Inspiring spaces

INSPIRING SPACES: Innovation and Wellness Centre

Situated in the new Innovation and Wellness Centre, the Innovation Commons will be a dedicated space for bringing our engineering community together. Part of the revitalization of the previous Physical Education Centre at 67 Union Street, this leading-edge facility will be the heart of engineering teaching, research, and collaboration. The generous donors who contributed to the “Inspiring Spaces” building fund understand the value of an inclusive, interdisciplinary environment—and their generosity is providing the necessary physical space to build community and stimulate new ideas. New undergraduate teaching and design studios, interdisciplinary research clusters, and flexible innovation space will bring together professors, undergraduate, and graduate students from a range of disciplines to collaborate in a dynamic and academic social environment.

Building update: October 11, 2016

The university announced a $30 million investment from the Government of Canada, $20 million of which is to revitalize 67 Union Street. The building will be dramatically transformed to accommodate three of the Principal’s top priorities, including establishing a new space for the Faculty of Engineering, a home for our campus-wide innovation initiative, and a contemporary and integrated space for our Innovation and Wellness Centre.

A tribute to a professor

Brian Livingston still remembers the “quiet and kind “professor who used what was then a unique education method: having his students learn by teaching others. It was an approach that resonated with Livingston, who has decided to honour his former professor, the late Dr. Hugh G. Conn, BSc’31, LLD’81, through the Inspiring Greatness Campaign by funding a classroom on his behalf.

Livingston, who is also a member of the Campaign Cabinet, says that excellent teachers and the camaraderie on campus were significant factors in his education and subsequent career. “Professor Conn, my thermal dynamics teacher, used a self-paced method, and he also had upper-year students teach first-year students,” he says. “It was a novel approach, and it was a great way to reinforce our learning.” Livingston went on to law school after a short stint as an engineer, and enjoyed a 30-year career at Imperial Oil.

Livingston is paying tribute to his professor by contributing to the Engineering Campaign’s building fund on his behalf. The new Innovation Commons, a dedicated space for engineering teaching and research, is part of the revitalization of the previous Physical Education Centre, a plan that Livingston says appeals to him and many who contributed to the fund. “It’s wonderful to see that we are restoring these historic buildings while adding spaces that embrace new ways of learning,” he says. “It’s a great way to combine tradition and the Queen’s spirit with a leading-edge facility for discovery.”

Brian Livingston, Sc’76

A passion for interdisciplinary discovery

Canada has the largest freshwater resources on the planet— and Ross Beaty, a former Queen’s parent, wants our future generations to continue to enjoy and protect them. As a major contributor to the Engineering campaign’s building fund, Beaty is helping to ensure that our students will have the education and interdisciplinary experiences to lead the way in water conservation and other sustainable practices for Canada—and for our world.

A geologist and the founder of Pan American Silver Corp. and Alterra Power Corp., a renewable energy company, Beaty is passionate about new forms of energy and supporting the educational institutions that will lead to their discovery. He’s a strong proponent of Canada’s education system, but he believes that citizens and corporations need to step up to help our institutions remain relevant and competitive in a global economy.

“Canada’s governments have created a strong foundational framework for our education system,” he says. “We’re a rich country and have exceptional opportunities, but we need to think about our future. We need to invest in our next generation.”

Two of Beaty’s children are Queen’s graduates, and he believes that the school is an outstanding institution with great potential. He contributed to the campaign’s building fund to advance that potential and support interdisciplinary research, which he believes is key to discovery. This is particularly true in one specific area of interest: water conservation. He notes that Canada could be a leader in global solutions for water conservation. “We need experts in

geology, biology, fluid flow, and other areas of study to work together on this problem,” he says. “With the right support and resources, Canadian engineers can lead innovation, globally and within our country.”

Queen’s recently joined the Southern Ontario Water Consortium, a partnership of 10 universities and private sector organizations that seeks to advance innovative water technologies to commercialization. There are currently more than 50 Ross Beaty faculty members working in water technology research within the university’s Water Research Centre, including researchers from many disciplines across campus.

Beaty says that his contributions to Queen’s are meant to help ensure that collaborative activities such as those in the Water Research Centre can continue to grow and thrive. “Interdisciplinary teams are the way of our future, and most of them are formed within our educational institutions,” he says. “Let’s make sure that they have the support they need to give our future generations a world they deserve.”

Interior of Innovation and Wellness Centre, north view