Research
Our research groups and their labs span across all aspects of Computer Science. The listing below includes both smaller research groups operating within the Computer Science Department, and larger, more diverse groups that span multiple faculties and departments.
AI: Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence at UBC focuses on decision-making and action, particularly on the design and application of AI systems that cooperate with human decision-makers. This AI research group and the breadth of its work is establishing UBC as leaders in sub-areas like privacy.
Algorithms Lab
This area conducts research in areas like molecular computation, empirical algorithm design, algorithmic game theory, optimization and theoretical computer science.
CAIDA: Centre for Artificial Intelligence Decision-making & Action
CAIDA is UBC's research hub for artificial intelligence, belonging to the Institute for Computing, Information and Cognitive Systems (ICICS). The expertise of its nearly 100 researchers, who span many academic units, ranges from theoretical to applied, enabled by technologies like machine learning and automated reasoning.
CVL: Computer Vision Lab
We focus on building algorithms for efficient perception of visual data in computers. To this end, we develop algorithms in the area of image understanding, video understanding, human pose estimation, and understanding of sports videos using machine learning and deep learning techniques.
DFP: Designing for People Cluster
The DFP cluster, which spans many academic units, addresses complex human-facing design problems by accelerating creativity at the nexus of social and technical problem-solving.
DMM: Data Management and Mining Lab
The data management and mining lab focuses on how to manage or mine data, relational or otherwise. This lab focuses on topics such as data understanding and exploration, health data analysis, social networks , and web and graph databases.
DSI: Data Science Institute
The institute spans the Faculty of Science, equipping researchers and external partners in the data science community with the approaches, tools and expertise they need to fully leverage the potential of big data.
eDAPT: Designing Interactive Technologies
This group focuses on designing interactive technologies that can be personalized to the needs of individual users. They use a range of methodologies from rich qualitative fieldwork to tightly controlled quantitative experiments, using a very human-centred approach.
Human-AI Interaction
Our long term vision is to create ethical AI systems that humans can trust and collaborate with. Our major research areas are user-adaptive visualization, interfaces for decision support, multimedia interactive visualizations for opinion mining, and adaptivity in unstructured and open-ended interfaces.
Imager: Laboratory for Graphics, Visualization and HCI
This lab is inter-disciplinary, with members working together to advance the science of computer graphics, computer animation, visualization, haptics, and human computer interaction.
InfoVis: Information Visualization Group
InfoVis focuses on developing visual representations and interaction techniques to take advantage of the human eye’s broad entry into the mind to allow users to see, explore, and understand large amounts of information at once.
ISD: Integrated System Design
The ISD group is interested in principles, techniques, methodologies, and tools for the specification, design, implementation, and verification of protocols, circuits, and integrated hardware/software systems.
NLP: Natural Language Processing
The Natural Language Processing Group conducts research in Computational Linguistics, Text Mining, Machine Learning, and Visual Text Analytics.
PLAI: Programming Languages for Artificial Intelligence
This group works in collaboration with partners from across industry and academia to develop production-quality, open-source software with applications in computational neuroscience, image recognition, robotics and AI.
SCL: Scientific Computing Laboratory
In this lab, researchers develop fast, reliable, and robust numerical algorithms needed for modeling and simulation in many fields, like physics, engineering, life sciences, and data science. Research areas include numerical linear algebra, optimization, numerical solution of partial differential equations, and applications of scientific computing.
SPIN: Sensory Perception & Interaction Research Group
SPIN is an interdisciplinary group of researchers who design and build innovative physical, touch-based user interactions to solve or advance real human issues.
SPL: Software Practices Lab
This lab is a collection of researchers who want to more efficiently and effectively build better software systems.
SSL: Sensiormotor Systems Lab
The lab researches human movement and develops advanced computational models through computer graphics, scientific computing, computational mechanics, robotics, biomechanics, and the neural control of movement.
Systopia: Networks, Systems and Security Lab
This lab is ground zero for conducting research on operating systems, distributed systems, security, and program analysis.
VisCog: Visual Cognition Lab
This group investigates visual intelligence - how human visual systems use light entering the eyes to create a variety of perceptual experiences. The knowledge gained can help with the design of effective visual displays.