Spotlight

The good news is we have most of the technological solutions for transitioning to low-carbon sources of energy. The biggest challenges to adopting them more widely and rapidly are social and political — from funding and investment, to international cooperation, to inspiring mass support for ambitious policies.

Technology

A futuristic depiction of a car plugged into a hydrogen fuelling station.

Research indicates success hinges on innovation, strategic policies, and long-term contracts.

A graphic of hands and people cleaning up the earth with a spray bottle, a cloth, plants, and chemicals.

A UBC engineer is devoted to making our dirtiest chemicals clean.

A nuclear reactor tower against the blue sky.

Professor M.V. Ramana discusses the "Folly of Atomic Power in the Age of Climate Change."

Woman wears VR headset and gloves as another woman watches

Psychology and computer science students are advancing brain injury rehabilitation.

Data centre with rows of computer servers

AI's energy consumption doesn't tell the whole story of its environmental impacts.

Person typing on laptop with glowing symbols overlaid on image

Lawyers will have to tackle significant opportunities and risks related to AI tools.

E-bike parked on lawn in front of trees

UBC researchers have found that e-bike use has skyrocketed since 2019.

A person in a lab coat holding up a blue-violet crystalline structure

UBC is a central player in Canada’s medical biotech boom.

A woman at her desk on a Zoom call

A UBCO study examines the difference between in-person and videochat perceptions.

Young people sitting in a row outside looking at smartphones

Mental health may depend on how social media is used rather than how much it is used.

A robotic arm slips a ballot into a slot

Here's why we should be vigilant, but not fatalistic.

Conceptual illustration of a tram running alongside a lake

A feasibility plan introduces a 342-kilometre route linking Kamloops and Osoyoos.

Kevin Leyton-Brown stands against a grey wall, wearing a dark blue suit.

A UBC prof is cautiously optimistic.

A person with short black hair and dark skin sits on a wall made of filled, upright sacks.

A tech-enabled strategy for beating poverty.

Raymond Ng is using NLP to streamline complex processes and improve patient outcomes.

An illustration of two hands, with a string attached to each finger, puppeteering the inside of a person's head.

How do we make artificial intelligence accountable to the people who use it?

A graphic of a red satellite juxtaposed on a black-and-white photo of a planet

There are no easy answers, but satellite images and machine learning could help show us a way.

A smiling Mario holds an orange and blue robot to his chest against an orange background.

Researchers are exploring the pitfalls and potential of human-robot bonding.

Cardiologist Teresa Tsang is using AI to advance and democratize cardiac imaging in BC.

An illustration composed of multiple graphics, including a purple-haired person looking at brain imagery, a person going into an MRI machine, a petri dish on a table, and a DNA strand.

Five UBC medical breakthroughs powered by AI.