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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
2013 Dr. Southey investigated systems to help robots recognize objects. He studied the role of qualitative 3D spatial relationships that allows robots to differentiate between likely and unlikely spatial configurations, in order to detect objects. Someday it could help robots in tasks like personal care which require them to recognize household items. Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD)
2013 Dr. Meger conducted research in the field of Computer Science. He developed methods for robotic vehicles to understand the objects in their environment, using camera sensors. His work has resulted in one of the world's most capable robots for this task and been demonstrated to improve the performance of autonomous driving and home-assistant devices Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD)
2013 Dr. Talhouk developed algorithms to estimate the relationship between data measurements to improve the understanding of how they simultaneously change under different conditions. Modelling the heart rate of patients under anesthesia and modelling the daily return of stocks in a financial portfolio are examples of ways these algorithms can be used. Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics (PhD)
2013 Dr. Folz conducted research in probability and analysis, with an emphasis on random walks. He proved results relating the large-scale geometry of graphs to various behaviors of interest for the associated random walks. He developed techniques that have been used by other researchers and improved substantially upon prior results in this area. Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD)
2013 Dr.Ingram completed his research in the field of information visualization. His work focused on designing algorithms and tools for visually exploring large collections of text. These tools help researchers outside of computer science, like journalists, to summarize and understand these unstructured collections in less time than with existing tools. Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD)
2013 Dr. Kharouba showed that historical records can be used to study the influence of temperature on the timing of animal and plant life cycle events, such as flowering. The timing of these events was sensitive to temperature and differed among interacting species. These findings will be helpful in predicting how species will respond to climate change. Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD)
2013 Dr. McCulloch's research explored methods for improving the performance of mass spectrometers. These sensitive instruments are commonly applied to the analysis of complex biological and environmental samples. Mass spectrometers provide valuable information to a wide range of professionals including chemists, biologists, physicians, and engineers. Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)
2013 Dr. Labonté studied marine communities of an important but understudied group of viruses: single-stranded DNA viruses. Her research expanded our knowledge of their genetic diversity and evolution. She showed that they play a significant role as pathogens of marine phyto-plankton and micro-zooplankton that are at the base of the marine food chain. Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD)
2013 Dr. Mohazab conducted research in Biological Physics. The mathematical models he developed help in understanding the underlying mechanism of the Protein Folding process, and make predictions on its rate. The research will help the scientific community towards curing many misfolding induced diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and ALS. Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)
2013 Dr. Iles studied the evolution of two ancient groups of aquatic flowering plants. He examined phylogenetic relationships and inferred convergence of sexual systems in relatives of the water lilies and gene loss in the pond-weeds. He also provided new estimates for the timing of diversification within these two groups. Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD)

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