RESEARCH CENTRES & INSTITUTES

Centres

Research Centres are formally designated, non-departmental units facilitating collaborative research mainly within a single faculty. They may include in their membership SFU researchers from outside of the home faculty. The activities of a Research Centre support the research mission of its home faculty and require the support of its home faculty dean.

Pacific Water Research Centre

The vision of the Faculty of Applied Sciences' Pacific Water Research Centre (PWRC) is to promote and mobilize research that addresses water issues on multiple scales ranging from local communities to national to global. In pursuit of this vision, PWRC connects critical findings from science and social science research with local knowledge. By supporting cross-disciplinary exploration at the interface of water science, social values, and public policy, the Centre provides a forum for advancing evidence-based research and concrete societal change. This research approach creates space to test policy and technological innovation.

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Institutes

SFU is home to many world-class research institutes, which are formally designated non-departmental units that facilitate extensive multi-faculty collaborative research. Within Applied Sciences, research within these collectives is often enhanced by research relationships with other universities, stakeholders, or shared resources and infrastructure.

Visual & Interactive Computing Institute (VINCI)

Established at SFU in 2023,VINCI combines the expertise of various SFU departments, including Computing Science and the School of Interactive Arts & Technology (SIAT), to spearhead innovations in visual computing (VC), artificial intelligence (AI), and human-computer interaction (HCI). The institute’s primary focus is on leveraging computing technologies to enhance how humans interact with and perceive visual information—one of the most integral aspects of human experience.