The University of British Columbia’s Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute (UBC Blusson QMI) announced today the appointment of Professor Marcel Franz as its incoming Scientific Director. He will begin a five-year term on January 1, 2026.
A professor in UBC’s Department of Physics & Astronomy, Franz is an internationally recognized theoretical physicist specializing in topological quantum matter, unconventional superconductivity, and strongly correlated electron systems. He has served as UBC Blusson QMI’s Deputy Scientific Director since 2015 and is a member of the steering committee of the Max Planck–UBC–UTokyo Centre for Quantum Materials.
Franz has been honoured with multiple academic accolades, including the A.P. Sloan Fellowship, the Killam Research Fellowship, and most recently the 2024 CAP Brockhouse Medal. He is a Fellow of both the American Physical Society and the Royal Society of Canada, and is a long-standing CIFAR Quantum Materials Fellow.
He earned his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Rochester in 1994, completed postdoctoral work at McMaster University and Johns Hopkins University, and joined the UBC faculty in 2000. He was promoted to Professor in 2010.
Franz’s term follows the completion of Professor Andrea Damascelli’s 11 years of service as Scientific Director. During his tenure, Damascelli together with the institute’s Executive Committee, led UBC Blusson QMI through a period of exceptional growth and success.
Under Damascelli’s leadership, UBC Blusson QMI secured a landmark $66.5 million award from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF) for the Quantum Materials and Future Technologies Program, establishing the institute as UBC’s first Global Research Excellence Institute.
He oversaw the development and completion of UBC Blusson QMI’s dedicated building in 2017, constructed as an additional wing to the Brimacombe structure. Since then, the institute has more than doubled its faculty complement, expanded its staff and trainee community, and launched twelve state-of-the-art research facilities. Damascelli also served as Co-Director of the Max Planck–UBC–UTokyo Centre for Quantum Materials, the only International Max Planck Centre to be extended beyond its original 10-year mandate. He will remain active as a UBC Blusson QMI Investigator and member of the Executive Committee.
Today, UBC Blusson QMI is recognized as one of the world’s top quantum institutes, contributing to the emergence of British Columbia as “Canada’s Quantum Coast.” Franz begins his tenure at a time that the institute is well-positioned to expand partnerships with academia, industry, and government, advance national priorities and enhance Canada’s position at the forefront of quantum science and technology globally.
Please join us in welcoming Professor Marcel Franz to his new role and in thanking Professor Andrea Damascelli for his leadership and vision.
Image: Andrea Damascelli (left) and Marcel Franz (right) at UBC Blusson QMI. Credit: Paul Joseph.
