Giving to Queen's

Ways of Giving

Dear Queen's Supporter,

When I came to Queen's I never expected that my engineering education would be directed towards humanitarian engineering projects.

In first year, I took a course introducing issues in professional engineering practice and examined the impact engineering can have on society.

Through this course, I realized I can improve lives through humanitarian engineering projects.

The summer after second year, I started working with Professor Tim Bryant to improve land mine victims' quality of life. And I began making my own impact on humanitarianism.

Building an affordable prosthetic for land mine victims

Nations at war tend to struggle economically. The victims of war are generally poor and are often left with disabilities that create additional financial burden.

Many comfortable high performance prosthetic feet have been developed, however most are expensive and not affordable for amputees in developing countries.

That is why I am dedicating my fourth and final year of Chemical Engineering at Queen's to help improve the quality and availability of prosthetic feet for amputees.

Ensuring high quality is combined with affordability

The Niagara Foot is an innovative low cost prosthetic foot being developed at Queen's. It is very durable and many amputees find it comfortable.

I have been working with the Niagara Foot for almost two years, and have seen the team resolve many engineering challenges.

I am currently working on my fourth year thesis with Dr. Bryant. My goal is to eliminate a loud squeaking created by the friction in the moving joints.

While affordability is important, it cannot come at the cost of quality. Ensuring every detail meets the highest standard is vital to improving landmine victims' quality of life.

Made possible through your gifts

Building awareness about humanitarian engineering projects is very important for engineering students. A single course opened my eyes to the impact one project can have on a global scale.

Thanks to the support of generous donors, I developed engineering skills and learned about the impact of engineering on society, while applying my skills to make a difference now – while I'm still a student!

As alumni, your gifts are critical to ensuring Queen's students like me continue to enjoy top quality learning both in and beyond the classroom.

Just as student projects beyond the classroom are vital to bettering the world, your gifts are vital to ensuring we acquire the skills and have the opportunity to undertake these projects.

We can't do it without you. Please, show your support with a gift to the Engineering and Applied Science Dean's Excellence Fund today.

Sincerely,
Laura Towsley, Sc'11