Art of Research winners<\/p>\n
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![\"Antelope](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Zhao_1800x1200.jpeg\")
Category: Understanding the Earth and Universe<\/p>\n
Earth\u2019s Layered Legacy: From Rock to Resource<\/p>\n
Researcher: Tianyu Zhao \u2013 Postdoctoral Fellow, Robert M. Buchan Department of Mining<\/p>\n
Queen\u2019s Lab: Hydrometallurgy and Environmental Group<\/p>\n
Location: Antelope Canyon, Arizona, United States<\/p>\n
These layered sandstone waves of Antelope Canyon are shaped by millennia of water and wind. They mirror the geological strata we study to locate and extract mineral resources. As a mineral scientist, my work builds on these natural processes to responsibly explore and utilize Earth\u2019s mineral wealth. This image is a reminder that our most valuable resources are written in the rocks around us, a timeless testament to the planet\u2019s quiet generosity and our shared duty to steward it wisely.<\/p>\n
Category: Advancing Next-Generation Computing<\/p>\n
Real-time North Cascadia Tsunami Simulation<\/p>\n
Researcher: Ian Karlin \u2013 Faculty, Electrical and Computer Engineering<\/p>\n
Location: Pacific Ocean \u2013 West coast of North America at Canada-United States border<\/p>\n
High Performance Computing is applied to many areas of societal importance. This video shows applying it to real-time Tsunami prediction. Using 512 GPUs for over 500 hours, we precompute the dynamics of a Cascadia fault earthquake and the induced tsunami generated in the ocean. These precomputations support generating accurate tsunami forecasts, using seafloor sensor data, in a fraction of a second when an earthquake occurs. This enables fast evacuation where needed and not evacuating people unnecessarily. My research in improving High Performance Systems design and applications performance directly improved the speed of this and other related simulations making them practical.<\/p>\n
Collaborators: University of Texas, Austin, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, University of California, San Diego, and NVIDIA<\/p>\n
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![\"Scotty](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Morrow_1800x1200-Black.jpeg\")
Category: Building Inclusive and Sustainable Societies<\/p>\n
Still Standing<\/p>\n
Researcher: Lydia Morrow \u2013 MASc Student, Civil Engineering<\/p>\n
Queen\u2019s Lab: Cryo-Hydro(geo)logy Interdisciplinary Laboratory (CHIL)<\/p>\n
Location: Scotty Creek Research Station, on the lands of the \u0141\u0131\u0301\u0131\u0301dl\u0131\u0328\u0131\u0328 K\u0173\u0301\u0119\u0301 First Nation, Northwest Territories, Canada<\/p>\n
A researcher pauses under the northern lights at Scotty Creek Research Station on \u0141\u0131\u0301\u0131\u0301dl\u0131\u0328\u0131\u0328 K\u0173\u0301\u0119\u0301 First Nation territory, surrounded by the ghostly silhouette of trees killed by a 2022 wildfire. That event sits at the heart of my research. My work examines how wildfire and permafrost thaw affect mercury cycling and water quality in subarctic peatlands. These landscapes are growing increasingly vulnerable as wildfire frequency and intensity continue to rise across the Canadian subarctic.<\/p>\n
Category: Promoting Health and Wellbeing<\/p>\n
Uncovering the Lung Immune Response to Wildfire Smoke through Real-Time Imaging<\/p>\n
Researcher: Max Housefather \u2013 MSc Student, Biomedical and Molecular Sciences<\/p>\n
Queen\u2019s Lab: Kubes Lab & Sinclair Cancer Research Institute<\/p>\n
Location: Botterell Hall, Queen\u2019s University<\/p>\n
The frequency and intensity of wildfires is increasing due to climate change. Smoke from wildfires can cause significant morbidity in people with respiratory diseases such as asthma. However, the pathobiological effects of wildfire smoke remain poorly understood. Using cutting-edge microscopes, our group is uncovering the impacts of wildfire smoke inhalation through real-time imaging of the lung. In this timelapse of a wildfire smoke-exposed mouse, green-labeled neutrophils are visualized crawling through blood vessels as cyan-labeled macrophages (which help clear inhaled smoke particles) patrol the alveoli. This research aims to reveal new mechanisms and treatment options for asthma exacerbated by wildfire smoke.<\/p>\n
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![\"cross-section](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Chevalier-H\u00e9roux_1800x1200.jpeg\")
Category: Envisioning Just Futures<\/p>\n
Free Fall \u2013 Paint Cross-Section<\/p>\n
Researcher: Axelle Chevalier-H\u00e9roux \u2013 MAC Student, Art Conservation<\/p>\n
Location: Art Conservation, Queen\u2019s University<\/p>\n
This photo, taken with an optical microscope, depicts a cross-section of the layers of acrylic paint on a sample of Free Fall (c. 1973), an op-art installation made by the Canadian artist Frank Barry (1913\u20132013). It was captured during material analysis to explore the layered structure beneath the surface of the panel painting. The cross-section reveals a complex colour stratigraphy, with up to 20 layers and colour variations\u2014such as white, grey, purple, ochre, bright pink, and red\u2014that would not otherwise be visible. It highlights the artist\u2019s understanding of colour theory and a trial-and-error process.<\/p>\n
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![\"four](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Rammal_1800x1200.jpeg\")
Category: Delivering Materials for the Future<\/p>\n
Planets from Plants<\/p>\n
Researcher: Mostafa Rammal \u2013 Postdoctoral Fellow, Chemical Engineering<\/p>\n
Queen\u2019s Lab: De France Lab<\/p>\n
Location: Biosciences Complex, Queen\u2019s University<\/p>\n
What appears to be from a galaxy far, far away is actually the self-assembly of plant-derived cellulose nanocrystals during evaporation, captured using a polarized light microscope. As water evaporates, capillary flow drives the suspended nanocrystals toward the edge, forming the well-known coffee-ring effect. During this process, the rod-like cellulose nanocrystals spontaneously organize into twisted crystalline structures. These ordered regions produce iridescent colours that resemble astronomical structures. Understanding these assemblies is essential to my research, which aims to integrate these nanocrystals with polymers to engineer high-performance, sustainable materials.<\/p>\n
Special Prize: Research in Motion<\/p>\n
Pulling Solidarities: A Collective Print Moment<\/p>\n
Researcher: Alejandro Arauz \u2013 Faculty, Art History and Art Conservation<\/p>\n
Location: Print Studio, Ontario Hall, Queen\u2019s University<\/p>\n
This video documents a moment from my research-creation practice, which focuses on mobilizing the printing experience and community archives. Conducted in collaboration with Dr. Qanita Lilla and supported in part by SSHRC research funding, the work is part of the Tracing Kingston\u2019s Solidarities project, specifically Movement #3. In this phase, I worked collaboratively with nine community members to activate and reinterpret their personal archives. The print shown captures a moment of shared authorship, as participants engage directly in large-scale, self-publishing processes. Through printmaking as a collective practice, the project explores how histories can be mobilized, reimagined (digitally, analog, and mediated), and made visible. These large-scale prints were also displayed on hoarding boards in front of the Agnes Etherington Art Centre on University Avenue during its renovation and a suite of prints from this work are now held at Queen\u2019s W.D. Jordan Rare Books & Special Collections. This research contributes to building more inclusive cultural narratives by foregrounding community voices and fostering dialogue through art-making.<\/p>\n
Participants: Lakith Ranaweera, Morganne Blackwell, Meghan Gibson, Olivia Gibson, Emily Gibson, Anita Bolt, Faten Mitwasi, and Jabra Mitwasi<\/p>\n
Special Prize: Research in Motion<\/p>\n
Between the Rows<\/p>\n
Researcher: Diana Cordoba \u2013 Faculty, Global Development Studies<\/p>\n
Location: Cauca Valley, Colombia<\/p>\n
In the floodplains of the Cauca River Valley, runaway slaves once sought refuge in lands the plantation economy deemed unfit for agriculture. Post-abolition, Black communities built small, biodiverse farms there\u2013cacao, plantain, papaya, and fishing\u2013establishing collective food systems sustaining local economies and ecosystems for generations. Yet, in official land-use plans, these farms rarely appear. Through participatory action research with eight Black community councils, we gather in towns like Robles and Villapaz to map what official data ignores, developing planning instruments to bring these landscapes into formal land-use decisions. In land-use planning, what is not measured often does not exist. This project supported by a SSHRC Insight Grant asks what it would take for these landscapes to count.<\/p>\n
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![\"cross](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Cameron_1800x1200.jpeg\")
Special Prize: Narratives of Discovery<\/p>\n
Stories Written in Our Bones<\/p>\n
Researcher: Emily Cameron \u2013 PhD Student, Mechanical and Materials Engineering<\/p>\n
Queen\u2019s Lab: Queen’s Small-Animal Imaging Laboratory (SAIL) & Centre for Health Innovation<\/p>\n
Location: Queen\u2019s University & Kingston Health Sciences Centre<\/p>\n
At first glance, bone appears solid and unchanging. However, it is constantly adapting to how we move. This image shows the inside of a femoral head, the ball of the hip joint that carries us through life. Over years of walking, working, and playing, bone strengthens along the pathways used most often. These changes build an intricate internal architecture shaped by a person\u2019s life in motion. These pathways resemble lightning across the sky, roots spreading through soil, or tree rings quietly recording a life lived. My research reads these patterns to design implants that work with the body\u2019s natural architecture.<\/p>\n
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Special Prize: Narratives of Discovery<\/p>\n
Haze<\/p>\n
Researcher: Dakota Gustafson \u2013 MD-MSc Student, Public Health Sciences & Medicine<\/p>\n
Queen\u2019s Lab: Brooks Lab<\/p>\n
Location: Barry\u2019s Bay, Ontario, Canada<\/p>\n
The mind after cardiac arrest does not return unscathed. It arrives the way morning comes to still water; slowly, incompletely, shadowed by something the doctors didn’t warn you about. Haze captures that threshold state. The treeline exists, the dock is there, yet everything is heavy, muted, wrong in ways that are hard to name. Your life is reflected back at you, but you can no longer feel it the way you once did. Depression, anxiety, PTSD, these are the fog that settles after the heart restarts. My research asks the first necessary question: how many people are living inside it?<\/p>\n
2026 Art of Research Adjudication CommitteeShelagh Rogers, Queen\u2019s ChancellorPatrick Deane, Principal and Vice-ChancellorNiki Boytchuk-Hale, Queen\u2019s RectorMichael Fraser, Vice-Principal (University Relations)Nancy Ross, Vice-Principal (Research)Brenda Paul, Associate Vice-Principal (Integrated Communications)Xian Wang, Assistant Professor, Mechanical and Materials EngineeringAllen Tian, PhD Candidate, BiologyTina Fisher, Senior Director, Brand, University RelationsRuth Dunley, Associate Director, Editorial Strategy, AdvancementEddie Daniels, Manager, Communications, Vice-Principal (Culture, Equity, and Inclusion)Catarina Chagas, Manager, Strategic Communications and Outreach, Vice-Principal (Research)<\/p>\n