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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
2017 Dr. Mehr looked at the dynamic nature of atomic connectivity and electron distribution in a family of organic compounds. He showed that the insights gained can be used to design new compounds with unusual and potentially useful properties. Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)
2017 Dr. Posacka examined the biogeochemical cycle of copper in the ocean. Her research identified major processes that influence copper concentrations in the Northeast Pacific and highlighted the importance of copper nutrition in marine bacteria. This work provides insights into how copper regulates biological processes in the ocean. Doctor of Philosophy in Oceanography (PhD)
2017 Dr. Chan studied how tumours from lymphoma patients evolved over time under treatment. He identified markers of treatment resistance that can be used towards the design of future diagnostic tests. His work exemplifies the application of genomics in precision medicine. Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics (PhD)
2017 Taking inspiration from poly-iron cofactors found in nature, Dr. Pick synthesized poly-iron coordination complexes and studied their reactivity. He discovered a system that cleaves a nitrogen nitrogen double bond. This work offers insight into what a potential iron-based catalyst for nitrogen functionalization might look like. Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)
2017 Dr. Rawe developed new methods to synthesize phosphorus-containing polymers. He discovered a new class of chemically active polymer that has changing fluorescence properties when exposed to oxygen or gold ions. His research provides evidence that phosphorus-containing polymers may be useful materials to detect specific analytes in low concentrations. Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)
2017 Dr. Kardan proposed a framework for adding personalized support to educational tools such as interactive computer simulations. It relies on user data and data mining to automatically provide hints to students when they need them. Experimental evaluations show that this framework can make the existing educational tools significantly more effective. Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD)
2017 Dr. Hajiaghayi studied bioinformatics, which combines computer science and statistics to interpret biological systems. She investigated RNA/DNA structure prediction, RNA/DNA folding pathways, and chemical reaction networks. Her work helps us to more efficiently compute and analyze complex functions using interacting molecules. Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD)
2017 Dr. Wires investigated software techniques for efficiently processing very large data sets. As part of his research, he built a high-performance storage system that dynamically optimizes how hardware resources are allocated as workload requirements evolve. His work reduces the time and money required to perform data-intensive analysis tasks. Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD)
2017 Dr. Brown demonstrated that Catholic monks living in the American West blend biblical motifs, religious symbols and environmental discourse into their experience of place and landscape. This research shows that religious and environmental discourses are relationally attached to and molded by experience with land. Doctor of Philosophy in Resources, Environment and Sustainability (PhD)
2017 Dr. Troester studied dark matter by combining measurements of gravitational lensing with other cosmological probes. The measurements provided new insights into the nature of dark matter and its relationship with ordinary matter on cosmological scales, informing the analyses of upcoming, large-scale cosmology experiments. Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)

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