Inaugural Research Excellence Awards celebrate outstanding SFU scholars

Chelsey Geralda Armstrong, Indigenous Studies, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Armstrong is a leader in the field of historical ecology and environmental archaeology, specifically at the intersection of land use and colonialism in the Pacific Northwest. She is an influential scholar whose career trajectory in both western academia and Indigenous sovereignty is innovative and unique, leading to extensive media coverage and research funding. Though still a junior scholar, her ability to bridge the often-fraught divide between western academia and Indigenous science and epistemology is impressive, cementing her as a leader and expert in her field and earning her the respect of colleagues and communities both domestically and internationally. Learn more.

Andrés Cisneros-Montemayor, Resource and Environmental Management, Faculty of Environment
Cisneros-Montemayor is a global expert in the fields of ocean and fisheries economics and the Blue Economy, whose innovative, multi-disciplinary work directly impacts communities and economies that rely on ocean resources. He serves on scientific advisory boards and intergovernmental panels, and has been involved in numerous international initiatives, impacting policy and providing guidance to governments and industry partners. His leadership is evident not only through his supervision of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, but also through his mentorship of team members through grant-funded research projects and initiatives that ultimately aim to help communities on the ground and water.

Zhenman Fang, Engineering Science, Faculty of Applied Sciences
Fang’s research focuses on customizable computing with software-defined hardware acceleration, aiming to sustain ever-increasing performance and energy efficiency demands for important applications such as AI and big data, which crosses disciplinary boundaries and extends the impact beyond academia. As the founder and director of the HiAccel lab, he demonstrates excellent leadership, mentoring and training graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Fang is an internationally recognized scholar who will continue to have a demonstrable impact within his discipline and beyond. Learn more.

Ivan Bajić, Engineering Science, Faculty of Applied Sciences
Bajić has made significant contributions to visual compression by leveraging advances in artificial intelligence for industrial and academic applications. In addition to introducing concepts to advance the discipline, his research facilitates innovation in AI-driven analytics, multimedia, and telecommunications— technologies that enable common daily activities like streaming video, remote work, media sharing and gaming. Under his mentorship, his group is developing smart infrastructure and tools, strategies and standards for coding, communications and collaborative intelligence, directly influencing the integration of machine-learning-driven compression technologies worldwide. Learn more.

Habib Chaudhury, Gerontology, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Chaudhury led the path-breaking Dementia Inclusive Streets and Community Access, Participation, and Engagement (DemSCAPE) project. The project generated an evidence base for planning and design strategies to support mobility and engagement for people living with dementia. Resources include an education/advocacy video and discussion guide for community groups, planning and design guidelines for the development of dementia-inclusive neighbourhoods, and an e-learning course for planners, developers and urban designers. His team is working with municipalities to integrate these resources into their Dementia Friendly Action Plans. Chaudhury has also lent his expertise to improve infrastructure and care practices in long-term care facilities in Canada and abroad. Learn more. 

Dal Yong Jin, Communication, Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology
Jin is an expert in critical media studies and Asian studies and is internationally recognized for his Korean Wave scholarship. His recent work has focused on digital platforms and transnational cultural flows, leading to a significant case study on Korea’s Digital Platform Empire (2024) and new translations of his books, including Artificial Intelligence in Cultural Production (2022), into Chinese and Korean. He serves on the editorial boards of flagship journals and has delivered keynote addresses at many international conferences and public events, including a 2025 Vancouver film festival about Bong Joon Ho, director of the movie Parasite. Following a two-year Global Professorship at Korea University, Jin is now a co-researcher on a project to develop a global hub for contemporary Korean studies at Seoul National University, furthering his goal of fostering collaboration between Canadian and international scholars.