Climate Researcher Database

With over 500 faculty members investigating climate-related topics 
across two UBC campuses, it can be hard to know where to start. 

This page provides a searchable list of UBC faculty members conducting climate and climate-related research across the university. 

The database allows you to filter by campus, faculty or school, and research theme, or you can search by keywords.

If you are you a UBC research associate or faculty member who wish to be added to the tool, or to adjust an existing entry, please complete this Qualtrics survey or email us at climate.collective@ubc.ca.

Would you like to partner with UBC researchers?  You can connect with Innovation + Partnerships for support in Vancouver and the Okanagan.

For support with media enquiries, please reach out to UBC Media Relations in Vancouver or UBC University Relations in Kelowna. 

You can also contact us at climate.collective@ubc.ca 

Name Campus Research Interests Faculty Department, School, Affiliations Research Theme(s)
Maja Krzic UBC Vancouver Linking soil science research with teaching along with community involvement to create educational environment where students can actively engage in ‘real-world’ problems; Combining soil science concepts and the impact of humans on soil properties and processes in crop, grassland, and forest ecosystems; Exploring the role of soil in addressing some of the existential global sustainability challenges we are facing. Faculty of Land and Food Systems Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences; Applied Biology Program; Centre for Sustainable Food Systems Terrestrial Ecosystems, Forestry, Agriculture, Climate Education and Environmental Literacy
McKenzie Kuhn UBC Vancouver Consequences of climate change on boreal-Arctic ecosystems; Exchange of carbon and greenhouse gases between freshwaters, plants, soils, and the atmosphere; Influence of disturbances and management on freshwater carbon and nutrient cycling; Interactions of between northern freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems and global change. Faculty of Arts Department of Geography Alpine, Arctic and Antarctic, Carbon Cycle, Terrestrial Ecosystems, Freshwater Systems
Nadja Kunz UBC Vancouver Works at the interface of research and practice to resolve private sector water challenges, with a focus on the mining and resources sector. Faculty of Arts School of Public Policy and Global Affairs; Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability; Bradshaw Research Institute for Minerals and Mining; Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering; Future Minerals Initiative Mining, Water Resources and Supply, Climate Justice, Climate Risk Management, Policy and Governance, Waste and Waste Management
Marysa Laguë UBC Vancouver How terrestrial processes impact the atmosphere and surface climate from the scale of a single plant to the scale of a planet, by modulating fluxes of water and energy between the land and the atmosphere. Faculty of Arts Department of Geography Atmospheric Science, Terrestrial Ecosystems, Carbon Cycle, Climate Modelling and Data Analysis
Frank Lam UBC Vancouver Wood products; Solid sawn timber; Wood-based composites; Engineered wood systems; Timber engineering; Wood-based composites mechanics. Faculty of Forestry Department of Wood Science; Timber Engineering and Applied Mechanics Laboratory Sustainable Materials and Composites, Buildings and Sustainable Infrastructure Design
Anthony Lau UBC Vancouver Environmental engineering; Waste-to-resource recycling; Composting; Odor control; Biohydrogen energy. Faculty of Applied Science Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering; Master in Engineering Leadership; Biomass and Bioenergy Research Group at UBC; Clean Energy Research Centre (CERC) Biofuels and Biomass, Waste and Waste Management, Product Lifecycle or Circular Economy
Nathanael Lauster UBC Vancouver Housing justice and health; Housing; Immigration; Population; Environment; Built Environment; Urban Sociology; Life Course; Community & Demography. Faculty of Arts Department of Sociology; Balanced Supply of Housing Research Cluster Housing, Urban Planning and Cities, Policy and Governance, Social Dimensions of Climate and Systems Change, Health and Wellbeing
Bernard Laval UBC Vancouver Environmental fluid mechanics; Water management; Rehabilitation of lakes; Mine tailings; Dispersion of nutrients and pollutants in lakes and coastal waters; Movement of toxic materials in aquatic environments. Faculty of Applied Science Department of Civil Engineering Freshwater Systems, Oceans and Coastal Systems, Alpine, Arctic and Antarctic, Mining
Suzie Lavallee UBC Vancouver How ecological pressures can shift the investment of resources in insects; Experiential learning; Impact of conservation and forest resources management on the livelihoods of people and the vast biodiversity of India. Faculty of Forestry Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences Climate Education and Environmental Literacy, Forestry, Terrestrial Ecosystems, Livelihoods and Traditional Economies
Leslie Lavkulich UBC Vancouver Soil resources; Soil and environmental chemistry; Mine reclamation and maintenance of environmental services; Perspectives on resources and environment; Sustainable agricultural systems; Land use hydrology; Mining and the environment; Land-water interactions and uncertainty in natural science and policy development. Faculty of Land and Food Systems Department of Global Resource Systems; Mother Tree Project Agriculture, Terrestrial Ecosystems, Land Use, Water Resources and Supply, Policy and Governance, Carbon Cycle
Gregory Lawrence UBC Vancouver Environmental fluid mechanics; Hydraulics; Hydrodynamic stability and mixing; Physical limnology; Water quality management. Faculty of Applied Science Department of Civil Engineering Pollution, Freshwater Systems, Water Resources and Supply, Waste and Waste Management
Philippe Le Billon UBC Vancouver Political geography; Political ecology; War studies; Links between natural resources and armed conflicts; Political economy of war and reconstruction; Resource curse; Corruption; Natural disasters; Governance of extractive sectors; Food security. Faculty of Arts Department of Geography; Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability; School of Public Policy and Global Affairs; Disaster Resilience Research Network International Negotiations and Treaties, Policy and Governance, Oceans and Coastal Systems, Climate Finance and Investment, Poverty, Climate Justice, Oil and Gas
Valerie LeMay UBC Vancouver Biometrics; Forest measurements; Modelling; Sampling design; Stand Dynamics; Stand regeneration estimation; Genetic impacts on growth at the stand level. Faculty of Forestry Department of Forest Resource Management; Forest Measurements and Biometrics Forestry, Carbon Management
Barbara Lence UBC Vancouver Optimizing design and operational strategies of water resources projects; Reliable withdrawal-treatment strategies for contaminated groundwater supply systems; Water distribution system operational procedures to meet hydraulic and water quality objectives. Faculty of Applied Science Department of Civil Engineering; Master in Engineering Leadership Pollution, Policy and Governance, Water Resources and Supply, Freshwater Systems, Climate Risk Management, Buildings and Sustainable Infrastructure Design
Avi Lewis UBC Vancouver Social and political change; Communication, education and documentary filmmaking; Climate justice. Faculty of Arts Department of Geography; Centre for Climate Justice Climate Education and Environmental Literacy, Climate Justice, Policy and Governance, Climate Activism and Social Movements, Social Dimensions of Climate and Systems Change
Eric Li UBC Okanagan Consumer culture; Social innovation and social enterprise; Healthy living and well-being; Food consumption and food security; Digital economy, Internet of Things (IoT) and Internet of People (IoP); Social media marketing and consumption; Ethical consumerism and prosocial behaviour; Corporate philanthropy; Fashion marketing and consumption. Faculty of Management Institute for Healthy Living and Chronic Disease Prevention (IHLCDP); Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies; Institute for Community Engaged Research (ICER); Battery Innovation Research Excellence Cluster Environmental Psychology, Business Processes and Corporate Governance, Sovereign or Sustainable Food Systems, Poverty, Health and Wellbeing, Rural and Northern Communities
Loretta Li UBC Vancouver Contaminated site investigation and management; Environmental monitoring; Risk and impact assessment; Soil-contaminant interactions; Mobility and migration of contaminants; Remediation technology; Mine tailings waste disposal and treatment processes. Faculty of Applied Science Department of Civil Engineering; Microplastic Cluster; Clean Energy Research Centre (CERC); Climate Change Health Effects, Adaptation, and ResiLience (HEAL) Pollution, Water Resources and Supply, Waste and Waste Management, Biofuels and Biomass, Mining, Policy and Governance
Sunny Li UBC Okanagan Enhanced heat transfer; Multiphase flows; Aerosol (Airborne) transmission; Electronics cooling; Thermal-fluidics in sustainable energy systems; Heating, ventilating, and air conditioning. Faculty of Applied Science School of Engineering (Mechanical); UBC Clean Energy Research Centre (CERC); Natural Gas Fuel System Laboratory (NGFSL); Airborne Disease Transmission Research Cluster; Thermal Management and Multi-phase Flows Lab (TMMFL) Sustainable Materials and Composites, Clean Energy and Energy Transitions
Carol Liao UBC Vancouver Social enterprise law; Business ethics; Corporate law and sustainability; Climate governance; Social justice; Climate risk disclosures; Fiduciary obligations. Peter A. Allard School of Law Centre for Law and the Environment; Centre for Business Law; Centre for Asian Legal Studies; Centre for Feminist Legal Studies; Allard School of Law History Project; Decision Insights for Business & Society (DIBS); Future Minerals Initiative Business Processes and Corporate Governance, Environmental Law, Mining, Climate Justice, International Negotiations and Treaties
Jim Lim UBC Vancouver Spouting and fluidization phenomena; Biomass gasification with CO2 capture in a circulating fluidized bed; Hydrogen production in a fluidized bed membrane reactor from steam reforming of higher hydrocarbons; Performance of limestone for CO2 capture from a high-temperature/ pressure reactor over many calcinations/carbonation cycles; Chemical looping combustion for CO2 separation; Development of thin Pd-based composite membrane suitable for hydrogen separation at high temperature/pressure. Faculty of Applied Science Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering; Biomass and Bioenergy Research Group at UBC; Clean Energy Research Centre (CERC); Fluidization Research Centre Biofuels and Biomass, Hydrogen, Clean Energy and Energy Transitions, Carbon Management, Waste and Waste Management
Liwen Lin UBC Vancouver Comparative corporate governance; Corporate social responsibility; State capitalism; Chinese law; Law and economic sociology. Peter A. Allard School of Law Centre for Asian Legal Studies; Centre for Business Law Environmental Law, Business Processes and Corporate Governance, Policy and Governance
Charles (Robin) Lindsey UBC Vancouver Traffic congestion; Road pricing; Financing transportation infrastructure; Public transit; Advanced traveler information systems. Sauder School of Business Operations and Logistics Division; Commerce and Business Administration Transportation, Economic Modeling and Data Analysis, Climate Finance and Investment, Environmental Psychology, Urban Planning and Cities
Jane Lister UBC Vancouver Corporate social responsibility; Environmental governance; Sustainable supply chain management; Maritime policy and trade. Faculty of Science, Sauder School of Business Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability; Operations and Logistics Division; Global Reporting Centre Commerce and Business Administration; Centre for Transportation Studies; Green Shipping Project Business Processes and Corporate Governance, International Negotiations and Treaties, Carbon Management, Policy and Governance, Environmental Psychology, Transportation
Jian Liu UBC Okanagan Advanced nanofabrication; Nanomaterials and nanotechnology; Energy storage systems; Next-generation batteries. Faculty of Applied Science School of Engineering (Mechanical); Advanced Materials for Energy Storage Lab; Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions; Battery Innovation Research Excellence Cluster; Clean Energy Research Centre (CERC) Electricity, Sustainable Materials and Composites
Wenying Liu UBC Vancouver Use of sea water in heap leaching; Release of selenium and associated toxic elements from mine waste materials; Heap leach modelling. Faculty of Applied Science Department of Materials Engineering; Bradshaw Research Institute for Minerals and Mining Mining, Waste and Waste Management, Water Resources and Supply
Kees Lokman UBC Vancouver Sea level rise adaptation; Energy transition; Design challenges related to water and food shortages; Depleting energy resources; Climate change; Ongoing urbanization. Faculty of Applied Science School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture; Collaborative for Advanced Landscape Planning; Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions; UBC Coastal Adaptation Lab; Disaster Resilience Research Network Indigenous Relationships and Reconciliation, Oceans and Coastal Systems, Urban Planning and Cities, Climate Risk Management, Policy and Governance
Tina Loo UBC Vancouver Environmental history of Canada; Postwar Canada; Canadian wildlife; Rivers; State power; Dams; Caribou. Faculty of Arts Department of History Social Dimensions of Climate and Systems Change
Gordon Lovegrove UBC Okanagan SMARTer Growth; Sustainable community planning & design; Sustainable transport & safety; Hydrail powered, zero-emission regional passenger & freight rail; Affordable housing & Cohousing. Faculty of Applied Science School of Engineering (Civil); Institute for Healthy Living and Chronic Disease Prevention (IHLCDP); SMARTer Growth Partnership; Clean Energy Research Centre (CERC) Health and Wellbeing, Housing, Transportation, Urban Planning and Cities, Hydrogen
Maggie Low UBC Vancouver Indigenous-state relations; Indigenous community planning; Indigenous-led reconciliation efforts; Indigenous sovereignty and jurisdiction; Environmentalism and climate change; Public sector innovation labs. Faculty of Applied Science School of Community and Regional Planning; Centre for Climate Justice; Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions; UBC Indigenous Community Planning Program; Balanced Supply of Housing Research Clutster; Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice; Disaster Resilience Research Network Indigenous Ways of Knowing, Indigenous Relationships and Reconciliation, Urban Planning and Cities, Climate Justice, Housing
Juliet Lu UBC Vancouver Conflicts and governance issues around resource extraction and intensive land use; Transnational land investments; Chinese rubber plantations in Laos; Promotion of monoculture plantations at the expense of more biodiverse systems; Rise of private sector sustainable governance initiatives worldwide. Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Forestry Department of Forest Resource Management; School of Public Policy and Global Affairs; Interdisciplinary Biodiversity Solutions Collaboratory (IBioS) Policy and Governance, Land Use, Business Processes and Corporate Governance, Forestry, International Negotiations and Treaties
Allison Macfarlane UBC Vancouver Technical, social, and policy aspects of nuclear energy production and nuclear waste management and disposal; Regulation, nuclear nonproliferation, and energy policy. Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Science School of Public Policy and Global Affairs; Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability; Liu Institute for Global Issues; Future Minerals Initiative Policy and Governance, Clean Energy and Energy Transitions, Waste and Waste Management
Mark MacLachlan UBC Vancouver Developing new organic and inorganic materials with interesting properties that may find applications in electronics, photonics, catalysis, and other applications; Combating environmental problems or improving alternative energy applications, such as solar energy conversion and hydrogen fuel cells. Faculty of Science Department of Chemistry; Nanomat: Create Nanomaterials Science & Technology Program; Maclachlan Group Sustainable Materials and Composites, Solar Energy, Sustainable Materials and Composites
John Madden UBC Vancouver New and unusual electronic materials for application in solar cells, energy storage (batteries and supercapacitors), printable electronics and as artificial muscle. Faculty of Applied Science School of Biomedical Engineering; Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering; Molecular Mechatronics Lab; Microsystems and Nanotechnology (MiNa) Group Electricity, Solar Energy, Sustainable Materials and Composites
Ali Madiseh UBC Vancouver Mine-mechanical equipment; Energy systems; Energy efficiency; Renewable energy systems; Energy conservation; Energy storage; Energy decarbonization. Faculty of Applied Science Bradshaw Research Institute for Minerals and Mining; Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering Mining, Oil and Gas, Clean Energy and Energy Transitions, Manufacturing and Heavy Industry, Sustainable Materials and Composites, Waste and Waste Management
Maria T. (Maite) Maldonado UBC Vancouver The role of trace metal availability in controlling the ecology and evolution of marine phytoplankton and bacteria; Role of the biota in controlling biogeochemical cycles of trace elements in the ocean; Trace elements regulation of harmful algal blooms; 'Biological carbon pump'; Regulation of the global carbon cycle. Faculty of Science Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences; Microplastic Cluster Oceans and Coastal Systems, Carbon Cycle, Biodiversity, Alpine, Arctic and Antarctic
Kirby Manià UBC Vancouver Urban ecology; Postcolonial ecocriticism; Literary studies; Post-apartheid/post-transitional South African literature(s); Environmental justice; Crime writing; Writing pedagogy; Urban studies; Postapartheid studies; Gold-rush imaginaries; Writing studies. Faculty of Arts School of Journalism, Writing, and Media Climate Justice, Social Dimensions of Climate and Systems Change, Climate Activism and Social Movements, Urban Planning and Cities
Shawn Mansfield UBC Vancouver Tree biotechnology; Trees and the environment; Remediation of anthropogenic contaminants: Phosphorous, salt, heavy metals. Faculty of Forestry Department of Wood Science; Department of Botany; Biodiversity Research Centre; Tree Molecular Biology Research Lab; Bioproducts Institute Bioprocesses and Biotechnology, Pollution, Forestry, Climate Modelling and Data Analysis, Terrestrial Ecosystems
Matias Margulis UBC Vancouver Global governance of food security; Food insecurity; Renewed centrality of food security in global governance and policy, especially in the context of agricultural trade liberalization, large-scale land acquisitions (A.K.A. “land grabs”), international human rights agreements and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Land and Food Systems Food and Resource Economics Program; Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability; School of Public Policy and Global Affairs International Negotiations and Treaties, Policy and Governance, Climate Justice, Poverty, Sovereign or Sustainable Food Systems
Katie Marshall UBC Vancouver How abiotic stress filters through physiology to shape species abundance and distribution; How impact of frequency of stress (rather than the duration or intensity of stress) is a superior predictor of both survival and reproductive success. Faculty of Science Department of Zoology; Biodiversity Research Centre; Marshall Lab Biodiversity, Terrestrial Ecosystems, Oceans and Coastal Systems
Peter Marshall UBC Vancouver Quantifying and forecasting stand and forest dynamics, particularly with respect to uneven-aged and/or mixed species (complex) stands; Biometrics; Forest measurements; Modelling; Sampling design; Stand dynamics. Faculty of Forestry Department of Forest Resource Management; Forest Measurements and Biometrics Forestry, Climate Education and Environmental Literacy, Terrestrial Ecosystems
José Martí UBC Vancouver Computer modelling of response to disasters; Infrastructures Interdependencies Simulation (I2Sim) project; Electric power; Energy systems. Faculty of Applied Science Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering; Power Group; Clean Energy Research Centre (CERC) Electricity
Kathy Martin UBC Vancouver Conservation of birds in high elevation habitats; Nest webs – cavity nesting bird community dynamics in natural and managed forests in relation to forest cutting regimes and natural disturbance events. Faculty of Forestry Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences; Biodiversity Research Centre; Centre for Alpine Studies Alpine, Arctic and Antarctic, Terrestrial Ecosystems, Biodiversity, Forestry
Tara Martin UBC Vancouver Biodiversity; Climate change; Climate models; Conservation; Ecological monitoring; Ecology; Land-use change; Landscape ecology; Landscape planning; Modelling. Faculty of Forestry Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences; Interdisciplinary Biodiversity Solutions Collaboratory (IBioS); Martin Conservation Decisions Lab Biodiversity, Freshwater Systems, Indigenous Relationships and Reconciliation, Oceans and Coastal Systems, Forestry
Patrick Martone UBC Vancouver Biology and biodiversity of seaweeds; Plant cell walls; Tissue development; Ecophysiology; Ecology and community structure; Intertidal zones; Coralline algal evolution, phylogenetics, and taxonomy; Algal physiology and climate change. Department of Botany; Martone Lab; Biodiversity Research Centre Oceans and Coastal Systems, Biodiversity
Renisa Mawani UBC Vancouver Law and society; Historical methods; Social and cultural theory; Sociology of knowledge and culture; Political philosophies of law and justice; Histories of colonial dispossession; Indigenous peoples and restrictions imposed on marginalized groups; Colonial legal processes; State racisms produced through land, law, and labor. Faculty of Arts Department of Sociology Social Dimensions of Climate and Systems Change
Ulrich Mayer UBC Vancouver Geochemical evolution of low-temperature groundwater systems with a focus on groundwater contamination and remediation; Groundwater contamination problems and remediation solutions. Faculty of Science Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences; Energy and Environment Research Initiative; Carbon Mineralization Lab Freshwater Systems, Pollution, Mining
Murdoch McAllister UBC Vancouver Statistical methods for fisheries risk assessment; Estimations; Decision analysis and management strategy evaluation. Faculty of Science Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries Fisheries, Oceans and Coastal Systems, Climate Modelling and Data Analysis, Policy and Governance, Climate Risk Management
Carol McAusland UBC Vancouver Interactions between globalization and public good provision; Impacts of trade liberalization on environmental politics; Potential use of trade policy to stem damages from exotic species introductions and biological invasions; Environmental impacts of international trade; Implications of skilled labor migration for the global provision of public goods. Faculty of Land and Food Systems Food and Resource Economics Program Social Dimensions of Climate and Systems Change, Policy and Governance, International Negotiations and Treaties, Transportation, Carbon Management, Climate Finance and Investment
Kathryn McConnell UBC Vancouver Relationship between the environment and migration; Changes to housing and infrastructure as a result of and in response to climate-related hazards; Politics of building and development under climate change; Wildfires and rural communities; Social dynamics of climate change. Faculty of Arts Department of Sociology; Disaster Resilience Research Network Social Dimensions of Climate and Systems Change
Tim McDaniels UBC Vancouver Climate change adaptation in linked human/ ecological systems; Building regional resilience in infrastructure systems; Citizen involvement in complex policy decisions. Faculty of Applied Science School of Community and Regional Planning; Climate and Energy Decision Making Center; Disaster Resilience Network Natural Hazards and Disaster Response, Buildings and Sustainable Infrastructure Design, Climate Risk Management, Health and Wellbeing, Policy and Governance

First Nations land acknowledegement

We acknowledge that UBC’s campuses are situated within the traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh, and in the traditional, ancestral, unceded territory of the Syilx Okanagan Nation and their peoples.

Climate Solutions Research Collective

UBC receives support for managing its research enterprise from the federal Research Support Fund.

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