The following year she relocated to Kitchener, Ontario where she advanced to Technical Assistant of the lab, becoming the first woman in the industry to obtain the type of position.
Her work was particularly important during World War II when a shortage of natural rubber supplies hindered regular production schedules and processes requiring new approaches to tire production in order to support troops overseas.
[1]: 146 By 1955 Haviland was working with roughly 1,000 different types of rubber compounds suitable for different situations and conditions.
[4] Following her death the Kitchener-Waterloo branch of the Canadian Federation of University Women established the Edna Haviland Science Award in her honour.
The award is given to a graduating secondary female student in the Region of Waterloo with high standing in chemistry to encourage the pursuit of a career in the sciences.