Congratulations to our spring graduates!
May 22, 2026
Flowers in full bloom cover UBC’s Vancouver campus, just in time to celebrate our graduating students as they prepare to cross the Chan Centre stage. May 25th to 27th will see UBC Science graduates from across our programs honoured in six convocation ceremonies. We look forward to celebrating with our graduates, families and friends as we mark their achievements and welcome them to our alumni community!
Those unable to join UBC’s in-person graduation ceremonies can take part in celebrating our Spring 2026 graduates via the UBC Graduation live webcast.
Congratulations from Dean Mark MacLachlan
View the video below for a special message to our graduates from the Dean of the Faculty of Science, Dr. Mark MacLachlan.
Recognizing scientific excellence with honorary degrees
For extraordinary contributions to scientific knowledge, UBC is bestowing four recipients with an honorary Doctor of Science, including UBC alumni from Zoology and Mathematics.
Doctor of Science, honoris causa to be presented May 26, 2026 at 8:30 am.
Dr. Peter and Dr. Rosemary Grant
UBC Zoology alumni Drs. Peter and Rosemary Grant have made groundbreaking contributions in the fields of ecology and evolutionary biology. Their landmark 40-year study of Darwin’s finches on the Galapagos Islands is widely regarded as the most successful study of adaptive evolution. Their findings have led to a better understanding of how and why natural selection occurs and how it leads to evolutionary change over time.
Doctor of Science, honoris causa to be presented on May 26, 2026 at 4:00 pm.
Dr. Robert Gentleman
Professor Robert Gentleman is internationally recognized for his contributions to statistics, computational biology and open-source software for scientific applications. A UBC alumnus (B.Sc. Mathematics), he completed his PhD in Statistics at the University of Washington. He was later appointed to faculty at the University of Auckland where he co-created the programming language R, now a standard for data analysis and graphics world-wide.
Doctor of Science, honoris causa to be presented on May 27, 2026 at 8:30 am.
Sir David W. C. MacMillan
The only non-UBC alum to receive an honorary Doctor of Science this spring, Sir David W. C. MacMillan is one of the most influential chemists of the 21st century. Awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, he is best known for co-developing organocatalysis, a revolutionary approach to chemical synthesis that uses small organic molecules to accelerate chemical reactions. His research has profoundly influenced pharmaceutical development, materials science, and green chemistry.
Read about all UBC’s spring 2026 honorary degree recipients.
Unique journeys to convocation
This spring graduation will recognize hundreds of accomplished UBC Science students, spanning 28 programs. Get to know a some of our graduates’ journeys of creativity, resilience, determination and impact.
Katja Nell (MSc Biophysics)
At 15, Katja Nell became one of the youngest students ever admitted to UBC. Cue a decidedly non-linear path to graduation as she explored ways to combine her love of chemistry, biology, mathematics and physics, all while pursuing various hobbies and working part-time jobs. Now graduating with an MSc in physics, Nell is off to Sydney where she’ll be like an ethical Frankenstein, simulating lightning strikes in prebiotic Earth environments to study the chemical origins of life. She emphasizes it’s important to stop and smell the roses. “We have one life, and it’s precious.” Read more
Jenny Muñoz (PhD, Zoology)
Growing up spending time on her family’s farm amid Colombia’s astonishing biodiversity, Jenny Muñoz found her calling among birds rather than test tubes. A chance encounter surveying an endangered grackle redirected her from immunology to a life of tropical field biology, carrying her from the Amazon and Andes to UBC. Now completing her PhD in Zoology, Dr. Muńoz blends rigorous science with hard-won resilience, navigating new languages, countries and setbacks. Like the bird communities she studies, her journey shows how connection and collaboration foster survival and success. Read more.
Poya Haghnegahdar (PhD Physics)
Poya Haghnegahdar has returned to UBC this spring to defend his dissertation and receive his PhD after an evolving journey through research, quantum computing startups, and entrepreneurship. Joining UBC in 2006 for master’s studies exploring quantum gravity and quantum mechanics led Haghnegahdar to begin a doctoral degree in quantum computing. An unexpected opportunity took him to industry, where he worked in quantum computing, machine learning and AI, and founded his own company. Now returning to UBC after a decade, Haghnegahdar shows it’s possible to make a PhD happen with a busy career. Read more.
Georgia Hall (MSc Zoology)
A love of the outdoors lead Georgia Hall to start a career in the far north of Vancouver Island, after studying Forest Sciences at UBC. Living close to nature kindled a desire to better answer questions about the world around her, and she returned to UBC for master’s studies investigating impacts of ocean acidification on BC shellfish. Hall linked expected declines in ocean pH to worsening growth in oysters and mussels – showing that aspects of shellfish biology changed rapidly at important tipping points. With practical ramifications for aquaculture, her work will be used to help develop an ocean acidification vulnerability framework for British Columbia.
Get to know more of UBC’s graduating students.
