Lecture Series
Vancouver Institute
Since 1916, the Vancouver Institute has brought the University of British Columbia and Vancouver community together through free public lectures and discussions. Driven by volunteer membership and donations, the Institute hosts influential academics and political leaders from around the world. The Global Reporting Centre is proud to partner with The Vancouver Institute. In collaboration, both organizations support interdisciplinary ideas and a strong, community-driven culture at UBC.
To contact us, please email [email protected] or leave us a message at 604-822-8061 and we will call you back.

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About the Vancouver Institute
Upcoming lectures
📍 Lectures are held at the P.A. Woodward Instructional Resources Centre, located at UBC’s Point Grey Campus, 2194 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver. View on Google Maps.
NAVAL CONFLICT AND THE FIRST PUNIC WAR: DISCOVERIES FROM THE DEBRIS FIELD
Dr. William (Bill) Murray’s interests include all aspects of ancient seafaring from ships and their designs to trade, ancient harbours, naval warfare and weaponry. His research has been featured on the History and National Geographic channels. Over the past 40 years, he has worked at a number of archaeological sites, both under water and on land, in Greece, Israel, Turkey, France and Italy.
IS THE MISSING MIDDLE MISSING FOR GOOD REASON?
Dr. Thomas Davidoff’s research on public policies related to insurance, housing, mortgages, and retirement finance have been published in leading journals in finance, real estate, and economics, and presented at a variety of academic institutions and international conferences around the world.
RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS IN CANADA: SURVIVOR TRUTHS, ACCESS TO RECORDS, AND THE POST-TRC ERA
Dr. Tricia Logan is a Métis scholar with more than 20 years of experience working with elders and leaders in First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities in Canada. Prior to her time at UBC, Dr. Logan was the Manager of Research at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation at the University of Manitoba.
LOCAL JOURNALISM AND A HEALTHY DEMOCRACY
Harold Munro studied journalism at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, then took a job at a newspaper in Terrace BC, before returning to the coast in 1986 to join the Vancouver Sun as a general assignment reporter. He is now Editor-in-Chief of both the Vancouver Sun and Province newspapers.
THE UBC MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY: A COLLECTION FIT FOR THE NATION(S)
Dr. Anthony Shelton was Director of MOA for seventeen years. A researcher, curator, teacher and administrator, Dr. Shelton’s interests include Latin American, Iberian and African visual cultures, Surrealism, the history of collecting, and critical museology.
UNDERSTANDING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Dr. Kevin Leyton-Brown’s research addresses issues in computational game theory; also in market design, analysis and clearing, as well as the application of machine learning to the automated design and analysis of algorithms for solving hard computational problems. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the Association of Computing Machinery, and the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence.
THINKING AS POLITICS: THE MORAL DIMENSIONS OF POETRY
Dr. Jan Zwicky, C.M. is one of Canada’s most respected artists and intellectuals, known equally for her original work in philosophy and her poetry, and translated into a number of European languages. Her writing has covered issues in music, poetry, philosophy, and the environment.
Past lectures
LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA COLLECTIONS 24/7: CONNECTING CANADIANS TO THEIR STORIES
Ms. Leslie Weir is the first woman to serve as Librarian and Archivist of Canada. She has played important roles in many transformative moments at the Canadian Research Knowledge Network and in research libraries and archives in Canada.
EXPLORING THE HIDDEN EARTH – GROUNDWATERS AND DEEP SUBSURFACE LIFE
Dr. Barbara Sherwood Lollar has revolutionized the development of innovative mechanisms for groundwater remediation. In 2013 Canadian Geographic magazine listed her among the Ten Canadians “Changing the World” for her discovery of the “billion-year-old water” and its implications for life on other planets.
PROTECTING HUMANKIND’S COMMON CULTURAL HERITAGE: THE PROBLEM OF CULTURAL APPROPRIATION
Dr. Cécile Fabre is a political philosopher whose research interests include theories of distributive and reparative justice, the philosophy of democracy, and the moral and political philosophy of cultural heritage. Her works have been published in journals such as the British Journal of Political Science, International Affairs, and the Journal of Political Philosophy.
THE DEFENSE OF CULTURAL SPACE
As head of PEN Canada for over a decade, Mr. Brendan de Caires defends freedom of expression, and helps exiled writers to establish in Canada. In this capacity Mr. de Caires has edited and co-authored country studies of Mexico, Honduras, India and Guatemala. He is the author of The Winter of a Hundred Books (2010), and A Country Worth Living In (2010)
HOW UBC ENABLED THE COVID-19 MRNA VACCINES
Dr. Pieter Cullis is globally known for his contributions to the field of lipid nanoparticles. His research has contributed to the development of nanomedicines employing lipid nanoparticle delivery technology leading to five clinically approved drugs for cancer therapies, gene therapies, and vaccines, including BNT162b2, the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine marketed by Pfizer/BioNTech.
HOW WILL CANADA PROSPER IN THE NEXT AGE OF UNCERTAINTY?
Dr. Stephen Poloz is a distinguished economist with four decades of experience in financial markets, forecasting, and economic policy. He is the author of The Next Age of Uncertainty: How the World Can Adapt to a Riskier Future (2022). Dr. Poloz was the ninth Governor of the Bank of Canada until June 2020. Prior to that appointment, he served as Chief Executive Officer at Export Development Canada.
THE CRITICAL UNIVERSITY: PLACE AS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
Dr. Clare Haru Crowston’s research interests lie in the early modern history of women and gender, and of working people in early modern France. She has authored the books Credit, Fashion, Sex: Economies of Regard in Old Regime France (2013) and Fabricating Women: The Seamstresses of Old Regime France, 1675-1791 (2001); the latter was awarded the Berkshire Prize for the best first book in history by a woman in North America and the Hagley Prize in business history.
WHO OWNS OUTER SPACE? SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ON THE FINAL FRONTIER
Dr. Michael Byers’s work focuses on Outer Space, Arctic sovereignty, climate change, the law of the sea, the laws of war, and Canadian foreign and defence policy. Dr. Aaron Boley seeks to put the solar system in context with the many other planetary systems we know exist. His research seeks to answer the question of whether there is life elsewhere in the galaxy.
MOVING AND GROOVING: MUSICAL RHYTHM’S EFFECTS ON THE BRAIN
Dr. Jessica Grahn was the first researcher to establish the neural link between hearing musical rhythm and spontaneous activation of the brain’s motor control system by asking the question why do humans move to rhythm? Currently, Dr. Grahn hopes to advance her work in cross-species comparisons to guide training interventions for Parkinson’s patients.
WHAT’S THE HARM? CONSIDERING THE COMMUNITY IMPACTS OF HATE CRIME
Dr. Barbara Perry has written extensively about inequality, justice and the motivations behind hate crimes. Her publications include Silent Victims: Hate Crime Against Native Americans (2008), Policing Race and Place: Under- and Over-policing in Indian Country (2009), Hate Crimes (2009), Diversity, Crime and Justice in Canada (2011) and Right-wing Extremism in Canada (co-authored 2019).
WHY ARE BABY BOOMERS KILLING THEMSELVES? FROM THE SUMMER OF LOVE TO THE WINTER OF OUR DISCONTENT
Mr. Don Gillmor’s prolific production includes the two-volume Canada: A People’s History (2002) that appeared as a companion to the CBC series of that name, and his first novel, the critically acclaimed Kanata (2009). He has won eleven National Magazine awards as well as two Governor General’s awards.
TECHNOLOGY + ART: HOW THE GOLDEN AGE OF TV DRAMA CAME ABOUT
Mr. John Doyle has appeared on numerous TV and radio programs to talk about popular culture, television, soccer, and Ireland. His essays have appeared in the Review section of the G&M since 1997, as well as the journal TV Quarterly. His writing has also appeared in Report on Business magazine, Elle Canada, Flare, En Route, Books in Canada, The Irish Times, and the Toronto Star.