In this episode, we interview Dr. Tess Cyrus. She’s an economist and associate professor with
Dalhousie’s Department of Economics.

Dr. Cyrus grew up in sunny California, just a stone’s throw away from Disneyland. As a self-
proclaimed bookworm, she spent hours on end reading anything she could get her hands on.
That natural curiosity sparked her desire to escape the American dream and experience life
outside of the United States. She got her chance in university, when she studied abroad for a
year in Scotland. While there, she had the opportunity to travel throughout Europe to witness
other cultures and ways of life — and that’s when she discovered a passion for international
economics.

Today, Dr. Cyrus is an associate professor in the Department of Economics and her research
focuses on understanding the forces that bring people together. She studies international trade
and bilateral trade flows with an emphasis on how culture plays a role in these processes.
As an educator, she’s also interested in designing and improving the economics curriculum. Her
commitment to putting her best foot forward for students has been recognized with
Dalhousie’s Faculty of Science Award for Excellence in Teaching.

In this episode of Sciographies, Dr. Cyrus talks to host David Barclay about what it was like to
grow up in a storied place like Southern California, why economics was the subject that
captured her interest (after a short stint in chemistry), and some of her most recent studies on
international trade and economics education.

Sciographies is brought to you by Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Science and campus-
community radio station CKDU 88.1 FM in Halifax, Nova Scotia.