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 | Dr. Mewis developed a technique for the identification of bacterial enzymes capable of degrading plant matter. He used it to study the order in which wood is degraded as it moves through the digestive tract of the beaver. The results allowed for a new sub-classification system for these enzymes, which will help to improve biofuel technologies. | Doctor of Philosophy in Genome Science and Technology (PhD) |
2017 | Dr. LeDue's research revealed a neural mechanism that controls how hunger influences what an animal is willing to eat. In the fruit fly, she showed how the brain uses information about external taste input and nutritional status to guide important feeding decisions. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
2017 | Dr. Drover studied the development of new chemical transformations. His work has led to developments in metal-based homogeneous catalysis for agrochemical synthesis and the use of molecular oxygen as a green oxidant. Green chemicals are designed to reduce negative impact on the environment. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
2017 | Dr. Sullivan worked on the PIENU experiment at TRIUMF. This experiment measures the decay properties of the pion, an unstable particle made of quarks. This measurement will then be compared with the theoretical prediction, either confirming our understanding of pion decay, or pointing the way to new physics. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
2017 | How do changes to protein quality control networks perturb proteostasis - a process required for cell viability? To address this question Dr. Comyn established a flow cytometry based screen to identify factors involved in proteostasis. This work provides a valuable resource for future studies of protein quality control and protein stability. | Doctor of Philosophy in Genome Science and Technology (PhD) |
2017 | Dr. Kim studied string theory and its application. Specifically, he examined gravity theory and its holographic relationship to quantum field theory. His investigations extend our understanding of the electric properties of materials. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
2017 | Dr. MacDonald studied the sources of variation in ecological communities, using the organisms found inside of tropical bromeliads. He found that communities of larger organisms are more easily predicted by the environment. Among these larger organisms, species were different in how well they avoided predators. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
2016 | Dr. Schroeder evaluated the latency, availability, and use of storage and network resources in personal file synchronization platforms. He developed a scalable peer-to-peer file system that provides a unified view of a person's data so that any file can be accessed from any device, regardless of where it was created or where it is currently stored. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
2016 | Dr. Capsoni assembled single atoms and molecules to construct an organic nanosystem and further investigated it to gain a better understanding of its specific functions. Her work demonstrates the possibility of constructing nanosystems with specific functions and advances the design and development of new materials. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
2016 | Dr. Korobenko investigated quantum properties of molecules, brought to extremely fast rotation by means of a specially designed laser instrument, known as an optical centrifuge. His work opens new possibilities for controlling a broad range of physical and chemical processes by means of manipulating molecular rotation with laser light. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |