Research News, Dublin Institute of Technology | Volume 7 49
A number of projects are currently underway bringing together expertise from Ireland and abroad. One of the first projects funded under this scheme is led by Dr Mick McKeever, DIT School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering. Mick has been working on this in partnership with Cork Institute of Technology and Warsaw University of Technology. The project which is nearing completion is to design, prototype, test and demonstrate a full scale novel phase change material based thermal energy storage heat exchanger. Through collaborative research and technological development activities between the research groups and companies the team will exploit and prove the commercial potential of a novel thermal energy storage unit and heat exchanger for heating systems in large commercial and residential buildings. The project will deal with cost effectively allowing the system to improve heat transfer within the system based on well-established phase change materials. The on-site demonstration will form part of Cork Institute of Technology’s “National Sustainable Building Energy Test Bed” for whole building power and energy management currently being developed at the NIMBUS centre in CIT, Cork. e: mick.mckeever@dit.ie The Centre for Applied Data Analytics Research (CeADAR) will work with a group of companies to accelerate the development, deployment and adoption of Data Analytics technology. It was officially launched in March 2013 by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton who announced an initial investment of €1 million at the launch. Data Analytics is about the conversion of large amounts of raw data into valuable information through the use of statistical techniques and advanced software. The initial research phase of the Technology Centre will aim to make Ireland a world leader in this area. Based in University College Dublin, the research consortium includes Dublin Institute of Technology and University College Cork. CeADAR will conduct initial research into technology challenges that have been identified by industry representatives. It will use the funding to work with a group of companies to accelerate the development, deployment and adoption of Data Analytics technology. Its lead team comprises Padraig Cunningham (UCD), Barry O’Sullivan (UCC) and Brian Mac Namee (DIT). Top-tier multinational and Irish ICT companies will lead the research agenda at the technology centre, including eBay, Accenture, Dell, Fidelity Investments, Adaptive Mobile, Climote, Cylon, GBR, HP, Moving Media, Nathean Technologies, Nucleus Venture Partners, and Qumas.
Research will be focused on developing ways of generating business, profit and ultimately jobs from the high-growth area of data analytics. This initial research programme is a significant step towards a government funded 5-year investment in a Technology Centre for Data Analytics which is a key target sector identified as a Disruptive Reform in the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs 2013, growing at 40% per annum worldwide and offering major potential to Ireland due to established advantages in this area. e: brian.macnamee@dit.ie The Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Technology Centre (PMTC) also launched in 2013 will be hosted by University of Limerick from 2014. It will support and develop the Irish pharmaceutical industry by improving manufacturing competitiveness and enhancing the research and development mandate and activity of Irish pharmaceutical manufacturing sites and companies. Sixteen multinational companies and nine SMEs are currently members of the PMTC including: Allergan Pharmaceutical, Pfizer, Janssen, Innopharma labs, and Leo Pharma. The lead researchers in DIT are Dr Suzanne Martin (Centre for Industrial and Engineering Optics) and Dr PJ Cullen (School of Food Science & Environmental Health). International partners include Purdue University and University of Sheffield. The Centre will conduct and co-ordinate innovative, high quality research in advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing technologies which have a wide application across the pharmaceutical industry. The current research themes are: • Advanced rapid micro-analytical techniques • Enabling and control of continuous processing • Soft sensor modelling tools • API real time release PAT • Pharmaceutical packaging technologies for anti-counterfeiting. It will be a central point of contact for industry to access specialised research facilities and expertise and will support industry-academic collaboration and exchange of knowledge. Enterprise Ireland hosted a Technology Centres Expo in the Pavilion at Leopardstown Racecourse in November. This half-day event brought together key representatives from Irish industry and the main players from Ireland’s research community. e: suzanne.martin@dit.ie