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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

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 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 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 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

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
2015 Mitigation of greenhouse gas-fuelled climate change is a challenge requiring many approaches. Dr. Harrison's research demonstrated that the reaction of certain industrial wastes with carbon dioxide could help offset industrial greenhouse gas emissions. This research also provided insight into the response of natural processes to climate change. Doctor of Philosophy in Geological Sciences (PhD)
2015 Dr. Sitwell investigated the effects of dark matter and dark energy on cosmological 21-cm radiation and developed models of cosmological inflation. The changes to the 21-cm signal in the presence of dark matter and dark energy were described. This provides probes of these mysterious substances that may illuminate our understanding of them. Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)
2015 Dr. LeBlanc investigated the desiccation resistance mechanisms of a soil-residing bacterium known to degrade a broad range of organic compounds, both natural and xenobiotic. His goal is to better understand the physiology of key pollutant-degrading bacteria so that effective bioremediation strategies for contaminated soils may be realized. Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD)
2015 Dr. O'Neill completed his doctoral studies in bioinformatics at the BC Cancer Research Centre. He developed and applied computational methods for analysing data from many cells of many cancer patients at the same time. These methods will aid researchers in finding new drug targets and clinical tests for acute myeloid leukemia and other cancers. Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics (PhD)
2015 Dr. Garcia-Armas conducted research in the fields of algebra and algebraic geometry. He solved problems related to the classification and description of group actions on algebraic varieties over arbitrary base fields, with an emphasis on algebraic curves. His results provide new insights on the fascinating interplay between algebra and geometry. Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD)
2015 Dr. Ghanbarian's research focussed on investigating the ways in which water affects the attraction between DNA molecules. She developed a computationally efficient model for the interaction of DNA molecules in the presence of water. Her studies open new windows for investigating DNA properties in various applications such as gene therapy. Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)
2015 Dr. Wang studied general relativity with the focus on a universe model with one extra dimension. He showed, for the first time, that the results of gravitational collapse due to strong data are black holes with finite extension into the extra dimension. His work built the foundation of the numerical study on time-dependent processes in the model. Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)
2015 Dr. Liu investigated the genetic control of the secondary cell walls of plants. This research provided new insights into secondary cell wall regulatory networks, and how the biomass in those plant cell walls can be converted to biofuel. In the future, this biomass may help to reduce dependence on petroleum-based fuels and increase sustainability. Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD)
2015 Dr. Swedish conducted searches for new fundamental particles in the proton-proton collision data collected with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider, using new techniques to identify massive particle decays. The results of these studies have implications for the possible existence of extra dimensions and new fundamental forces. Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)
2015 Dr. Mizrahi introduced a new class of Machine Learning algorithms, named LAP, which are used for practical network models. In the case of big structured networks and for large amounts of data, LAP offers a simple and effective learning tool. LAP can be applied for many different fields, such as social networks, computer vision and bio-informatics. Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD)

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