I am always looking for curious and hardworking students and postdocs: undergraduates, master’s students, PhD students, and Postdocs. However, I receive a lot of email from students interested in applying to UBC. If you would like to get a response to your email, please read the following and send me the information I request.

Additionally, if you are applying to our graduate programs, you should be aware of the following facts:

  • Students are admitted by the department, not by individual faculty.
  • The department begins reviewing applications in January for the following academic year.
  • You cannot be admitted if you do not submit a complete application.
  • Even if I believe that you are well-suited for my group, I cannot guarantee that you will be admitted, although I can make a case for you.
  • I do not review any applicant materials before the academic year begins in the Fall.
  • I am also unlikely to review materials in September as that is the busiest time of the year.
  • If, after reading the materials below you send me email, please do not send repeated queries. If you have done exactly as I outline below, I will review your materials when I am prepared to consider admitting students, but as I do not make final decisions, and I reserve the right to review these materials at my convenience, sending repeated emails simply wastes both of our time.

If you are interested in working with me, please do the following:

  • Visit my Publications Page. Skim through the titles to get a sense of the kinds of work I am currently doing. Please spend enough time doing this to determine the areas in which I conduct work. I am a systems person. Read enough of my work to understand what this means relative to your interests. You will undoubtedly also want to visit our lab website to get a sense of the kind of work going on right now. You may also find that your interests are better aligned with other faculty in the lab; that's fine! You will be more successful with an advisor with common interests than with someone else, just because they are more senior or more well known.
  • If our interests seem genuinely aligned, continue. If they are not, please do not send me email -- I cannot advise students/postdocs in areas in which I do not have expertise. If you do not hear back from me, you did not convince me that your research interests are aligned with mine.
  • Find a few papers that look particularly interesting and read their abstracts.
  • Read at least two papers that I've written in the past five years.
  • If you are still interested, then send me email including the area(s) in which you are interested in working, the background you are bringing to the area (for undergrads this part is less important), and which papers you read. For the papers you read, explain why you chose to read them, what you learned from reading them, and what about them convinced you that I would be a good research fit for you.
  • Check below for topics relevant to particular applicants.

Information for Postdocs

  • Please include a 1-2 page statement that tells me what your goals are for the postdoc and the specific research you are interested in undertaking.
  • Tell me when you will complete your Ph.D.

Information for PhD Students

  • Please include a summary of your prior research experience.
  • If you are applying with an MSc degree, please tell me whether your Master's program was research-oriented; if so, provide a 1-paragraph summary of your master's thesis.
  • If you are applying directly from an undergraduate program, please send copy of your CV/resume and transcript and tell me what research experience you've had.

Information for MSc Students

  • Please include your resume/CV and undergraduate transcript.
  • Please tell me what your goal is in earning a Master's degree.
  • Please tell me what research experience you've had.

Information for Undergraduates

  • Please include a copy of your resume/CV and transcript.