More than 175 years of Research at Queen's
In 2016, Queen's celebrated 175 years since its founding by a Royal Charter issued by Queen Victoria. The many generations of researchers at Queen's since then have changed the way we think about the world.
Through these stories of our past, we guide you through the 175-year history of research at Queen鈥檚 and how we have come to be amongst the leading research-intensive institutions in Canada.
No university, and no department of a university, is alive unless it is infused with the spirit of research."
Principal Robert Wallace, 1945
Did you know?
Elizabeth Eisenhauer (Oncology) discovered a method for administering a commonly used cancer drug that reduces toxic side effects in patients?
While leading a clinical trial in Canada and Europe, Queen鈥檚 oncology researcher Elizabeth Eisenhauer discovered how to administer a commonly used chemotherapy drug in a way that reduces its toxicity. Her 1990 discovery also shortened the delivery time of the drug, Taxol庐, from 24 to 3 hours. Today, her method is the global standard for administering Taxol庐 to patients with breast, ovarian, and non-small cell lung cancer, and AIDS-related Kaposi鈥檚 Sarcoma.
Did you know?
Queen鈥檚 professor Herbert Kalmus (Physics) developed the Technicolor鈩 colour motion picture process that became the most widely-used colour process in Hollywood for nearly 50 years?
Technicolor鈩 was discovered in 1917 by Herbert Kalmus, an MIT graduate who came to Queen鈥檚 University in 1910 as a physics professor in the then-School of Mining. The discovery鈥檚 success was assured in 1938-39 when it was adopted by Walt Disney and MGM studios. Technicolor鈩 was the mainstay of the global film industry and most widely-used colour process in Hollywood for nearly 50 years.
Did you know?
In 1975, Queen鈥檚 researchers invented 蚕鈥橳别虫迟TM, the world鈥檚 first electronic word processing program?
蚕鈥橳别虫迟TM was developed at Queen鈥檚 by computer science graduate student Bob Stevens and geographers Eric Moore and Rowland Tinline. With combined expertise in editing software with search and mapping functions, they created a word-processor and pseudo-operating system that allowed users to move between all the functions instantaneously 鈥 an integrated approach nearly two decades ahead of its time that was then widely-used by universities and governments across Canada.