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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
2008 Dr. Weber investigated individual Porphyrin biomolecules absorbed on a metal substrate, using a Scanning Tunneling Microscope. He studied and modified their self-assembly, conformational properties and their electronic structure. Modifying the Porphyrine's properties will allow their use as functional building blocks for nanostructured materials. Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)
2008 Dr. Ramadanovic studied the relationship between the string theories and gauge theories in the context of interacting strings and orbifold geometries. Full understanding of these relationships could potentially enable the string theory to probe currently analytically inaccessible regimes within the standard model of particle physics. Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)
2008 Dr. Escalante identified regular and systematic alteration halos to polymetallic base metal mineralization in the Peruvian Andes. The halos mark the escape of spent mineralizing fluids, thereby providing insight into the nature of fluid circulation in this environment. These halos are useful guide for mineral exploration. Doctor of Philosophy in Geological Sciences (PhD)
2008 Dr Lo's research focussed on the developement and optimization of stationary and moving grids used in orthogonal interpolation. This research provided considerable improvements in the efficiency of existing methods used in numerical solutions of boundary value problems arisen from quantum and statistical mechanics. Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD)
2008 Dr. Li investigated the problem of effective recovery of desired information from very large computer networks. She proposed a mechanism that is capable of understanding users' intentions and automatically locating all the information the users require. Her research provides a promising solution to sharing and collaboration challenges in these large distributed networks. Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD)
2008 Dr. Podder proposed new statistical methods and algorithms for analyzing data to genotype a patient. The methods exploit the deliberate redundancy in the data and lead to fast, automatic, and highly reliable genotyping for personalized medicine. Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics (PhD)
2008 Dr Pereira developed a theory that describes the dynamics of one-dimensional quantum magnets. The results of his research explain the exotic magnetic properties observed in neutron scattering experiments. Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)
2008 Dr. Yan developed a statistical method for exploring linear structures in data. The method helps extract useful information in large data sets. Dr. Yan applied his method to develop a promising algorithm that automatically classifies genotypes in genetic studies. Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics (PhD)
2008 Dr. McLeod characterized proteins involved in proper DNA maintenance in the bacteria Bacillus subtilis. This research contributes to the understanding of two large protein families which stabilize DNA inheritance in bacteria, leading to a better understanding of how bacteria ensure proper DNA content in their progeny. Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD)
2008 Dr. Pietrangelo investigated the effect of gravity on the order of electrochemically grown conducting plastic films by growing them in space-like conditions. His results show that films grown in zero gravity exhibit improved order compared to those grown on earth, suggesting that gravity-induced convection currents influence film deposition. Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)

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