Lab Director

Dr. Eric Kennedy (he/him) is the founder and director of the CEMPPR Lab. Kennedy (PhD/MSc Arizona State University, BKI University of Waterloo) is an Assistant Professor at York University in the Disaster and Emergency Management program. His research focuses on the intersection of decision-making, expertise, and emergency management. He works primarily on topics related to wildfire management, incident management, and research/evaluation, although teaches in an all-hazards program and is happy to support students working on a variety of topics.

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Lab Manager 

Sarah Cowan (she/her)  (MDEM York University,  BA University of Waterloo) is the Lab Manager and a researcher at the CEMPPR Lab. Her research interests include decision-making, risk perception, and public policy. Her Major Research Paper (MRP), explored the public perceptions of government decisions  during the COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta. Sarah works as an Emergency Preparedness Specialist for Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare (MAHC), and sits on the Board of Directors for CRHNet.

Tricia is enrolled as a part-time student in the Master of Disaster and Emergency Management (MDEM) at York University. She works as an Epidemiologist with the Public Health Agency of Canada where she specialises in knowledge synthesis on zoonotic public health issues. In her thesis she is exploring the evolution and adaptation of knowledge synthesis during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada through qualitative interviews. 

Faridah Mazhar is an undergraduate research assistant in her second year at York University studying English and Professional Writing with a passion for climate change advocacy. She is working with Dr. Eric Kennedy under the university's Dean's Award for Research Excellence, analysing media representations of the Fort McMurray Wildfire in 2016.

Devon Hardy (she/her) is an environment, water and climate change professional with over a decade of experience in her field. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Sciences from the University of Guelph and a Master of Science in Integrated Water Resources Management from McGill University. She spent more than five years leading environmental programs in the arts and culture sector, and is now focused on climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction.

Su Huai (She/Her) is a Ph.D. candidate in Science and Technology Studies at York University. Her research focuses on scientific translations and publications in late Imperial China, examining how these exchanges shaped cultural authority and identity. She is particularly interested in the evolution of science and technology, popular culture, scientific periodicals, and intellectual history from a transnational perspective. 

Molly Urquhart (she/her/hers) is a doctoral researcher at University College London’s Department of Science and Technology Studies. She is an interdisciplinary scholar with expertise in environmental science, volcanology, and Science and Technology Studies. Molly holds Bachelor of Science Honours degree from Queen’s University and a Master’s degree from the Earth and Planetary Sciences Department at McGill University. Her research focuses on enhancing global preparedness for natural multi-hazard events by leveraging the volcanological community's experience with Volcanic Alert Level Systems (VALSs). Key objectives of her research include improving existing VALS systems globally, developing best practices for effective hazard communication, and contributing to the design and implementation of more resilient early warning systems and alert level systems for diverse natural multi-hazards occurring over different geographical and temporal scales.