UVic Science

Scientists have identified unique sounds for 8 fish species Researchers have known for centuries that some fish make sounds. Now, using special underwater acoustics, researchers have been able to identify sounds from eight different species.

UVic scientists have identified unique sounds for 8 fish species.
Just like with birds, we can tell fish species apart based on sound alone! theconversation.com/scientists-h...

Dr. Lum wearing a white lab coat and blue tie.

What happens when a cancer immunologist and gut microbiome expert teams up with an award-winning chef?

You get a unique four-course guided dinner blending sensory experience and evidence-informed insights on how food connects to the gut, immune system and wellbeing!

https://ow.ly/FFml50Y561a

B.C.'s balmy January brings out blossoms, but a cold snap could put plants in peril | CBC News An unseasonably mild winter is coaxing blossoms to bloom early in some Metro Vancouver neighbourhoods, as it experiences one of the warmest Januaries on record.

Cherry blossoms are already starting to appear in Victoria, and it's only January! What does this mean, and how does it relate to climate change?

Thoughts from UVic's Andrew Weaver (@ajwvictoriabc.bsky.social) and Barbara Hawkins are included in this CBC story: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Seven northern science and wildlife stories from 2025 Space beavers. Cod grunts. Northern skunks. These are some of the science and wildlife stories that caught Cabin Radio's eye in 2025.

The Codcast, a UVic podcast about the science behind the noises Arctic cod make, made @cabinradio.ca's list of top northern stories from 2025! Have you had a chance to listen yet? cabinradio.ca/273669/news/...

📣 Calling all #Canadian grad students 📣

Receive $20,000 to support your research using ONC's ocean data!

Apply for the Roy Hyndman Ocean Observing Award by 31 January 2026 🌊 bit.ly/3rI4gHP

#CdnSci #SciSky

‘There’s no monitoring of earthquakes’: new British Columbia pipeline could spell catastrophe, experts warn Project on ‘very poorly understood’ terrain and likely to pass through Rocky Mountain trench, which researchers say poses immense geological hazard

My take on why the proposed northern pipeline is incredibly risky without 1st doing some basic geological due diligence. BC’s N Coast & interior are criss-crossed with faults but seismic & geodetic monitoring is rudimentary and we simply don’t know what’s active.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...

Canadian Journal of Chemistry cover, with a black header containing the Canadian Science publishing blaze and Volume 104, Issue 1. Main image: A 3D-printed perovskite crystal (red and white) rising behind a perovskite solar module, which has an illuminated white LED

This month's Issue features an Award Lecture (and cover image!) from the group of M. Saidaminov (UVic Science). They report a humidity-tolerant formamidinium Pb iodide (FAPbI₃) ink, advancing fabrication of scalable, climate-resilient perovskite photovoltaics.

https://ow.ly/NQqi50XNqYi

He's back.

After a year off on admin leave, Peter Loock is officially back as Dean of Science.

After a successful first term as Dean, he was reappointed for a second five-year term, which will run from Jan. 1, 2026 to Dec. 31, 2030.

Stop and say hi if you see him around the hallways!

Dense cluster of purple sea urchins covering rocky ocean floor beneath clear blue water.

🪸 2025 in review: We analyzed the widespread impacts of marine heatwaves.

The comprehensive overview of the 2014-16 marine heatwave’s ecological impacts highlighted how heatwaves dramatically impact marine ecosystems.

🔗 Impacts: https://ow.ly/HFbP50XN07F
🔗 Year-in-review: https://ow.ly/HFbP50XN07F

⚛️ 2025 in review: We shared the Breakthrough Prize.

30 physicists and engineers from UVic were among global researchers honoured for their work with the ATLAS collaboration at CERN.

🔗 Breakthrough Prize: https://ow.ly/9x5z50XN042
🔗 Year-in-review: https://ow.ly/boyR50XN03U

Caren kneeling on rocks in a lush forest, collecting water sample with a dropper into a clear container.

🧬 2025 in review: We brought eDNA Explorer to Canada.

Caren Helbing received a $1.5 million grant from Genome BC to develop a platform that will bring together eDNA projects from around the world.

🔗 eDNA Explorer: https://ow.ly/kf4B50XN01N
🔗 Year-in-review: https://ow.ly/kuXp50XN01H

🎆 Kick off the new year by looking back at some of our biggest stories of 2025.

Better UTI tests, our first climate science grads, bringing eDNA Explorer to Canada, an induction to the Royal Society (UK), a boat's 50th birthday and more.

🔗 Read the full year-in-review: https://ow.ly/VeKL50XMZZt

Close up of an Arctic cod in a tank.

🐟 2025 in review: We launched the Codcast.

The Codcast tells the story of the discovery of the Arctic cod grunt, what the research team has learned so far about the sound, and why fish sounds are so important.

🔗 Listen: https://ow.ly/34FH50XMZY5
🔗 Year-in-review: https://ow.ly/1ryO50XMZXX

🔬 2025 in review: We made it easier to see atomic-scale structures.

Arthur Blackburn was able to achieve sub-Ångström resolution using a compact, low-energy scanning electron microscope.

🔗 The research: https://ow.ly/wQXZ50XMZWR
🔗 Year-in-review: https://ow.ly/Ot3M50XMZWx

Profile photo of David Leitch in a chekered shirt and blazer.

🏆 2025 in review: We were the home of a Killam Fellowship winner.

In March, UVic chemistry professor David Leitch was announced as one of eight recipients of the Dorothy Killam Fellowship.

🔗 Leitch's research: https://ow.ly/5ZAa50XMZTf
🔗 Year-in-review: https://ow.ly/KtRB50XMZTe

Camryn and Maya smiling in the black caps and gowns.

🌥️ 2025 in review: We graduated our first climate science students.

Just two years after launching our climate science program, we celebrated our first three graduates this year—two in June, one in Nov.

🔗 Climate science: https://ow.ly/UeKO50XMZRc
🔗 Year-in-review: https://ow.ly/8f4450XMZQS

David and Linda in white lab coats examining a red petri dish in the lab.

🧫 2025 in review: We developed a better UTI test.

UTIs affect 150 million people every year but diagnosis can be slow. The Goodlett Lab has developed a faster and more accurate way to identify these infections.

🔗 A new UTI test: https://ow.ly/rH9s50XMZOu
🔗 Year-in-review: https://ow.ly/THwI50XMZOg

Profile photo of Mark Lewis in a checkered blazer.

🧮 2025 in review: We celebrated Mark Lewis's induction to the Royal Society (UK).

Lewis works at the intersection of mathematical analysis and environmental biology.

🔗 Learn more about Lewis and his work: https://ow.ly/w6s550XMZLf
🔗 Read the full year-in-review: https://ow.ly/3ZVP50XMZKX

In just one year, he's won four different major awards. Meet UVic chemist David Leitch.

- 2025 Dorothy Killam Fellow
- REACH Award for Early Career Excellence in Research
- Keith Fagnou Award
- Faculty of Science Excellence in Research Award

Phew. 🙃

https://ow.ly/puqC50XMZvC

Profile photo of Laura in a black blazer and purple scarf, with fall foliage in the background.

Laura handing a Dean's List certificate to a student.

Laura in her convocation robes and hat, speaking into a microphone while holding a sheet of paper at an indoor event.

Laura seated at a UVic Faculty of Science information booth with brochures, pens, and laptop on display.

Congratulations to Laura Cowen, whose term as Acting Dean ends on Dec. 31. Over the last year, she's been at the helm of the Faculty, guiding our work and leading the way.

Thanks for your leadership over the past year, Dr. Cowen!

If you're looking for someone with a passion for math, allow us to introduce you to Trefor Bazett.

Trefor is an associate teaching professor in mathematics and this year's winner of the Faculty of Science Excellence Award in Teaching.

https://ow.ly/hLIE50XMZuS

The Strickland at sea.

🛥️ 2025 in review: We celebrated the Strickland's 50th birthday!

The RV John Strickland turned 50 this year, and we couldn’t let to occasion pass without celebrating!

🔗 Learn more about Strickland's history: https://ow.ly/tlO550XMZKb
🔗 Read the full year-in-review: https://ow.ly/XWhw50XMZK4

Celebrating our 2024-25 Excellence Awards winners - University of Victoria There are many talented and hardworking faculty and staff whose contributions help make the Faculty of Science excel. Each year, we recognize a few exceptional faculty and staff members for their outs...

A math professor and YouTube star. A chemist exploring chemical space. Two administrative officers who are the bedrocks of their departments.

What do these four people have in common? They are all winners of the 2024-25 Faculty of Science Excellence Awards! https://ow.ly/HwE950XMZpg

While we may not have a cure for cancer yet, we do have immunotherapy, a new treatment for cancer that has been developing over the past 15 years.

Learn all about it at our next Café Scientifique talk!

📅 January 13, 7 p.m.
📍 The Mint, 1419 Douglas St.

🔗 RSVP: https://ow.ly/Y0kf50XLP4X

One year, hundreds of accomplishments, and 10 that topped them all. 🙌

As 2025 comes to an end, join us in looking back at some of our favourite accomplishments of 2025: https://ow.ly/cVzW50XMN5q

This Giving Tuesday, we're raising money for Science Rendezvous, a free STEM festival for K-12 students, educators, and scientists of all ages. 🧪

Help us inspire the next generation's interest in STEM and make a gift today. Donations will be matched up to $7500! https://ow.ly/3zOz50XASVl

Tiny ocean fossils are fundamental to our understanding of the climate system and how it has changed over the past 150 million years.

Join us at our next Café Scientifique to hear all about the world of micropaleontology!

📅 Dec. 9, 2025, 7 p.m.
📍 The Mint
🔗 Details: https://ow.ly/56Sx50XxTlA

Expert Q&A on searching for alien life - UVic News UVic astronomer Jon Willis investigates the question “Is there life off Earth?” by joining astrobiologists to study life right here on our planet.

According to popular media, the search for alien life involves technology, space exploration, government conspiracies and secret programs.

But according to UVic astronomer Jon Willis, the search for alien life begins right in our own backyard.

🔗Q&A on searching for alien life: ow.ly/KiIj50XxTg5

🗨️ “We need to recognize drift logs as a significant ecological disturbance...It’s critical that we begin reducing the number of drift logs added to the marine environment and begin introducing conservation measures to protect organisms in the intertidal zone.”

- Tom Reimchen, UVic biologist

Why does this matter? Many shorebird species rely on the rocky intertidal zones for food, and researchers speculate that the loss of barnacle beds and interstitial invertebrates has contributed to the decline of shorebird populations. Since 1970, there as been a 50% drop in some of the shorebirds.