Faculty of Science
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
Research Centres
Biodiversity, Evolution and Ecology
- Biodiversity Research Centre
- Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research
- Centre for Microbial Diversity and Evolution
Computational Sciences and Mathematics
- Data Science Institute
- Institute for Computing, Information and Cognitive Systems
- Institute of Applied Mathematics
- Statistical Consulting and Research Laboratory
- Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences
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
- Centre for Blood Research
- Centre for Microbial Diseases and Immunity Research
- Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health
- International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries
- Life Sciences Institute
- Michael Smith Laboratories
- Neglected Global Diseased Initiative
Chemistry and Materials Science
- Advanced Materials and Process Engineering Laboratory
- Max Planck-UBC Centre for Quantum Materials
- Quantum Devices Group
- Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute
Physics
- Antihydrogen Trapping and Spectroscopy at CERN
- Pacific Institute for Theoretical Physics
- TRIUMF: Canada’s National Laboratory for Particle and Nuclear Physics
- UBC ATLAS Project at Large Hadron Collider
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
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
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Photochemistry of matrix isolated chiral molecules (CHEM - PHD)
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Diet and the microbiome in Parkinson's disease (MIIM - PHD)
Doctoral Citations
Year | Citation | Program |
---|---|---|
2011 | Dr. Buschhaus examined the outer waxy surfaces of plants: He discovered several novel wax components and further resolved the spatial arrangement of waxes. He also piloted the manipulation of wax composition to learn how waxes block undesired water loss from plants. Put concisely, Dr. Buschhaus waxed eloquent over bald, incontinent plants | Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD) |
2011 | Dr. Fritz tackled problems associated with information overload in software development. He introduced techniques for enabling developers to answer questions from integrated information and to identify relevant information. He demonstrated the efficacy of these approaches through studies with professional developers. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
2011 | Dr. Coros developed algorithms that couple motion planning with motor control models. Together with physics-based simulation, this approach emulates the processes that give rise to motions in real-life. Applications of this work extend to the fields of character animation, robotics and biomechanics. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
2011 | Dr. De Stefano studied processes of diamond formation in different geodynamic contexts. By analyzing diamonds from Jericho, Nunavut and from Wawa, Ontario in their morphology, nitrogen content, mineral inclusions content and stable isotopes, she contributed to the understanding of the role of subduction and metasomatism in the formation of diamond in the earth's interior. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geological Sciences (PhD) |
2011 | Dr. Brochu showed how statistical optimization techniques can be used to help artists and animators set parameters for complex tools and simulations. The technique uses data from previous users and Machine Learning to anticipate the user's requirements, generating examples for the user to rate according to their own aesthetic criteria. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
2011 | Dr. Maxwell developed novel tools and strategies for analyzing the composition of complex mixtures by combining electrophoretic separations with mass spectrometry detection. These improved techniques were used to solve to a variety of challenging analytical problems relevant to medical and pharmaceutical research. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
2011 | Dr. Hadizadeh developed a theory that describes the statistics of the protein folding and polymer collapse processes. Her theory was used to study the effect of dense cellular environment on the folding of proteins whose proper function is essential for life. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
2010 | Dr. Lindsay developed novel techniques for the analysis of a class of partial differential equations known as eigenvalue problems. The application of these new methods facilitated the resolution of several problems in the fields of Micro Engineering and Mathematical Ecology, one of which had been outstanding for over 20 years. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
2010 | Dr. Grigg defined molecular mechanisms by which the human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus acquires growth-limiting iron from its host. This work defined molecular mechanisms that provide potential avenues for the development of new therapeutics. | Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD) |
2010 | Dr. Luk contributed to our understanding of the biosynthetic pathways of natural products, such as morphine and lysergic acid, by characterizing the enzymes that participate in those pathways. These studies have provided fundamental insights into natural product biosynthesis and generated a wide spectrum of compounds that are potential drug analogs. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |