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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
2014 Dr. Chi used nano-scale imaging to investigate the behaviour of electrons in the family of superconductors known as high-Tc iron-based superconductors. His results demonstrate that the underlying physics among these superconductors is universal. These findings help to settle the long-standing controversy about universality. Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)
2014 Dr. Shi conducted research into the interconnection between plant molecules, or lipid metabolites, and cell wall components. First, he studied seeds with high oil production, and then he examined ways in which metabolites are transported in plant cells. His research expands our knowledge of plant metabolites and suggests ways to engineer high-oil seeds. Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD)
2014 Dr. Yan investigated ice formation induced by electric fields using computational simulations. This project provides a deep understanding of ice nucleation mechanism, and the associated thermodynamic properties of the nucleation process, which is related to precipitation phenomena and many other physical changes. Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)
2014 Dr. Kordas experimentally simulated climate warming on rocky shores. She showed that the ecological effects of elevated temperature hinge on both the tolerance of individual organisms and the interactions among species. This research reveals pathways by which global change can impact the dynamics of natural systems. Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD)
2014 Dr. Shelford examined the role of viruses that infect bacteria in the ocean. She provides evidence that viruses are adding back vital nitrogen to the ocean for the benefit of other organisms such as phytoplankton, and this helps to sustain marine food webs. Her work contributes to the field of marine microbial nutrient cycling. Doctor of Philosophy in Oceanography (PhD)
2014 Dr. Ford studied large, African mammals in Laikipia, Kenya - a landscape occupied by people and their traditional ranching practices. Dr. Ford's work demonstrates how both antelope and the trees they eat were changed by large predators. Through his findings, he is helping to find new ways for people, livestock, and wildlife to coexist in African savannas. Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD)
2014 Dr. Baglo studied the electronic behaviour of copper-based superconductors, which conduct electricity perfectly at unusually high temperatures. He measured their conductivity in detail using microwaves, with surprising results. This has advanced our understanding of how such superconductors work, one of the biggest outstanding problems in physics. Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)
2014 Dr. Viel searched for a new force of Nature using data collected by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. The mass spectrum of events with muon pairs was found to agree with predictions from the Standard Model of particle physics. Dr. Viel also contributed to the search for one of the production and decay modes of the Higgs boson. Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)
2014 Dr. Wilson examined how the heart rate is controlled in the ancestral chordate, the Pacific hagfish. The hagfish heart has no nerves, and can contract in absence of oxygen (anoxia) for over 2 days. In doing so, he discovered a new bicarbonate-mediated pathway to control heart rate, which could lead to advances in the medical field. Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD)
2014 Dr. Krupskiy studied the properties of some flexible models for multivariate data with up to 100 variables and proposed different measures of dependence. The measures can provide useful summaries of dependence for multivariate data. The proposed models can be more interpretable and provide a better fit to data comparing to existing models. Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics (PhD)

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