Faculty of Science

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 40 per cent of the Faculty's graduate enrollments, and the percentage of international students has increased to 48 per cent over the past decade.

Faculty Website

Fact Sheet

Mission

To nurture an exceptional scientific learning and research environment for the people of British Columbia, Canada, and the world.

633

Master's Students

(2019)
967

Doctoral Students

(2019)
350

Graduate Degrees Awarded

(2019)
452

Full-Time Faculty

(2019)
120.3

million in Research Awards

(2018/2019)

Research Centres

Biodiversity, Evolution and Ecology

Computational Sciences and Mathematics

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

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

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

Research Supervisors in Faculty

or browse the list of faculty members in various academic units. You may click each unit to view faculty members appointed in that unit. View the full faculty member directory for more search and filter options.

Name	Academic Unit(s)	Research Interests
Edelstein-Keshet, Leah	Department of Mathematics	Mathematics, Modelization and Simulation, Cell Signaling, Cell Signaling and Cancer, Differential Equation, cell polarity, cell migration, developmental and cellular biology, swarming and aggregation, Rho GTPases
Eltis, Lindsay	Department of Microbiology & Immunology	Microbiology, Enzymes and Proteins, Metabolism (Living Organisms), Bacterial catabolism of steroids and lignin, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, biocatalyst development
Evans, William	Department of Computer Science	Algorithms, Theoretical Computer Science, Computer Sciences and Mathematical Tools, computational geometry, graph drawing, program compression
Fast, Naomi	Department of Botany	Genomics, single-celled organisms
Feeley, Michael	Department of Computer Science	Distributed systems, operating systems, workstation and pc clusters
Fernandez, Rachel	Department of Microbiology & Immunology	Bordetella pertusis, whooping cough, lipopolysaccharide
Finlay, B Brett	Michael Smith Laboratories, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Department of Microbiology & Immunology	Infectious agents, bacteria, microbial infections and how humans react to it
Folk, Joshua	Department of Physics & Astronomy	Quantum devices, Majorana fermions, Strongly correlated electronics, Topological phenomena, Fractional quantum Hall effect, Vanderwaals heterostructures
Francois, Roger	Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences	Marine Geochemistry, Climate Change
Franz, Marcel	Department of Physics & Astronomy	Condensed matter theory
Fraser, Ailana	Department of Mathematics	Differential Geometry, Geometric Analysis
Friedlander, Michael	Department of Computer Science, Department of Mathematics	numerical optimization, numerical linear algebra, scientific computing, Scientific computing
Friedman, Joel	Department of Computer Science	Computer Science Theory, Algebraic Graph Theory, Combinatorics
Froese, Richard Gerd	Department of Mathematics	Mathematics, Mathematical physics, quantum mechanics, spectral theory, scattering theory
Fryzuk, Michael	Department of Chemistry	energy; fuel cells; hydrogeny economy; nitrogen fixation, Metal, energy
Fu, Hu	Department of Computer Science	algorithmic game theory
Garcia, Ronald	Department of Computer Science	programming language semantics, design, and implementation, including language support for library-centric and modular software development, generic and generative programming, and domain specific languages and libraries.
Gates, Derek	Department of Chemistry	Inorganic chemistry, materials science, polymer chemistry, catalysis
Gay, Colin	Department of Physics & Astronomy	Experimental subatomic physics, Beyond Standard Model physics, Extra dimensions
Gaynor, Erin	Department of Microbiology & Immunology	Molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis, foodborne human pathogen, Campylobacter jejuni
Germain, Rachel	Department of Zoology	Ecology, evolution
Ghioca, Dragos	Department of Mathematics	Drinfeld modules, isotrivial semiabelian varieties, Lehmer inequality
Ghoussoub, Nassif	Department of Mathematics	Mathematical sciences, R&Ed policies, developing science in Africa, Non-linear analysis and partial differential equations
Giang, Amanda	Institute for Resources, Environment & Sustainability, Department of Mechanical Engineering	Atmospheric Pollutants, Climate Changes and Impacts, Chemical Pollutants, Social and Cultural Factors of Environmental Protection, Public Policies
Gladman, Brett	Department of Physics & Astronomy	Astronomy, Planetary Science, meteorites, astrobiology, Solar system formation and evolution

Graduate Student Profiles

Seyed Amirhossein Nasseri

Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)

Towards a new class of Antibiotics

Ethan White

Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD)

Framework rigidity

Julia Huggins

Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD)

Oxygen loss in our oceans and the environmental impacts of marine microorganisms

Joseph Ogbede

Doctor of Philosophy in Genome Science and Technology (PhD)

Defining and manipulating the effect of cell-cell variation on drug response

Dana James

Doctor of Philosophy in Resources, Environment and Sustainability (PhD)

Enabling and Assessing the Transformative Potential of Agroecology

Jessica Schaub

Master of Science in Oceanography (MSc)

Jellyfish diet

Susanna Klassen

Doctor of Philosophy in Resources, Environment and Sustainability (PhD)

Assessing the contributions of organic agriculture to food system sustainability

Sandeep Pai

Doctor of Philosophy in Resources, Environment and Sustainability (PhD)

Evaluating ‘Just Transition’ policies for coal workers in Alberta, Canada

Recent Publications

This is an incomplete sample of recent publications by UBC faculty members with a primary appointment in the Faculty of Science.

Zooplankton distribution and community structure in the pacific and Atlantic sectors of the southern ocean during austral summer 2017-18: A pilot study conducted from Ukrainian long-liners

Publication: Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
UBC Author(s): Yevhenii Pakhomov (Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 8
Publication Date: 1 July 2020

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Observation of the associated production of a top quark and a Z boson in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Publication: Journal of High Energy Physics
UBC Author(s): Alison Lister (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 11266708
Volume: 2020
Publication Date: 1 July 2020

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A Multimodal Genotoxic Anticancer Drug Characterized by Pharmacogenetic Analysis in Caenorhabditis elegans

Publication: Genetics
UBC Author(s): Philip Hieter (Michael Smith Labs / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 215
Page Range: 609-621
Publication Date: 1 July 2020

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Search for the HH → bb¯ bb¯ process via vector-boson fusion production using proton-proton collisions at √s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Publication: Journal of High Energy Physics
UBC Author(s): Alison Lister (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 11266708
Volume: 2020
Publication Date: 1 July 2020

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Ralaniten sensitizes enzalutamide-resistant prostate cancer to ionizing radiation in prostate cancer cells that express androgen receptor splice variants

Publication: Cancers
UBC Author(s): Raymond Andersen (Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 12
Page Range: 1-17
Publication Date: July 2020

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A method to determine the electric field of liquid argon time projection chambers using a UV laser system and its application in MicroBooNE

Publication: Journal of Instrumentation
UBC Author(s): Alison Lister (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 15
Publication Date: July 2020

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OSSOS XX: The Meaning of Kuiper Belt Colors

Publication: Astronomical Journal
UBC Author(s): Brett Gladman (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00046256
Volume: 160
Publication Date: July 2020

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Measurement of the transverse momentum distribution of Drell–Yan lepton pairs in proton–proton collisions at √s=13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Publication: European Physical Journal C
UBC Author(s): Alison Lister (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 14346044
Volume: 80
Publication Date: 1 July 2020

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Measurements of the production cross-section for a Z boson in association with b-jets in proton-proton collisions at √s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Publication: Journal of High Energy Physics
UBC Author(s): Alison Lister (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 11266708
Volume: 2020
Publication Date: 1 July 2020

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Correction to: A Mathematical Model for the Kinetics of the MalFGK<inf>2</inf> Maltose Transporter (Bulletin of Mathematical Biology, (2020), 82, 5, (62), 10.1007/s11538-020-00737-8)

Publication: Bulletin of Mathematical Biology
UBC Author(s): Eric Cytrynbaum (Mathematics / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00928240
Volume: 82
Publication Date: 1 July 2020

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Deep learning decodes the principles of differential gene expression

Publication: Nature Machine Intelligence
UBC Author(s): Sara Mostafavi (Statistics / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 2
Page Range: 376-386
Publication Date: 1 July 2020

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Transforming quantum states between reference frames

Publication: Physica Scripta
UBC Author(s): William Unruh (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00318949
Volume: 95
Publication Date: July 2020

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Ruby deposits: A review and geological classification

Publication: Minerals
UBC Author(s): Lee Groat (Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 10
Page Range: 1-83
Publication Date: July 2020

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ImmGen at 15

Publication: Nature Immunology
UBC Author(s): Sara Mostafavi (Statistics / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 15292908
Volume: 21
Page Range: 700-703
Publication Date: 1 July 2020

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Detection of renal cell carcinoma using plasma and urine cell-free DNA methylomes

Publication: Nature Medicine
UBC Author(s): Keegan Korthauer (Statistics / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 10788956
Volume: 26
Page Range: 1041-1043
Publication Date: 1 July 2020

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In vitro and in vivo antibiotic capacity of two host defense peptides

Publication: Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy
UBC Author(s): Robert E Hancock (Microbiology & Immunology / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00664804
Volume: 64
Publication Date: July 2020

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Evolutionary links between intra- and extracellular acid–base regulation in fish and other aquatic animals

Publication: Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological and Integrative Physiology
UBC Author(s): Colin Brauner (Zoology / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 24715638
Volume: 333
Page Range: 449-465
Publication Date: 1 July 2020

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The curious and neglected soft-bodied meiofauna: Rouphozoa (Gastrotricha and Platyhelminthes)

Publication: Hydrobiologia
UBC Author(s): Brian Leander (Botany / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00188158
Volume: 847
Page Range: 2613-2644
Publication Date: 1 July 2020

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Highland games: A benchmarking exercise in predicting biophysical and drug properties of monoclonal antibodies from amino acid sequences

Publication: Biotechnology and Bioengineering
UBC Author(s): Charles Haynes (Michael Smith Labs / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00063592
Volume: 117
Page Range: 2100-2115
Publication Date: 1 July 2020

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MEKK2 inhibits activation of MAP kinases in Arabidopsis

Publication: Plant Journal
UBC Author(s): Yuelin Zhang (Botany / Faculty of Science), Keith Adams (Botany / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 09607412
Volume: 103
Page Range: 705-714
Publication Date: 1 July 2020

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Relative genomic impacts of translocation history, hatchery practices, and farm selection in Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas throughout the Northern Hemisphere

Publication: Evolutionary Applications
UBC Author(s): Sarah Otto (Zoology / Faculty of Science), Curtis Suttle (Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 17524563
Volume: 13
Page Range: 1380-1399
Publication Date: 1 July 2020

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Changing the narrative on fisheries subsidies reform: Enabling transitions to achieve SDG 14.6 and beyond

Publication: Marine Policy
UBC Author(s): Ussif Rashid Sumaila (Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 0308597X
Volume: 117
Publication Date: July 2020

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Climate change increases the risk of fisheries conflict

Publication: Marine Policy
UBC Author(s): Ussif Rashid Sumaila (Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 0308597X
Volume: 117
Publication Date: July 2020

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Genome-wide gene-environment analyses of major depressive disorder and reported lifetime traumatic experiences in UK Biobank

Publication: Molecular Psychiatry
UBC Author(s): Sara Mostafavi (Statistics / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 13594184
Volume: 25
Page Range: 1430-1446
Publication Date: 1 July 2020

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Optimal Controlled Transports with Free End Times Subject to Import/Export Tariffs

Publication: Journal of Dynamical and Control Systems
UBC Author(s): Nassif Ghoussoub (Mathematics / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 10792724
Volume: 26
Page Range: 481-507
Publication Date: 1 July 2020

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Recent Thesis Submissions

Practical and green design strategies for the catalytic synthesis of functional materials (Chemistry - PHD)
Visualizing heterogeneous data in genomic epidemiology (Computer Science - PHD)
Functional genomic analysis of novel secondary cell wall genes in poplar (Populus trichocarpa) (Botany - PHD)
ABCF1 is a novel E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme that controls Toll-like receptor-mediated innate immune responses and cytokine storm during sepsis (Microbiology and Immunology - PHD)
Elucidating the role of COBRA in plant development in Arabidopsis thaliana (Botany - MSC)
Computational studies on functional materials (Chemistry - MSC)
Determination of small medicinal molecules by capillary electrophoresis mass spectrometry with on-line concentration techniques (Chemistry - MSC)
Early-life gut microbiota dysbiosis in children with atopic dermatitis (Microbiology and Immunology - MSC)
Validation of Monte Carlo simulation of 6 MV photon beam delivered by the Vero4DRT linear accelerator using BEAMnrc and DOSXYZnrc (Physics - MSC)
Functional analysis of homeodomain transcription factors in secondary cell wall formation in Arabidopsis thaliana (Botany - PHD)
Monte Carlo modelling of peripheral dose and risk of secondary malignancy in flattening-filter-free and 10 MV photon beams for paediatric radiotherapy (Physics - PHD)
Electrodeposited DNA monolayers on gold : creation, evaluation and optimization (Chemistry - PHD)
Analysis of a 2D model of quorum sensing characterized by a transition from bistability in spatially coupled signalling compartments (Mathematics - MSC)
The role of the Lyn tyrosine kinase in innate immunity and intestinal inflammation (Microbiology and Immunology - PHD)
Financial knowledge graph construction (Computer Science - MSC)
Evaluating microbial community responses to blended biofuel contamination (Microbiology and Immunology - MSC)
New gluing methods and applications to nonlinear elliptic and parabolic equations (Mathematics - PHD)
Thermal conductivity in ISOL target materials : development of a numerical approach and an experimental apparatus (Engineering Physics - MASC)
Negative curves in blowups of weighted projective planes (Mathematics - PHD)
The geology, alteration and timing of porphyry intrusions and breccias associated with the development of Los Helados porphyry copper-gold deposit, Chile (Geological Sciences - MSC)
Donaldson-Thomas theory of quantum Fermat quintic threefolds (Mathematics - PHD)
Personal data curation in the cloud age : individual differences and design opportunities (Computer Science - PHD)
Combinatorial properties of maps on finite posets (Mathematics - PHD)
High-throughput analysis using novel sample preparation method and direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (Chemistry - PHD)
Function-oriented synthesis of subersic acid and makassaric acid analogues (Chemistry - MSC)
High-throughput kinematic tracking of bird wings using inertial sensor arrays (Zoology - MSC)
Metal chelating agents for medicinal radionuclides (Chemistry - PHD)
Elucidating the mechanism of type 2 innate lymphoid cell-mediated tumour elimination (Microbiology and Immunology - MSC)
Synthesis and reactivity of dinucleating di(diamino)phenolate ligands for enforcing cooperativity (Chemistry - MSC)
A mitochondrial terminomics technique to study human cell death during bacterial infection (Microbiology and Immunology - PHD)

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
2020	Dr. Oyinlola studied the effects of climate change on global seafood production. His findings show that increasing greenhouse gases will negatively affect mariculture production in many regions of the world, particularly the tropics and sub-tropical regions. This research supports continuous mariculture related research and industry applications.	Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD)
2020	Dr. Lix studied and improved a new type of ultrabright fluorescent probe called polymer dots that are used in bioanalysis and imaging. She investigated how these materials interact with other fluorescent materials. Her research will be used to develop new technologies that will enable medical diagnosis at the point-of-care.	Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)
2020	Dr. Wu studied the signaling transduction pathways in plant immunity. His work revealed novel regulatory mechanisms governing the activation of plant immune receptors, which may contribute to the engineering of broad-spectrum resistance in crops.	Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD)
2020	Dr. Babanezhad's research explored optimizing parameters for machine learning algorithms, like those used in data processing, focusing specifically on computational cost. His proposed method, which he has tested on a new set of constraints and machine learning models, can train models in less time and achieve better results than previous methods.	Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD)
2020	Dr. Paudel studied two key aspects of plant-virus interaction: how viruses coerce plants to produce viral products and how the plant defends itself. He identified regions in the viral genome that help in hijacking the host resources. Also, his results showed a variety of host antiviral defenses and highlighted the complexity of the interaction.	Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD)
2020	Dr. Yeo examined the fundamental chemistry of early and late transition metal complexes. She studied the reactivity of early transition metal dinitrogen complexes and synthesized novel late transition metal complexes, exploring the capability of these chemical systems to provide insight for future advances in synthetic chemistry.	Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)
2020	Dr. Chen studied numerical algorithms for stiff elastodynamic simulation, a key procedure in computer graphics applications. He developed models for natural physical movements that would maintain stability and produce lively simulations at a lower cost. This work will improve the efficiency and accuracy for physically-based computer simulation.	Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD)
2020	Dr. Xu's research explored the interactions between light and new synthetic molecules. These interactions include chemical changes such as photochromism or physical changes such as thermally activated delayed fluorescence and phosphorescence. This work will impact applications such as super-resolution imaging and display technology.	Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)
2020	Dr. McMillan developed and applied sophisticated geochemical approaches to stakeholder- and Indigenous-led investigations of archaeological biominerals and mineraloids, encompassing a large span of human history on two continents. The resulting techniques and data provided key information for addressing modern questions about the human journey.	Doctor of Philosophy in Geological Sciences (PhD)
2020	Dr. Hao investigated Ti-catalyzed hydroamination, a powerful tool in the synthesis of various nitrogen-containing compounds. He used this complex to transform simple starting materials into complex nitrogen containing products, which can be used in new chemical reactions to make important commercial products like drugs and herbicides.	Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)