Event Time:
Thursday, March 26, 2026 | 9:40 am - 11:00 am
Event Location:
UBC Alumni Centre
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2026-03-26T09:40:00
2026-03-26T11:00:00
Ask a question to UBC Alumna & NASA Astronaut Jessica Meir!
Event Information:
Dear UBC students!
We have an amazing opportunity to speak to UBC Alumna and NASA Astronaut Jessica Meir from the ISS next Thursday March 26 at 10:05am (PT), from the UBC Alumni Centre! Sponsored by UBC Provost and the Faculty of Science, Jessica will answer questions from UBC students and give a live tour of the ISS during her 20-minute fly-over via live-stream.
All are welcome to this event, but space is limited! We ask you to please register using the RSVP link here: https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cvHJg2TW6Qskedo and arrive by at the Alumni Centre by 09:50am at the latest.
Event Location:
UBC Alumni Centre
Event Time:
Friday, March 27, 2026 | 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Event Location:
SFU Harbour Centre, downtown Vancouver (515 West Hastings St. Vancouver) | Challenge Theatre
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2026-03-27T18:30:00
2026-03-27T21:00:00
Extreme Light: Unlocking the Power of Super-Fast Lasers
Event Information:
Welcome to this public talk, by Canadian Nobel-Prize winning physicist, Donna Strickland!
SFU Physics and UBC Dept. of Physics & Astronomy invite you to an evening with Nobel Prize-winning physicist Donna Strickland at SFU Harbour Centre. This public event will include a presentation followed by a Q&A session.
Schedule6:30 PM – Doors open7:00 PM – 9:00 PM – Presentation and Q&A
Abstract:With the invention of lasers, the intensity of a light wave was increased by orders of magnitude over what had been achieved with a light bulb or sunlight. This much higher intensity led to new phenomena being observed, such as violet light coming out when red light went into the material. After Gérard Mourou and I developed chirped pulse amplification, also known as CPA, the intensity again increased by more than a factor of 1,000 and it once again made new types of interactions possible between light and matter. We developed a laser that could deliver short pulses of light that knocked the electrons off their atoms. This new understanding of laser-matter interactions, led to the development of new machining techniques that are used in laser eye surgery or micromachining of glass used in cell phones.
Bio:
Donna Strickland is a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Waterloo and is one of the recipients of the Nobel Prize in Physics 2018 for developing chirped pulse amplification with Gérard Mourou, her PhD supervisor at the time. They published this Nobel-winning research in 1985 when Strickland was a PhD student at the University of Rochester in New York state. Together they paved the way toward the most intense laser pulses ever created. The research has several applications today in industry and medicine — including the cutting of a patient’s cornea in laser eye surgery, and the machining of small glass parts for use in cell phones.
Strickland was a research associate at the National Research Council Canada, a physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and a member of technical staff at Princeton University. In 1997, she joined the University of Waterloo, where her ultrafast laser group develops high-intensity laser systems for nonlinear optics investigations. She is a recipient of a Sloan Research Fellowship, a Premier’s Research Excellence Award and a Cottrell Scholar Award. She served as the president of the Optical Society (OSA) in 2013 and is a fellow of OSA, the Royal Society of Canada, and SPIE (International Society for Optics and Photonics). Strickland is an honorary fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering as well as the Institute of Physics. She received the Golden Plate Award from the Academy of Achievement and holds numerous honorary doctorates.
Research Interests include: Intense laser-matter interactions, Nonlinear optics, Short-pulse, intense laser systems, Photonics and Optical Systems.
Learn More:
Read Donna's faculty webpage from the University of Waterloo: https://uwaterloo.ca/physics-astronomy/profile/strickla
Review the news:
Canada’s newest Nobel Prize winner, Donna Strickland, ‘just wanted to do something fun’, The Globe and Mail
Nobel laureate Donna Strickland: ‘I see myself as a scientist, not a woman in science’, The Guardian
For Just the Third Time in 117 Years, a Woman Wins the Nobel Prize in Physics, New York Times
Donna Strickland, Canada's latest Nobel winner, is a 'laser jock' who loves the lab, Quirks & Quarks
Physicist Donna Strickland on Her 'Surreal' Nobel Prize Win and the Challenges for Women in Science, Time
Waterloo celebrates the remarkable career of Professor Donna Strickland
See her Biography and FAQ page on the Nobel Prize website
Youtube:
Watch her "Beyond curious" lecture: https://uwaterloo.ca/physics-astronomy/news/donna-strickland
See "UBC Connects with Donna Strickland": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzzLCmzHOSw
Resources:
Nobel Prize Winners: All Nobel Prizes in Physics - NobelPrize.org
Canadian Nobel Laureates: Canadian Nobel Laureates | The Canadian Encyclopedia
About physics: Physics | The Canadian Encyclopedia
Event Location:
SFU Harbour Centre, downtown Vancouver (515 West Hastings St. Vancouver) | Challenge Theatre
Event Time:
Tuesday, March 31, 2026 | 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Event Location:
HEBB building Room 114 + HEBB rooftop (2045 East Mall or https://maps.ubc.ca/?code=HEBB)
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2026-03-31T19:00:00
2026-03-31T21:00:00
Science Under the Stars: Lucky star event!
Event Information:
The Department of Physics and Astronomy and The UBC Astronomy Club present Science Under The Stars!
Science Under the Stars is a family-friendly introduction to astronomy, hosted every last Tuesday of the month at UBC.
St. Patrick’s Day may be over—but your luck might just be getting started! 🍀✨
Join us for our Lucky Star (March) Event, where you’ll have the chance to win some out-of-this-world astronomy-themed prizes in our special raffle draw. Getting in is easy, just grab your ticket, show it at the door to receive your raffle entry, and stick around for the exciting draw at the end of the night!
But that’s not all…
Enjoy an evening filled with our guest speaker Taylor Starkman, hands-on crafts, and telescope observing under the night sky (weather permitting). We’ll also be hosting a relaxed reception with light refreshments—perfect for mingling and soaking in the cosmic vibes.
RSVP for tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/science-under-the-stars-lucky-star-event-tickets-1984410241451?aff=oddtdtcreator
Schedule:7-8pm Meet in HEBB 114 for a mini-lecture and Q&A period8-9pm: create ASTRO-themed arts and crafts, and head to the roof to view some popular favourites: the moon, Jupiter and Saturn! *NOTE: this part of the evening is completely dependent upon the weather*
The UBC Astronomy Club and the Department of Physics and Astronomy invite you—and your friends and family—to an inspiring night of science, curiosity, and stargazing! All ages welcome!
Title:
Gravitational Waves: How We Detect Them and What They Tell Us About the Universe
Abstract:
Imagine you’ve thrown a rock into a pond. By the time the ripples caused by the rock hitting the surface reach the edge of the pond, they’ve almost disappeared. What if, from the ripples at the edge of the pond, you were able to figure out how big the rock was? Where did the rock hit the pond’s surface? How did the rock evolve? If the rock was instead a system of two black holes orbiting each other before eventually merging and the water was spacetime, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) would detect this event as a binary black hole merger. Since 2015, LIGO has detected nearly 400 merger events, bringing us into the era of gravitational wave astronomy. In this presentation, I will explain how we detect these events, what they tell us about the universe, and how one special detection has kick-started the era of multi-messenger astronomy.
Bio:
Hello! My name is Taylor Starkman (he/him) and I am a 1st year master’s student in the department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of British Columbia! My research focuses on improving the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) detectors so that we can detect gravitational waves from objects called neutron stars.
Event Location:
HEBB building Room 114 + HEBB rooftop (2045 East Mall or https://maps.ubc.ca/?code=HEBB)
Event Time:
Friday, April 17, 2026 | 8:30 pm - 11:00 pm
Event Location:
China Cloud Studios, Main Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada
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2026-04-17T20:30:00
2026-04-17T23:00:00
Quantum Mechanics: The Music of the Universe
Event Information:
EXTRA CREDIT is a new lecture series presented by China Cloud Studios. We have invited prominent academics, from a wide variety of disciplines, to come share their research and knowledge. This is a unique opportunity to come learn and mingle with them in the comfort of the warm China Cloud Studios environment. Hosted and curated by UBC faculty Dr. Azim Shariff and musician Jenn Bojm.
Abstract:
In this talk, I will introduce some of the key ideas of quantum mechanics: the sometimes bizarre set of physics rules that gives our best understanding of how nature works at a fundamental level, for example - quantum superpositions, wavefunctions, and indeterminacy. I will explain how these are related to much more familiar ideas from the science of music and musical instruments.
Bio:
I am a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of British Columbia, where I have worked since 2002. In my research, I work towards a better theoretical understanding of elementary particle physics, classical and quantum gravity, and cosmology. Most of my research has focused on string theory and quantum field theory.
Learn More:
About Mark: https://phas.ubc.ca/~mav/vanraamsdonk.html
Learn more about the physics of music from Mark's website! https://phas.ubc.ca/~mav/POM.html
About quantum mechanics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_mechanics
About science and music: https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/resources-for-educators/classroom-resources/media-and-interactives/media/music/connections/connections/science--music/
Event Location:
China Cloud Studios, Main Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Event Time:
Thursday, April 23, 2026 | 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Event Location:
Vancouver Public Library - Central Branch (Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level)
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2026-04-23T18:00:00
2026-04-23T19:30:00
FROM QUANTUM COSMOS to QUANTUM COMPUTERS: The SACRED and the PROFANE
Event Information:
Curious about how the universe actually works? Join the experts from UBC’s Department of Physics and Astronomy to find out fun facts about everything from the Milky Way to radio waves in this new, accessible science series: How the Universe Works! All are welcome!
Abstract:
Most of us hold certain values to be sacred. One of these – which underlies science – is Truth. There are other non-scientific sacred values: beauty, love, Nature, compassion, even comedy. They help to give meaning and value to our lives; we feel instinctively that they are not to be profaned.
In this talk I’ll describe in simple terms, using slides, video, and live demonstrations, two scientific results of extraordinary beauty, viz., (i) New ideas about our entire universe, which indicate it may be oscillating chaotically while also expanding and contracting, rather like a fibrillating heart. Within it, galaxies are born and die, and complex systems like life result from galactic collisions. (ii) quantum networks of “qubits” (exemplified by everything from bird navigation systems to “quantum computers”). Quantum information ripples through these networks, mediated by quantum entanglement and quantum tunneling. Such networks will revolutionize 21st century technology, for good or ill.
To explain such things we need both quantum mechanics and Einstein’s theory of curved spacetime. These theories describe deep features of Nature that are both magical and real. I will try to give some intuition for this, and how it feels to engage with it.
Bio:
Philip Stamp was mostly raised in New Zealand. He was educated in the UK, beginning his academic career in philosophy and literature, but then switching to theoretical physics. Over the years he has worked as a physicist in France, Spain, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Japan, Canada, and the USA, and as a musician in France. In 2002 he returned to Canada to set up the Pacific Institute of Theoretical Physics (PITP), based at UBC. He is presently Prof of Theoretical Physics at UBC, and director of PITP. His research focuses on many different aspects of quantum mechanics, including macroscopic quantum phenomena, and also quantum gravity and quantum cosmology.
His favourite writers are Colette, H.E. Bates, and Jorge Amado; his favourite film is “October Sky”; his favourite art form is flamenco; and his favourite spectator sport is rugby. He’s often seen cycling around Vancouver or kayaking in the Gulf islands – his favourite part of Vancouver is Commercial Drive. His two children, now adults, still call him “NeanderPhil”. But his happiest news all year: his son is getting married!
Learn More:
PBS Space Time explores the outer reaches of space, the craziness of astrophysics, the possibilities of sci-fi, and anything else you can think of beyond Planet Earth. Host Matt O'Dowd breaks down both the basic and incredibly complex sides of space and time.
Event Location:
Vancouver Public Library - Central Branch (Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level)