SFU Faculty of Environment

Hard work is paying off 🎖️

Sustainable business student, Riley Williams, is the recent recipient of two environmental leadership awards!

His multidisciplinary efforts to understand and address the environmental crisis has earned Riley both a Surrey and White Rock Top 25 under 25 Award and a City of Burnaby - Local Government 2026 Environmental Star Award.

Read more about Riley's work at SFU and beyond: https://ow.ly/cKOF50Zzt7J

Beedie School of Business Simon Fraser University

Ancient turtle hunting could inform modern conservation throughout the Southern Caribbean according to a new study led by Simon Fraser University researchers in collaboration with NAAM - National Archaeological Anthropological Memory Management.

The study is the first to complete a species-specific identification analysis of sea turtle bones found at centuries-old archaeological sites across Curaçao and Bonaire, shedding light on interactions between the species dating back 1,000-years and giving researchers information they may need to protect populations going forward.

For animals with extraordinarily long lifespans, Christine Conlan, a PhD candidate in SFU’s Department of Archaeology and study lead, explains that this understanding of their history and responses to pressures through deep time is incredibly important when making conservation decisions today.

Read more: https://ow.ly/el1i50ZulU8

Meet Thomas Bytnerowicz, a terrestrial ecosystem researcher joining Simon Fraser University this month as an assistant professor in SFU Geography.

Bytnerowicz studies how forest ecosystems respond to global change, and the factors influencing these responses. Specifically, he's looking into how land carbon sinks, which currently absorb 30% of CO2 emissions, will react to changing climates, and why.

Looking at how plants respond to environmental conditions, from individual trees to whole ecosystems, Bytnerowicz studies the mechanisms that sustain the global carbon sink and those that could result in it storing less carbon over time. His research scales from the physiology of individual trees to the dynamics of whole forests to global carbon and nitrogen cycling.

“One of the things that is exciting about joining SFU, and the Faculty of Environment in particular, is there's a lot of groups working on related topics using a diverse range of approaches,” he says. “Connecting with all of them and developing new projects is something that I very much look forward to doing at SFU.”

Learn more about Bytnerowicz and his research through the link in our bio!
https://ow.ly/yCvv50ZoWEx

Meet Andrew Sudmant, a climate policy researcher working to close the gap between climate ambition and implementation. 📊🏙️

Sudmant joins Simon Fraser University as an assistant professor in the School of Resource and Environmental Management this July, where he'll lead research on how action on transport, housing, energy and urban infrastructure can reduce emissions, while improving costs, mobility and more.

“I am thrilled to be joining SFU and REM at a moment when climate policy needs both technical competence and imagination,” says Sudmant. “We need to ask not only what reduces emissions, but what kinds of policies people can trust, what kinds of benefits communities can feel, and what kinds of institutions can deliver change at the pace the climate crisis now demands.”

With experience in both academia and the private sector, his work has informed local and national climate policy, from helping cities map their path to net-zero emissions to co-authoring a Special Report on Climate Change and Cities for the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

“Working across local and national scales has taught me that the best climate policy is rarely designed from one vantage point. It has to connect national targets, local capacities, household realities, business decisions and the political institutions that hold all of those together,” he says. “I want to bring that sensibility into my research group and classroom.”

Read more about Sudmant and his research: https://ow.ly/n3rA50Zmvxt

Think archaeology is all shovels and trowels? Think again!

This spring, students brought centuries old belongings to life using modern-day technology in a new course in digital archaeology.

In ARCH 200, a special topics course, students got hands-on training in tools ranging from 3D printing to computer game design and AI to become familiar with the modern archaeologist’s toolkit.

They then teamed up and used different digital techniques and methods to create interactive educational exhibits for belongings and artifacts.

"Prior to taking the course, I never considered the way that digital technologies could be used in archaeology. This course allowed me to see archaeology in a new way, as I learned how the field is constantly adapting and expanding," says Kyara Fagyas, an archaeology major who enrolled in ARCH 200 last term.

The course was designed to show students that while archaeology may be the study of the human past, the methods and technologies used to decipher our histories are anything but ancient.

Read more: https://ow.ly/GVEv50ZmXIL

SFU Archaeology
Simon Fraser University

On Monday we celebrated with our new alumni at FENV's June 2026 convocation ceremony and faculty reception. Congratulations to all of our grads! 🎓🫶



SFU Alumni
SFU Archaeology
SFU Geography

Meet Dr. hwsyun’yun Skye Augustine, Faculty of Environment, Governor General's Gold Medal: https://www.sfu.ca/gradstudies/life-community/news-events/news/2025/graduate-convocation-medalists.html

Meet Dr. Baharak Yousefi, Faculty of Environment, Dean’s Convocation Medal: https://www.sfu.ca/gradstudies/life-community/news-events/news/2026/graduate-convocation-medalists/baharak-yousefi.html

From summer jobs to field schools to volunteering, new alumnus Saskia Shen Thivener made the most of every opportunity available to gain the experience she needed to prepare for her future career as an archaeologist—and it paid off.

She starts a new job in cultural resource management this June after she crosses the stage.

Congratulations, Saskia!

Read her story here: https://ow.ly/3y6y50Zaac7



Simon Fraser University
SFU Alumni