Alumnus Evan Hazell, Sc'81, with Chemical Engineering professor Scott Parent, the first Hazell Research Professor in Chemical Design and Innovation

 A generous donation by alumnus Evan Hazell, Sc’81 – one of the largest to the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science over the past decade – has created an endowment in Chemical Design and Innovation that will strengthen faculty ranks and develop new innovative curriculum.

The Hazell Endowment in Chemical Design and Innovation funds a research professorship and support for innovation programming in the key area of chemical design.

Mr. Hazell, a retired investment banker and petroleum engineer, made the gift to honour his parents, John Hazell, Arts’55, MA’56, and Mary Hazell (nee Gibbs), NSc’56. “Queen’s provided for our transition into adulthood, and in the years since has opened up so many wonderful opportunities,” he says. “I believe this gift will be helpful in melding together the worlds of science and business, and hopefully will help the next generation of Queen’s students have the same great experience that I did, with the same benefits in moving their careers forward.”

“Evan’s exceptional gift to Queens’s will have an enormous impact on our students, present and future,” says Principal Daniel Woolf. “It supports hands-on learning, which is an important component of a Queen’s education, and it will give an outstanding faculty member the opportunity to innovate in both teaching and research.”

Prof. Scott Parent (Chemical Engineering) has been appointed the first Hazell Research Professor in Chemical Design and Innovation. An expert in transforming materials, Parent’s vision for the professorship is to take principles of design and innovation out of the classroom and into the laboratory. “We do a great deal of work designing things in simulation, using the latest computer software and calculations on paper,” he says. “What I’d like our students to experience more is designing with their own hands and seeing the products of their ideas.”

Both components of the endowment will enable the Faculty to move forward on its priorities, says Dean of Engineering and Applied Science Kimberly Woodhouse. “With his gift, Evan has chosen to lead by example, by making a significant investment in innovative learning and research that will position the Faculty and its graduates ahead of the curve.”