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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Dr. Lam investigated how large datasets can be better displayed for exploratory analysis. Her work helps to improve visualization interface designs that provide dataset overviews and show data at multiple levels of detail. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
| 2008 | Dr. Woodford studied the asymptotic behavior of the number of ways numbers can be expressed as the sum of fixed powers of prime numbers. He also looked at the average orders and behavior under iteration of divisor functions evaluated by applying symmetric polynomials to the multi-set of prime factors of a number. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2008 | Dr. McCollor examined how using an optimal combination of high resolution weather models produces the best temperature and rainfall forecasts. He then showed how using these forecasts benefits water managers operating hydro-electric reservoirs in mountainous regions like British Columbia. | Doctor of Philosophy in Atmospheric Science (PhD) |
| 2008 | Dr Peets grew and characterized crystals of the high-temperature superconductor thallium-2201, then studied their electronic structure via X-ray spectroscopy. His crystals' behavior was uniquely comprehensible, offering a long-awaited foothold of understanding in a great unsolved problem in physics. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
| 2008 | Dr Shen developed theory and algorithms for cross validation, a method widely used to assess and compare empirical models. She proposed computationally efficient methods for dealing with multiple complex models fit to large data sets, and a bias correction when assessing linear regression. | Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics (PhD) |
| 2008 | Dr. Weber investigated individual Porphyrin biomolecules absorbed on a metal substrate, using a Scanning Tunneling Microscope. He studied and modified their self-assembly, conformational properties and their electronic structure. Modifying the Porphyrine's properties will allow their use as functional building blocks for nanostructured materials. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
| 2008 | Dr. Ramadanovic studied the relationship between the string theories and gauge theories in the context of interacting strings and orbifold geometries. Full understanding of these relationships could potentially enable the string theory to probe currently analytically inaccessible regimes within the standard model of particle physics. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
| 2008 | Dr. Escalante identified regular and systematic alteration halos to polymetallic base metal mineralization in the Peruvian Andes. The halos mark the escape of spent mineralizing fluids, thereby providing insight into the nature of fluid circulation in this environment. These halos are useful guide for mineral exploration. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geological Sciences (PhD) |
| 2008 | Dr Lo's research focussed on the developement and optimization of stationary and moving grids used in orthogonal interpolation. This research provided considerable improvements in the efficiency of existing methods used in numerical solutions of boundary value problems arisen from quantum and statistical mechanics. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2008 | Dr. Li investigated the problem of effective recovery of desired information from very large computer networks. She proposed a mechanism that is capable of understanding users' intentions and automatically locating all the information the users require. Her research provides a promising solution to sharing and collaboration challenges in these large distributed networks. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |