We are celebrating and raising the profile of scholarly milestones and research impacts from across the SFU research community.
Examples of Scholarly Impacts can include:
- Publishing a paper in a high-impact journal;
- Patenting an invention;
- Debuting a new performance piece;
- Publishing a monograph or book and/or;
- Changing a government policy
We expect most of the publications that are featured to be recent impacts—however, we will also publish a transformative impact from the past, from time-to-time.
As part of SFU's Scholarly Impact of the Week, selected researchers will work with a member of the VP Research and Innovation Office's communications and marketing team for support. We will also work with researchers to discuss how we can mobilize knowledge on their work by submitting to The Conversation Canada—one of the world's most trusted independent sources of news and views from the academic and research community, delivered directly to the public.
Be sure to keep up-to-date on the latest published Scholarly Impact and other research news by following SFU Research on Twitter (X).
If you have any questions, please reach out directly by emailing vpri-communications@sfu.ca.
SFU's Scholarly Impact of the Week series does not reflect the opinions or viewpoints of the university, but those of the scholars. The timing of articles in the series is chosen weeks or months in advance, based on a published set of criteria. Any correspondence with university or world events at the time of publication is purely coincidental.
For more information, please see SFU's Code of Faculty Ethics and Responsibilities and the statement on academic freedom.
Maintaining health and well-being as we age
![theodore d cosco](/research/sites/default/files/styles/w/public/2024-05/theodore-cosco.img_.517170346.png?itok=nr1In-22)
Theodore D. Cosco
Faculty of Arts and Social SciencesSFU professor of mental health and aging Theodore D. Cosco uses data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging to understand what helps people age well. His advice is to stay active, stay social—and embrace technology to stay connected.
Understanding climate change in the Arctic
![Shawn Chartrand](/research/sites/default/files/styles/w/public/2024-04/shawn-chartrand.img_.-2053173408_0.png?h=d821a7f9&itok=8M0fw18a)
Shawn Chartrand
Faculty of EnvironmentWhat does a warming planet mean for the far north? SFU environmental science professor Shawn Chartrand and an international team of researchers observed rapidly forming river systems in the High Arctic, an unprecedented event caused by climate change.
The “great reset” of global work
![mila lazarova sfu](/research/sites/default/files/styles/w/public/2024-04/Faculty-LazarovaMila_0.jpg?h=6ab90316&itok=t4ZmBKKC)
Mila Lazarova
Beedie School of BusinessThe COVID-19 pandemic ushered in a rapid shift to virtual work and digitization amid sweeping social changes. SFU Beedie School of Business professor Mila Lazarova discusses how this has changed the world of work, and the broad implications of these changes for organizations and individuals.
Understanding authenticity in the age of information disorder
![Wendy Hui Kyong Chun](/research/sites/default/files/styles/w/public/2024-03/Chun_headshot_1to1.jpg?itok=gZ6CLMuD)
Wendy Hui Kyong Chun
Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology![Anthony Glyn Burton](/research/sites/default/files/styles/w/public/2024-03/Anthony%20Burton%20SFU1to1.png?itok=iKLSiO5W)
Anthony Glyn Burton
Faculty of Communication, Art and TechnologyWhat makes information feel true or compelling? In today’s digital society, what seems “true” can be performed, produced, scripted and dramatized. Authenticity itself is patterned on the algorithmic flows of capitalism and subject to variation, iteration and outside influence. Is it even possible to sift through the mis- and disinformation to find the authentic?
Canada 150 Research Chair in New Media Wendy Hui Kyong Chun and communications PhD student Anthony Glyn Burton's new book, Algorithmic Authenticity, brings different disciplinary approaches to understanding what is “authentic” in the age of information disorder.
Pension power: how average citizens can affect climate change
Andy Hira
Faculty of Arts and Social SciencesIn his recent book, political science professor and Clean Energy Research Group director Andy Hira observed the complete lack of formal regulation in the way companies report corporate social responsibility and socially responsible investment. Average citizens have the power to change this he says—starting with their pension funds.
Answering a decades-long antimatter question
![mike hayden sfu](/research/sites/default/files/styles/w/public/2024-02/Hayden_1200x630_FB.jpg?h=6eaba18f&itok=BAWiqubE)
Mike Hayden
Faculty of ScienceScientists have known about antimatter for more than 90 years, and they have learned a vast amount about the way it behaves. However, the question of how gravity influences antimatter had never been answered—until now.
Falling in love with singlehood: Why single status is on the rise
![Yuthika Girme](/research/sites/default/files/styles/w/public/2024-02/YuthikaGirme-DSC04524-Edit-1_0.jpg?itok=1gevjanh)
Yuthika Girme
Faculty of Arts and Social SciencesSFU psychology professor Yuthika Girme is a relationship and singlehood scientist and director of the Secure Research Lab. She and her team study the factors in romantic relationships and singlehood that contribute to wellbeing.
"Salmonvision” AI helps ensure health of wild salmon
![jiangchuan liu](/research/sites/default/files/styles/w/public/2024-01/Jiangchuan%20Liu%20headshot2.jpg?h=bd907a81&itok=b7saPAjY)
Jiangchuan Liu
Faculty of Science![Jonathan Moore](/research/sites/default/files/styles/w/public/2024-01/jmoore2%20crop.jpg?itok=qOAi9l8S)
Jonathan Moore
Faculty of ScienceRight now, fisheries managers in British Columbia and beyond can’t track salmon returns in real-time.
Computing science professor Jiangchuan Liu and biological sciences/resource & environmental management professor Jonathan Moore are hoping to change that. They are working with the Pacific Salmon Foundation, Wild Salmon Centre and First Nations fisheries to explore the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to detect and count wild salmon.
Hopeful Monster an imaginative innovative soundscape
![Mauricio Pauly photo by Green Yang](/research/sites/default/files/styles/w/public/2024-01/pauly%20thumbnail_0.jpg?itok=PbRRGiO7)
Mauricio Pauly
Faculty of Communication, Art and TechnologySchool for the Contemporary Arts professor Mauricio Pauly and pianist Eve Egoyan released their album Hopeful Monster this past October to wide acclaim. We spoke with Pauly about music-making, inspiration, teaching, collaboration and his enjoyment of being “lost.”
Scholarly Impact year in review: research excellence for the greater good
The impacts of research at Simon Fraser University (SFU) continued to impress and inspire throughout 2023. We launched a new five-year strategic research plan aligned with the priorities of What’s Next: The SFU Strategy, celebrated three new Royal Society of Canada inductees, SFU’s first three Canada Excellence Research Chairs—and much more.