Research/Student Spotlights

Ella Bickford

Geological Engineering

Hometown: London, ON
"...being able to work outside with your peers and see/apply everything you learn in the classroom to the field is an extremely exciting and rewarding experience."

Andrés Canales Litvak

Geological Engineering

Hometown: Santiago, Chile
"I wanted a field-based career that also combined the basic sciences that I’ve always liked."

Katherine Harland Geological Engineering

Hometown: North Vancouver, BC

"Geological Engineering is probably the most versatile location-wise out of all the disciplines..."

Eric Wilton Geological Engineering

Hometown: Nanaimo, BC

"I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in Geological Engineering so far. The professors have been fantastic, the class sizes are all small so you really get to know your classmates well, and all of the course content has been really interesting to me."

Liam Price Geological Engineering

Hometown: Whitby, Ontario

"Getting out in the field to uncover the history of the Earth is unlike any lecture, lab, or tutorial in any other department!"

Aidan Paleczny Geological Engineering

Hometown: Newmarket, Ontario

"Three years later and I have found a home within the Department of Geological Sciences and Engineering that is unlike any other faculty on campus."

Kyle Laporte Geological Engineering

Hometown: Manotick, Ontario

"I originally thought I was going to do chemical engineering, but fell in love with the wonderfully vague science of geology by accident in my first year."

Dayna Zunder Geological Engineering

Hometown: Ottawa, ON

"Geology teaches us that the stewardship of our planet rests on our shoulders; so, it is vital to find ways to use its resources judiciously and mindfully."

Ryan Shaw Geological Engineering

Hometown:St. Marys, ON

"Geology impacts everyone in the world in ways that they can’t begin to imagine!"

Tia Shapka-Fels Geological Engineering

Hometown: Black Diamond, Alberta

"Taking geological engineering at Queen’s was one of the best decisions I’ve made, and I’m excited to return this September for one more year!"

Luke McAllister Geological Engineering

Hometown: Steinbach, Manitoba

"Queen’s is an incredible university, and the geology department is the most exceptional!"

Eleanor McAuley Geological Engineering

Hometown: Odessa, Ontario

"From frantic colouring to being lost in the woods, the amount of learning and fun that occurred was incredible."

Serena MacDonald Geological Sciences

Hometown: Newmarket, Ontario

"Turns out, geology is an amazing field of science that incorporates chemistry, physics, environmental science, and even biology- I was hooked!."

Emily Darling Geological Sciences

Hometown: Toronto, Ontario

"I loved the hands-on nature of the field as well as the multidisciplinary approach to studying nature around us."

Matt Williams Geological Sciences

Hometown: Calgary, Alberta

"There is nothing like going into the field and walking on ground where few, or no people, have been before."

Meghan Zulian Geological Sciences

Hometown: Barrie, Ontario

"Honestly all the professors I’ve had in this department have had a profound effect on me, and all for very different reasons."

Hannah Roy Geological Sciences

Hometown: Belleville, Ontario

"The fact that Geology is so hands on and allows us to explore parts of the Earth that have otherwise been untouched by anything but nature is amazing to me."

Shahzal Tariq Geological Sciences

Hometown: Long Island, New York

"I have always wanted to travel the world, while learning as much about the Earth as I possibly can."

Sarah Chapman Geological Sciences

Hometown: Dorset, UK/ Madoc, ON

"Geology is now truly my passion and I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life exploring the world around me."

Gerald Ouellette

Master of Earth and Energy Resources Leadership

"Queen's is highly regarded globally with this program being delivered/designed to meet/exceed that same level of excellence!"

Ruqaiya Yousif

Hometown: Mosul, Iraq

"It amazes me how geology integrates all other sciences, where every core or outcrop is a puzzle and how we use chemistry, mathematics, physics, and biology as pieces of this puzzle to understand its story and how it formed."

Alison Martin

Hometown: Renfrew, Ontario

"Studying geology these past five years at Queen’s has been a life changing experience for me."

Kaj Sullivan

Hometown: Toronto, Ontario

"While the learning never stops, even in a professional setting, there is much more freedom in graduate school to direct it towards your own interests."

Collette Pilsworth

Hometown: Bradford, West Yorkshire, England

"I have always wanted to be a part of something that could be useful to society and I was keen to pursue a research-focused degree on the application of geochemistry to economic geology."

Jonathan Oliver

Hometown: Saint John, New Brunswick

"I decided that I wanted to do something more, I wanted to learn about these environmental issues and work to prevent them from happening."

Greg Burzynski

Hometown: Santa Maria, CA, USA

"When I got to undergrad, I knew paleontology would be the way for me to go, and that to truly be on the forefront, one needs a doctorate."

Marissa Valentino

Hometown: Sudbury, Ontario

"I felt like my undergraduate thesis was a little taste of research for me to further explore by applying to graduate school."

Neil Fernandes

Hometown: Toronto, Ontario

"...I want to see as much of this big, old, wonderful world and the rocks in it as is possible..."

Nicholas Joyce

Hometown: North Vancouver, BC

"Graduate studies gave me the opportunity to take a step back and build a much more robust understanding of economic geology and exploration geochemistry from the ground up..."

Anežka Radková

Hometown: Smolenice, Slovakia

"We live in a spectacular world and I like exploring some of its mysteries"

Fedilberto Gonzalez

Hometown: Valledupar, Colombia

"Now, after three years of studies, I can confidently say that coming to Queen’s University was the best decision of my life."

Caitlin Fischer

Hometown: Ottawa, ON

"I’m particularly inspired to be working towards effectively packaging academic research in a way that can be brought back practically to industry".

Timothy Packulak

Hometown: Fisher Branch, Manitoba

"One of my closest friends and mentors told me I was a rock whisperer so I plan on saving the world one rock at a time with that super power."

Callum Walter

Hometown: Elgin, Ontario

"Queen’s was a great fit for me due to an interesting and motivating research topic, supervisors that supported my goals and a department that felt like a family and promoted collaboration."

Sara Pieczonka

Hometown: Kingston, Ontario

"It’s rare to receive such excellent education and feel like you are in a tight-knit community all at once."

Mariem Tahra Ahmed Labeid

Hometown: Zouerate, Mauritania

"I love this field, and I love doing research and finding answers to unanswered questions."

Rebecca Hudson

Hometown: Kingston, Ontario

"I enjoyed my project so much that I decided to pursue it further which led into a graduate degree. "

Ioannis Vazaios

Hometown: Athens. Greece

"Tunnels are awesome regardless of what some people think."

Melissa Ruel

Hometown: Montreal, Quebec

"Queen’s is also involved in a research program on railway ground hazard so it was obviously the best place for me to do my graduate studies!"

Jeffrey Oke

Hometown: Grand Bend, Ontario

"I wanted a challenge and saw geomechanical engineering as the answer"