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

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
Martone, Patrick Department of Botany Plant biology; Protist; Plants; Physiology; Taxonomy and Systematics; Ecology and Quality of the Environment; Evolution and Phylogenesis; Biomaterials; Solid Mechanics; Fluid mechanics; biomechanics; Ecology; evolution; Intertidal Zone; Macroalgae; Phycology
Marziali, Andre Department of Physics & Astronomy Teaching methods, pedagogy, Robotics in education, Nanotechnology, Engineering Physics, Genomics, Biophysics, Genomics Technologies
Matsuuchi, Linda Department of Zoology Cell signaling of specific membrane receptors, combining aspects of Cell Biology, Immunology , Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Matthews, Philip Department of Zoology respiratory adaptations of animals, primarily insects
Matthews, Benjamin Department of Zoology Genomics; Neurosciences, biological and chemical aspects; Neurosciences, medical and physiological and health aspects; Zoology; Aedes aeygpti mosquitoes; Arboviral pathogens; Chikungunya; Comparative Physiology; Dengue fever; Genome of mosquitoes; Yellow fever; Zika
Matthews, Jaymie Mark Department of Physics & Astronomy Stellar seismology, stellar structure and evolution, exoplanets, magnetic peculiar stars, photometry and spectroscopy, space astronomy
Mattison, Thomas Department of Physics & Astronomy Subatomic physics, Particle & Nuclear Physics, Applied Physics
Mayer, Ulrich Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences Geology; groundwater contamination; groundwater remediation; hydrogeology; low-temperature geochemistry; mine waste management
McAllister, Murdoch Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries Statistical methods for fisheries risk assessment, estimation, decision analysis and management strategy evaluation
McDonald, Daniel Department of Statistics High dimensional data analysis; Computational methods in statistics; Statistical theory and modeling; Machine learning; Estimation and quantification of prediction risk; Evaluating the predictive abilities of complex dependent data; Application of statistical learning techniques to time series prediction problems; Investigations of cross-validation and the bootstrap for risk estimation
McDougall, Scott Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences Debris flows / floods, Geohazards, Landslide-generated waves, Landslides, Natural and man-made geological hazards, Rock avalanches, Shoreline erosion, Tailings dam breaches
McGrenere, Joanna Department of Computer Science Computer and information sciences; computer science; computer supported cooperative work (CSCW); human-computer interaction; interactive technologies for older users and people with cognitive disorders; personalized user interfaces; universal usability
McIver, Jess Department of Physics & Astronomy General relativity and gravitational waves in astronomical and space sciences; Gravitational wave astrophysics; Multi-messenger astronomy; Characterization of large-scale physics instrumentation; data science
McKenna, Janis Department of Physics & Astronomy Physical sciences
Mehrkhodavandi, Parisa Department of Chemistry Chemical sciences; Inorganic and Organometallic Compounds; Polymers; Chemical Synthesis and Catalysis; Bio-based polymers; Bioproducts; catalysis; Green Chemistry; Inorganic and Organometallic Chemistry; Polymer Chemistry and Characterization
Mehta, Aastha Department of Computer Science Networking, Security & Privacy, Systems security, Data privacy, Operating systems, Distributed systems
Michal, Carl Department of Physics & Astronomy Soft condensed matter; Development and applications of spectroscopic and structural techniques; Solid-state NMR; NMR and MRI of brain tissue; NMR methods and instrumentation; Biological and functional materials
Michaletz, Sean Department of Botany Plant biology; fire behavior and effects; macroecology; Plant physiological ecology
Miller, Freda Michael Smith Laboratories, Department of Medical Genetics
Milner, Valery Department of Physics & Astronomy Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics; Ultrafast Quantum Coherent Control; Ultrafast Spectroscopy
Mitchell, Ian Department of Computer Science safety critical systems, assistive technology (mobility), robotics, scientific computing, cyber-physical systems, Mathematical software, computational science and engineering, hybrid and cyber-physical systems, verification and validation, reproducible research, level set methods, robotic path, planning
Mizumoto, Kota Department of Zoology Cell and Developmental Biology
Mohn, William Department of Microbiology & Immunology pollutant biodegradation, pollutant bioremediation, biological treatment of forest industry effluents and wastes, microbial ecology, environmental biotechnology, forest soil microbial ecology, tuberculosis, microbial genomics, Microbial ecology
Momose, Takamasa Department of Chemistry Spectroscopy, Chemical physics
Munzner, Tamara Department of Computer Science Human-centered computing; visualization; information visualization; visual analytics; data science

Pages

Graduate Student Stories

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

Cassandra Elphinstone

Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD)

Arctic Plant Genomics: Climate Adaptation

Uche Joseph Ogbede

Doctor of Philosophy in Genome Science and Technology (PhD)

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

Susanna Klassen

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

Assessing the contributions of organic agriculture to food system sustainability

Jungsoo Park

Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD)

Microbial interactions with photosynthetic hosts

Mackenzie Kinney

Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD)

Species Hybridization as a Mode of Rapid Evolution in Response to Environmental Change
All Student Stories

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.

 

The scaling of diversification rates with age is likely explained by sampling bias
Publication: Evolution
UBC Author(s): Matthew Pennell (Zoology / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00143820
Volume: 76
Page Range: 1625-1637
Publication Date: July 2022

View Publication
Uncertainty and the Value of Information in Risk Prediction Modeling
Publication: Medical Decision Making
UBC Author(s): Paul Gustafson (Statistics / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 0272989X
Volume: 42
Page Range: 661-671
Publication Date: July 2022

View Publication
Flexible automation accelerates materials discovery
Publication: Nature Materials
UBC Author(s): Curtis Berlinguette (Chemistry / Faculty of Science), Jason Hein (Chemistry / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 14761122
Volume: 21
Page Range: 722-726
Publication Date: July 2022

View Publication
On Bose–Einstein Condensation and Unruh–Hawking Radiation from a Quantum Optical Perspective
Publication: Journal of Low Temperature Physics
UBC Author(s): William Unruh (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00222291
Volume: 208
Page Range: 160-171
Publication Date: July 2022

View Publication
Black Holes, Acceleration Temperature and Low Temperature Analog Experiments
Publication: Journal of Low Temperature Physics
UBC Author(s): William Unruh (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00222291
Volume: 208
Page Range: 196-209
Publication Date: July 2022

View Publication
Symmetry-breaking of animal cytokinesis
Publication: Seminars in Cell and Developmental Biology
UBC Author(s): Kenji Sugioka (Zoology / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 10849521
Volume: 127
Page Range: 100-109
Publication Date: July 2022

View Publication
Public awareness of seafood mislabeling
Publication: PeerJ
Volume: 10
Publication Date: June 2022

View Publication
Interpreting Deep Machine Learning for Streamflow Modeling Across Glacial, Nival, and Pluvial Regimes in Southwestern Canada
Publication: Frontiers in Water
UBC Author(s): Valentina Radic (Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 4
Publication Date: 27 June 2022

View Publication
A benchmarking study of four numerical runout models for the simulation of tailings flows
Publication: Science of the Total Environment
UBC Author(s): Scott McDougall (Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00489697
Volume: 827
Publication Date: 25 June 2022

View Publication
Comment on "ultrahigh Convergent Thermal Conductivity of Carbon Nanotubes from Comprehensive Atomistic Modeling"
Publication: Physical Review Letters
UBC Author(s): Joerg Rottler (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00319007
Volume: 128
Publication Date: 24 June 2022

View Publication
Donor modification of thermally activated delayed fluorescence photosensitizers for organocatalyzed atom transfer radical polymerization
Publication: Polymer Chemistry
UBC Author(s): Zachary Hudson (Chemistry / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 17599954
Volume: 13
Page Range: 3892-3903
Publication Date: 24 June 2022

View Publication
Understanding the Implications of Hydrographic Processes on the Dynamics of the Carbonate System in a Sub-Antarctic Marine-Terminating Glacier-Fjord (53°S)
Publication: Frontiers in Marine Science
UBC Author(s): Susan Elizabeth Allen (Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 9
Publication Date: 23 June 2022

View Publication
Cation Exchange in Smectites as a New Approach to Mineral Carbonation
Publication: Frontiers in Climate
UBC Author(s): Gregory Dipple (Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 4
Publication Date: 23 June 2022

View Publication
TIR domains as two-tiered enzymes to activate plant immunity
Publication: Cell
UBC Author(s): Xin Li (Michael Smith Labs / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00928674
Volume: 185
Page Range: 2208-2209
Publication Date: 23 June 2022

View Publication
Chronology and Eruption Dynamics of the Historic∼1700 CE Eruption of Tseax Volcano, British Columbia, Canada
Publication: Frontiers in Earth Science
UBC Author(s): James Kelly Russell (Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 10
Publication Date: 22 June 2022

View Publication
Age-dependent gray matter demyelination is associated with leptomeningeal neutrophil accumulation
Publication: JCI Insight
UBC Author(s): Lisa Osborne (Microbiology & Immunology / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 7
Publication Date: 22 June 2022

View Publication
Conversion of Reactive Carbon Solutions into CO at Low Voltage and High Carbon Efficiency
Publication: ACS Central Science
UBC Author(s): Curtis Berlinguette (Chemistry / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 23747943
Volume: 8
Page Range: 749-755
Publication Date: 22 June 2022

View Publication
High exposure of global tree diversity to human pressure
Publication: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
UBC Author(s): Sean Michaletz (Botany / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 119
Publication Date: 21 June 2022

View Publication
The nanoscale organization of Nipah virus matrix protein revealed by super-resolution microscopy
Publication: Biophysical Journal
UBC Author(s): Keng Chang Chou (Chemistry / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00063495
Volume: 121
Page Range: 2290-2296
Publication Date: 21 June 2022

View Publication
Thousands of small, novel genes predicted in global phage genomes
Publication: Cell Reports
UBC Author(s): Steven Hallam (Microbiology & Immunology / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 39
Publication Date: 21 June 2022

View Publication
The Spotlight: A General Method for Discovering Systematic Errors in Deep Learning Models
Publication: ACM International Conference Proceeding Series
UBC Author(s): Kevin Leyton-Brown (Computer Science / Faculty of Science)
Page Range: 1962-1981
Publication Date: 21 June 2022

View Publication
Specializations in optic flow encoding in the pretectum of hummingbirds and zebra finches
Publication: Current Biology
UBC Author(s): Douglas Altshuler (Zoology / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 09609822
Volume: 32
Page Range: 2772-2779.e4
Publication Date: 20 June 2022

View Publication
H<inf>2</inf>ampa─Versatile Chelator for [<sup>203</sup>Pb]Pb<sup>2+</sup>, [<sup>213</sup>Bi]Bi<sup>3+</sup>, and [<sup>225</sup>Ac]Ac<sup>3</sup>
Publication: Inorganic chemistry
UBC Author(s): Christopher E Orvig (Chemistry / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 61
Page Range: 9119-9137
Publication Date: 20 June 2022

View Publication
Metal and Pb isotope characterization of particulates encountered by foraging honeybees in Metro Vancouver
Publication: Science of the Total Environment
UBC Author(s): Dominique Weis (Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00489697
Volume: 826
Publication Date: 20 June 2022

View Publication
Status, Change, and Futures of Zooplankton in the Southern Ocean
Publication: Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
UBC Author(s): Yevhenii Pakhomov (Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences / Faculty of Science), Brian Hunt (Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 9
Publication Date: 17 June 2022

View Publication

Pages

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
2021 Dr. Fang studied first-order optimization algorithms. His work has contributed to a better understanding of first-order methods for structured problems. Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD)
2021 Certain phases of matter admit an intriguing connection to gravity, providing a fruitful way to study exotic objects such as black holes and wormholes. Dr. Lantagne-Hurtubise studied toy models of such holographic quantum matter, discovering new phenomena and developing connections to physical platforms where they may be experimentally probed. Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)
2021 Dr. Lin studied how Campylobacter jejuni helical cell shape is generated by enzyme actions. She found the shape-determining enzymes digest sites in the cell wall structure. This knowledge adds mechanistic insight on bacterial morphology maintenance, and provides a platform to design drugs targeting the helical cell shape necessary for infection. Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD)
2021 Dr. Gilchrist combined laboratory, field and computer-based methods to characterize explosive volcanic eruptions ranging from small puffs of ash to civilization-ending super eruptions. The culmination of his PhD dissertation is a new classification for eruptions that represents a paradigm shift in the direction of future volcanology research. Doctor of Philosophy in Geophysics (PhD)
2021 In this dissertation, Dr. Cheng studied analytical and numerical methods of partial differential equations. Dr. Cheng studied the Allen-Cahn dynamics, the Oxygen depletion model and the stationary surface quasi-geostrophic equation. These models can be applied to material sciences, biology and geography. Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD)
2021 Dr. Zonno studied the physical properties of quantum materials, such as superconductors and rare-earth compounds, by employing laser excitations and chemical substitution. Her results testify to the importance of electron-electron interactions in dictating the behavior of these materials, which may play a vital role in future technologies. Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)
2021 Dr. Coleman investigated the physiological mechanisms that allow some kelp species to develop progressively narrower and longer photosynthetic blades as water flow increases. His research has improved our understanding of an important biomechanical adaptation to variable flow conditions in a group of ecologically important marine organisms. Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD)
2021 Dr. Yuan studied how organic molecules interacted with light. She synthesized a variety of sulfur-bridged chromophore dimers and examined the effect of oxidation on the photophysical and photochemical properties. She demonstrated how these materials could be used for potential applications in anti-counterfeiting. Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)
2021 Dr. Cen studied the effects of insulin levels on insulin receptor expression. He showed that high insulin reduces insulin receptors in muscle, thereby causing insulin resistance. He also identified proteins that control insulin receptor expression and movement within cells. His findings improve our understanding of insulin resistance and diabetes. Doctor of Philosophy in Genome Science and Technology (PhD)
2021 Dr. Wong searched for exotic particles beyond the Standard Model of particle physics with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The searches helped constrain new physics scenarios, including leptoquarks and hidden strong dynamics. He also contributed to the upgrade of a tracking system of the detector, allowing efficient recording of collision data. Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)

Pages

 

Diet high in guar gum fibre limits inflammation, MS symptoms in mice

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Why whales don’t get brain damage when they swim

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Math, Stats researchers join Royal Society of Canada

Four UBC Science researchers have been elected to join the Royal Society of Canada, highlighting the Faculty’s strength in the computation...

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We&#039;re heading to the moon and maybe Mars. So who owns them?

Humanity is set to make a return to the Moon with the Artemis program, in what NASA says is a first step to Mars. So, who gets first dibs...

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New courses at UBC tackle real world problems

New classes and labs rolling out this year will give UBC Science students the opportunity to tackle climate change with community partners...

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How to avoid becoming a mosquito’s dinner

Summer is almost over, but that doesn’t mean mosquitoes aren’t still searching for their next meal—and you might be next. A new study co...

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