Awards and recognition
2024 SFU Newsmaker award winners share drive to inspire dialogue for change
Engagement is at the heart of creating change, educating the public and sparking conversations that influence policy and this year鈥檚 尤物视频 Newsmaker award recipients all share a passion for using their voices as a vehicle for good.
SFU鈥檚 2024 Newsmaker award recipients are chosen for their dedication to informing discourse across media and online communities regarding various topics; from commentary on affordability in Canada, engaging with the public about urban wildlife interactions, to helping people understand more about natural hazards and the impacts of climate change.
Andrey Pavlov
Professor, Finance, Beedie School of Business 鈥� 2024 SFU Media Newsmaker of the Year
Andrey Pavlov, professor of finance, is the 2024 Newsmaker Award recipient. This award is given to a faculty member in recognition of their commitment to knowledge dissemination through the media. A leading B.C. voice on Canada鈥檚 economy, affordability and the housing crisis, Andrey has been featured in numerous articles and interviews across major outlets in Canada and internationally. His timely commentary and expert analysis shape public understanding of housing markets and financial trends.
鈥淩eceiving this award certainly motivates me to do even more to disseminate my research and help people with their financial decisions,鈥� says Andrey. 鈥淚 have been fortunate to meet a few key people in my life who have made my academic career possible. This is my way to pay this forward 鈥� I hope my media engagement helps people understand the financial trade-offs they face.鈥�
Not only has Andrey鈥檚 commentary helped shape public discourse and policy discussions around some of the issues that affect the Canadians most, it has also helped him refine his academic work.
鈥淢y interaction with journalists has forced me to look past the academic jargon and complex mathematical models to focus on the results and implications that really matter to people,鈥� he says. 鈥淎s a result, my academic papers have become simpler and shorter, but laser focused on the practical lessons and implications.鈥�
Kaylee Byers
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences 鈥� 2024 Emerging Thought Leader Newsmaker of the Year
Kaylee Byers, assistant professor of health sciences, is the 2024 尤物视频 Emerging Thought Leader (ETL) Newsmaker Award recipient. As one of SFU鈥檚 most-published and quoted media spokespeople in Canada and abroad, Kaylee has had a meteoric rise as a science communicator. Her numerous insightful articles for The Conversation and her work as the host of Nice Genes! podcast exemplify the impact that thoughtful and engaging science communication can have on public understanding.
鈥淚鈥檝e been really dedicated to science communication for many years. It鈥檚 something that is really important to me so this award is very meaningful,鈥� says Kaylee. 鈥淚 love science, I love talking about it and sharing it with people. But beyond the fact that I鈥檓 just a giant science nerd, I do think science communication is important for a number of reasons.
鈥淭he public deserves to know what we鈥檙e doing in the research space and I think public engagement overall increases science literacy, which builds trust and supports people in making evidence-informed decisions.鈥�
An expert on environmental health, Kaylee鈥檚 public engagement around human and animal interaction in urban settings, and her work with the Vancouver Rat Project, led her to participating in the inaugural National Urban Rat Summit in New York City in 2024, which made international headlines.
鈥淚 think there鈥檚 an innate interest in the wildlife that we share our cities with and that awareness is shaping how cities approach wildlife and our relationship to them. How do we solve this problem?鈥� she says. 鈥淭he summit is a tangible example of how this conversation in the public and the news culminated in change across multiple cities.鈥�
Already a strong proponent in science communication, Kaylee says the ETL Newsmaker of the Year award serves as motivation but won鈥檛 change her approach.
鈥淚 am grateful to be recognized in this way, but I don鈥檛 think my commitment to science communication could be any higher,鈥� she laughs.
Brent Ward
Professor, Earth Sciences, Co-director, Centre for Natural Hazards Research 鈥� 2024 SFU Newsmaker Lifetime Achievement
Brent Ward, professor of Earth Sciences and co-director of SFU鈥檚 Centre for Natural Hazards Research, has been awarded the 2024 Newsmaker Award for Lifetime Achievement. This well-deserved recognition is a testament to his unwavering public engagement and his invaluable contributions to raising awareness about natural hazards. Brent鈥檚 dedication to sharing knowledge鈥攚hether with journalists, students, or the broader public鈥攅xemplifies SFU鈥檚 commitment to our communities.
鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to be recognized for something that I鈥檝e done since I got here 鈥� in terms of reaching out to the public and explaining events in a way that people can understand,鈥� says Brent. 鈥淪ociety is faced with a lot of major issues and the sciences, specifically geoscience, are an important part of us overcoming a lot of those issues.鈥�
Brent has been a go-to expert for media across Canada whenever there鈥檚 a natural disaster like an earthquake or landslide and he鈥檚 commented on events that have shaped public policy.
After a fatal landslide in North Vancouver devastated the community in 2005, he was quoted extensively.
鈥淚t had a big effect on the media and policy because a lot of municipalities started to take natural hazards much more seriously,鈥� he says, 鈥渆specially the District of North Vancouver, which has become a world leader.鈥�
That landslide was caused by an atmospheric river, something Brent says we鈥檙e seeing more and more of with climate change.
He鈥檚 determined to keep sharing his expertise with the public to help stem the political tide shifting away from climate policy.
鈥淚f we don鈥檛 do something significant, we鈥檙e going to see more atmospheric rivers, more landslides, more floods. So making the public understand that makes them more amenable to make the changes we have to make in order to combat climate change,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important and we need to try to get the word out even more.鈥�