Fresh Air And Fresh Ideas With Sivagowry Lewis
Thursday, January 23rd, 2025
Sivagowry Lewis, NWP's Dean of Applied Research and Innovation.
One of Sivagowry Lewis’s earliest memories of life in the prairies involves an encounter with a bear. Raised in Toronto, Sivagowry and her husband moved to the prairies to pursue opportunities and to start a family. They were hiking in the mountains with their then nine-month-old child when they spotted a large shadow.
“I didn't think of it as anything until suddenly this bear charged towards us,” Sivagowry says. “And obviously I froze, but luckily the person I was with told us to move so we didn’t have this giant beast stepping on us. The bear was just trying to get to the other side.”
While Sivagowry was a bit frightened by the situation, her nine-month-old daughter was excited.
“My little daughter could say a few words, and we had read her books about bears,” Sivagowry explains. “So the whole time she was pointing and saying ‘Bear! Bear!’”
The bear encounter, though a bit shocking, has come to represent some of what Sivagowry has come to love about living so close to nature in Northern Alberta. She appreciates being able to go on nature hikes, and having the prairies, forests, and mountains all within driving distance. But the biggest difference she noticed between living in a big city and in Grande Prairie is the fresh air.
“The first thing I remember after I landed was stepping off the plane and thinking, oh wow what is that? Fresh air!” Sivagowry says with a laugh.
In Toronto Sivagowry received an education in law at Osgoode Hall. She’s since completed a master’s degree in both law and international relations. Today she uses the skills she’s developed in those areas, as well as her substantial research background, to look after NWP’s Office of Applied Research and Innovation, as well as the Learning Commons and the Centre for Teaching and Learning, as the Dean of Applied Research and Innovation. She has great respect for applied research as a form of research that has a direct impact on local people.
“I am super passionate about applied research,” Sivagowry says. “Being able to see fast results that make a positive change in an industry or practice here in Alberta or beyond - with applied research you have real opportunities to make an impact.”
Sivagowry notes that applied research is a relatively young field, only a few decades old in Alberta, which is reflected in the funding it receives. She is optimistic funding will increase as applied research’s reputation and success stories grow and spread.
“We do work that helps every Canadian,” Sivagowry says. “The companies we’re helping are small and medium-sized Canadian companies. Overall that helps the Canadian economy.”
Sivagowry cites honey testing as an example of effective work in applied research. Honey is among the most fraudulent foods in the world. Companies routinely alter ingredients, or water-down their honey with cheaper syrups while still representing the product as premium, authentic honey. NWP’s applied research office is developing testing that will guarantee Alberta honey’s authenticity, giving it a market advantage.
“We’re in the process right now of setting up a test so we can say it’s monolithic honey,” Sivagowry says. “We’ll be able to say the honey is derived from this plant, what the sugar lipid content is. That’s a nice win.”
Sivagowry has found her time at NWP to be rewarding, and she envisions and even more exciting future as applied research continues to establish itself as vital for Alberta and Canada’s economy and communities. In the meantime, however, she enjoys balancing her days between work and family life.
“I have a five-year-old and a three-year-old and a baby that’s due any minute,” Sivagowry says. “We’re a very busy young family.
