Our Department

Mission Statement

To grow and support a diverse and inclusive community of scientists empowered by engaged education, collaboration, cutting-edge discovery and transformative innovation. We create solutions to local and global challenges in sustainability, energy, health and the environment.

 

Message from the Head

UBC Chemistry Head

The Department of Chemistry is engaged in many exciting initiatives, opening a wealth of research opportunities and allows us to offer world-class education in Chemistry. In the last few years, several new faculty members have joined the Department and have started innovative research programs spanning the field. These faculty members have recruited outstanding students and postdoctoral fellows to their groups, adding to the globally recognized research ongoing in the Department. In addition to the fundamental research in Chemistry being conducted at UBC, many groups are working at the interface to applications in areas such as polymers, health, materials and sustainability. Some of this work has led to spin-off companies, which provides employment opportunities for our students and economic growth opportunities for the province of British Columbia. We hope to see these companies flourish and grow in the next few years.

A major initiative in the Department is renewal of aging infrastructure including the teaching and Chemical Physics research building. The Department leadership is continuing to work with the university administration to identify funding for these critical replacements, and as these projects move forward new partnership opportunities will arise. Modernization of instrumentation in the Department has been successful in the last few years, with our shops and services seeing many pieces of new equipment being installed and supporting our teaching and research enterprises.

Our alumni are a tremendous source of pride for the Department, and their continued success in careers around the globe is evidence of the quality of the education we provide at the undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral levels. This year, we are holding a number of events in Vancouver and across North America to give alumni the opportunity to reconnect, meet old and new friends, and to learn more about the exciting teaching and research underway in the Department. We encourage all alumni to take part in these events, either in person or virtually, we are always happy to hear from you!

-Dr. Michael Wolf
 Professor & Head, UBC Department of Chemistry