Guylène Proulx #ALD10

It's Ada Lovelace Day! Ada Lovelace Day is an international day of blogging to celebrate the achievements of women in technology and science. There's not a whole lot of women in my little corner of the industry, so one name in particular sprang to mind: Guylène Proulx.

Dr. Proulx was a Senior Researcher in the Fire Research Program at the National Research Council Canada. She had a Ph.D. degree in Architectural Planning from the University of Montreal. She had a unique expertise in human behaviour studies in emergency situations. Her research involved interviewing survivors after fires and conducting evacuation experiments in buildings. She was on the Board of Directors of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers and she was also teaching in fire protection
engineering at Carleton University and at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Sadly, Dr Proulx passed away late last year. This is from an announcement of her posthumous appointment as an Officer of the Order of Canada:

Announcements - NRC Researcher Dr. Guylène Proulx is appointed to the Order of Canada

January 11, 2010 — Ottawa, Ontario

Dr. Guylène Proulx was posthumously appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada on December 30, 2009, by the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean. Dr. Proulx was recognized for her contributions to fire safety research during her career, more specifically, for her studies on photoluminescent material, smoke alarms and human behaviour during emergencies, the majority of which were undertaken at the National Research Council of Canada.

Dr. Proulx joined the Fire Research Program at the NRC Institute for Research in Construction (NRC-IRC) in 1992. Some of her many areas of research included the investigation of human response to alarm bells, voice communication messages, evacuation movement, typical reactions and social interaction — all during emergency situations.

Dr. Proulx's research has had a profound impact on fire safety worldwide —the impact of her work not only has helped save countless lives but will continue to do so far into the future. Her findings on smoke alarms and photoluminescent materials are currently being used to ensure safety in buildings across Canada and around the world. Considered as one of the leading experts in her field, she was invited to participate in many post-event investigations, including the 1993 World Trade Center attacks. As a result of her findings, a new emergency way-finding system and evacuation strategy was implemented at the World Trade Center, which has been credited with helping to save lives during the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Although most people will probably never know her name, her research has contributed to saving countless lives.