AI can tell if a patient battling cancer needs mental health support
Psychiatrists and computer scientists at UBC and BC Cancer have developed a new artificial intelligence (AI) model that can accurately...
Learn MoreApplicants to master’s and doctoral degrees are not affected by the recently announced cap on study permits. Review more details
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.
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
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.
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.
This is an incomplete sample of recent publications in chronological order by UBC faculty members with a primary appointment in the Faculty of Science.
Year | Citation | Program |
---|---|---|
2017 | Neutrino oscillations may hold the key to understanding the fundamental physics laws governing the universe. Dr. Tobayama analyzed the oscillation of atmospheric neutrinos detected at Super-Kamiokande, a large neutrino detector in Japan. The new analysis techniques he developed also benefit other on-going and future measurements at the detector. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
2017 | Dr. Drost studied Arctic cod, a key Arctic marine food web fish that she collected in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. Her research revealed a greater than expected thermal tolerance and a significant acclimation potential from 0 | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
2017 | Instances of malicious software have increased significantly over the past several years. Dr. Alam developed a framework that uses machine learning to detect devices infected with malware on smartphones. This new adaptable framework will have considerable impact as new learning algorithms are developed and sensors are modified on smartphone devices. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
2017 | Dr. Lanaro used molecular simulations to observe how crystals form and dissolve in solution. The simulation data was collected and analized to uncover details about the first stages of crystal formation. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
2017 | Image restoration aims at enhancing the quality of images by undoing the adverse effects of image degradation and needs to be addressed as part of most imaging systems. Dr. Xiao developed numerical optimization and machine learning methods for image restoration that are suitable for modern mobile and high-resolution imaging. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
2017 | Reactive transport is a powerful tool to help understand water and rock interactions and processes related to groundwater and soil contamination. Dr. Rasouli's doctoral research was focused on the development and application of multicomponent diffusion and electrochemical migration models for reactive transport in porous media. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geological Engineering (PhD) |
2017 | In the process of developing and optimizing new chemistry, the understanding of reaction pathways is essential. Dr. Yu studied organic reaction mechanisms using nontraditional methods. She contributed to the field by testing the limits of a new automated method of reaction monitoring, particularly in challenging environments such as the microwave reactor for organic chemistry. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
2017 | Dr. Hyrina investigated the role of key regulators of host lipid metabolism, including microRNAs and proprotein convertases during hepatitis C and dengue virus infections. These studies provide new insights into the complex host-virus interactions, which may be utilized as targets for antiviral development as well as biomarkers of infection. | Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD) |
2017 | Computer vision is about building systems that can 'see' and make sense of a complex visual world. Dr. Tung developed data-driven algorithms for understanding the semantic structure of scenes from images and video. Potential applications of this research include large-scale multimedia searches, self-driving vehicles, and prosthetic vision. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
2017 | Dr. Luo developed statistical methods for analyzing epidemiological data for situations where the acquisition of genotype and the exposure to environment are independent. These methods can be applied to facilitate the understanding of the joint effect of genetic and environmental factors on human disease. | Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics (PhD) |