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 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.

Faculty Website

Fact Sheet

Mission

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

678

Master's Students

(2023)
1038

Doctoral Students

(2023)
435

Graduate Degrees Awarded

(2022)
428

Full-Time Faculty

(2023)
111.3

million in Research Awards

(2022/2023)

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

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
Ding, Jiarui	Department of Computer Science	Bioinformatics; Basic medicine and life sciences; Computational Biology; Machine Learning; Probabilistic Deep Learning; single-cell genomics; visualization; Cancer biology; Computational Immunology; Food Allergy; neuroscience
Doebeli, Michael Walter	Department of Mathematics, Department of Zoology	Mathematical ecology and evolution, evolution of diversity, adaptive speciation, evolution of cooperation, game theory, experimental evolution in microorganisms
Eberhardt, Erik	Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences	Geotechnical engineering; Mining engineering; Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering; Deep Underground Excavations; Rock Slope Engineering; Block Cave Mining
Eltis, Lindsay	Department of Microbiology & Immunology	Biochemistry; Genomics; Immunology; Microbiology; Bacterial catabolism of steroids and lignin; biocatalyst development; Enzymes and Proteins; Metabolism (Living Organisms); Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Evans, William	Department of Computer Science	Computer and information sciences; 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	Infectious agents, bacteria, microbial infections and how humans react to it
Folk, Joshua	Department of Physics & Astronomy	Physical sciences; 2D materials and Vanderwaals heterostructures; Quantum electronics; Thermodynamics of quantum systems; Strongly correlated phenomena; Topological phenomena; Quantum transport
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 and information sciences; Algebraic Graph Theory; Combinatorics; Computer Science Theory
Gantois, Joséphine	Institute for Resources, Environment & Sustainability	Human Dimensions of Biodiversity Conservation
Gao, Lucy	Department of Statistics	Statistics; Selective Inference; Inference x Unsupervised Learning; Statistics x Optimization
Garcia, Ronald	Department of Computer Science	Programming languages; programming languages
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, Kaitlyn	Department of Zoology, Department of Botany	behavioral responses of animals to human presence; effects of anthropogenic disturbance on predator-prey and other species interactions; socio-ecological dynamics of conservation and coexistence
Genovese, Giuseppe	Department of Mathematics
Germain, Rachel	Department of Zoology	Ecology; evolution
Ghioca, Dragos	Department of Mathematics	Drinfeld modules, isotrivial semiabelian varieties, Lehmer inequality
Giang, Amanda	Institute for Resources, Environment & Sustainability, Department of Mechanical Engineering	Atmospheric sciences; Mechanical engineering; Natural environment sciences; Atmospheric Pollutants; Chemical Pollutants; Climate Changes and Impacts; Public Policies; Social and Cultural Factors of Environmental Protection
Gladman, Brett	Department of Physics & Astronomy	Astronomy, Planetary Science, meteorites, astrobiology, Solar system formation and evolution

Graduate Student Stories

Alexis Bahl

Doctor of Philosophy in Oceanography (PhD)

Salp diel vertical migration and its impact on carbon export in the Southern Ocean

Aria Malhotra

Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Physics (PhD)

Predicting severe skin reactions in breast radiation therapy