus as the primary site of pectin production. Using Arabidopsis seed coat cells, Dr. Young used advanced microscopic techniques to show that all of the scattered Golgi stacks work together to produce cell wall polysaccharides including pectin. | Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD) |
| 2009 | Dr. Goodvin co-developed a highly accurate approximation applicable to models describing an electron coupled to its environment. After obtaining results for standard models, this powerful approach was generalized to a much broader class of problems relevant for describing surface spectroscopies and aspects of high-temperature superconductivity. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
| 2009 | Dr. Cao studied the structual origin of proteins of high mechanical stability and developed methods to rationally tune the mechanical stability of proteins. His research can help to develop protein-based materials with high elasticity and strength. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2009 | Dr. Scott examined the cellular and molecular consequences of trauma to the spinal cord. Her thesis work aimed to improve recovery following spinal cord injury and to shed light on new therapeutic strategies that promote the repair of nerves and enhance the plasticity of the central nervous system. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
| 2009 | Most computer algorithms have parameters that can be modified to improve performance. Dr. Hutter developed the first general automated approaches for optimizing algorithms with many discrete parameters. His methods have been shown to improve complex algorithms for a very broad range of applications, far beyond manual optimizations by human experts. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
| 2009 | Dr Gross investigated atmospherically relevant reactions of NO3 radicals and other important oxidants with organic substrates. She determined how fast these reactions occur and identified reaction products. Her work is important for understanding the chemistry of atmospheric aerosol properties. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2009 | Dr. Halverson's work, based on a unique 5-year dataset obtained from specialized instrumentation installed on ferries in the Strait of Georgia, has made an important contribution to our understanding of the processes governing mixing in estuaries and buoyant river plumes, and of the way in which river plumes affect phytoplankton biomass. | Doctor of Philosophy in Oceanography (PhD) |
| 2009 | Dr. Lin studied the role of the Rap GTPases in the function of B cells, the cells that produce antibodies. He showed that these proteins control multiple processes involved in B cell trafficking and activation, and also in the spread of B cell lymphomas, which are common cancers. | Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD) |