Irish Science Handbook

IRISH SCIENCE

HANDBOOK SCIENCE

SPIN Agencies Associations institutions research groups innovation

isBN 0 906002 15 X

Albertine Kennedy publishing

CHArtiNg tHe grOups, struCtures AND seCtOrs iN irisH sCieNCe

2012

Biotechnology Pharmaceuticals IT and communications Environmental sciences Medical devices Energy Engineering Food sciences Agricultural research Health care Marine science Geology and earth sciences Education and training Mathematical sciences Physics Astrophysics Nanotechnology

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The Irish Science Handbook 2012

Ireland’s science scene

Tom Kennedy reviews the current standing of science in Ireland and takes a look at some of the issues being discussed in the Irish science community

Organisations

Associations, organisations and public groups Albertine Kennedy Publishing Cloonlara, Swinford, Co Mayo and

Research groups

A selection of centre and groups involved in research

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Innovation

Centres and organisations involved in innovation and technology transfer Science Spin 5 Serpentine Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.

Services and supports

Some of the organisations, private and public, providing support, services and supplies for science

Science education

Organisations involved in supporting science education Editor: Tom Kennedy tom@sciencespin.com

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Scientific destinations

Places of scientific interest open to the public

Editorial assistance Marie-Claire Cleary marieclaire@sciencespin.com Business Manager; Alan Doherty alan@sciencespin.com Printing: Turners, Longford ISBN 0 906002 15 X

www.sciencespin.com Overlooking Killarney lakes, Co Kerry.

During the Bronze Age copper was mined by the lakes and Ireland axe heads, manufactured here were exported to Britain.

Photo: Marie-Claire Cleary, Source Photographic Archives.

Irish Science Handbook 2012

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What do you expect to see? Look at the white faced lady on the right, then look at her again on the left and see her blush. Our mind is very good at filling in the missing gaps, even if there is nothing at all there.

Based on a drawing by Aubrey Beardsley 53

bbles Blowing bu

Adding ons for bursting. rtant to avoid of the main reas impo dip s, and it is also glycerine help le you must first To catch a bubb A wet nail dry surfaces. in the solution. hand or d your wan le! bubb a ture but will not punc tap water is fine, water is soft, r.

In areas where lled or rain wate ure’ best to use disti ‘the Sploose mixt et otherwise it is urite recipes, buck One of my favo quarters of a Liquid, three ose Fairy gluc of or is one litre a cup of glycerine half and be r, bubbles can of rain wate mix, really big ything in syrup. With this is to seal ever a handy trick produced, and t. twist of the wris with a quick

ll, and have to be sma Bubbles do not for her lively , well known ains that Sue McGrath in action, expl ns of science wash up demonstratio from common uced prod be giants can liquids. r les with just wate e to blow bubb too strong. By t is impossibl ce tension is just ally is reduced, typic because the surfa surface tension t cules rgen mole t dete Detergen adding of pure water. hydrogen to a third of that of carbon and s of long chains atom d of p pose com grou are n is a end of the chai a group atoms. At one at the other end, in water, and y to grease — that like to be attached easil es. ophobic, but dish hydr are dirty that ing ulness in wash ends try to hence their usef hydrophobic t solution, the lly In a detergen e that successfu water, and thos do so by escape from the to the surface eze their way other, so the each from manage to sque y r molecules awa of water ction attra pushing wate ual caused by mut bic ends surface tension, the hydropho on, one eases. Because from evaporati molecules, decr le is protected 36 face out, the bubb

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Albertine Kennedy Publishing

COLOUR rs idea of how colou l gives a good The colour whee g the colour from . By subtractin opposite hue. relate to each other wheel we get the the of side one

saturation, and Colour has hue, nal three dimensio brightness, and ugh harder to modelling, altho more accurate to visualise, led tion. ifica class of systems

The science and art of colour explained by Margaret Franklin and Tom Kennedy. A colourful and informative paperback. €15 postfree from www.sciencespin.com

Carboniferous plants A. Palaeopteris hibernicus, from Kiltorcan, Co Kilkenny.

B. Alethopteris loachitica, Ballynstick, Co Tipperary.

C. Alethopteris lonchilides, from Drumnagh colliery, Co Cork.

D. Root of Lepidodendron, Towerstown, Co Laois.

Photographs: Tom Kennedy.

ROCK AROUND IRELAND Peadar McArdle guides us around Ireland’s diversified geology.

Paperback €15 postfree from www.sciencespin.com

Albertine Kennedy Publishing

t e, a prominen The Mottee Ston Co near Avoca, erratic boulder Wicklow.

Vegetation cover ed schist lying up against a gran Lough Oular, Co ite cliff above Wicklow.

event. The exce ption is the Mou only 55 million rne Granite whic years old and h is it developed opening of the during initial Atlantic Ocea n, possibly due of the Earth’s to the melting crust by the asce nding Antrim “Basalts and other Volcanic basalts (see Rocks” earlier).

The generatio n the Earth’s crus of hot molten granite in the base of t is where they colli driven by the movement of plates: de, the over-ridd a depth where en crustal plate it melts to form sinks to liquid granite 3). Where thos (see Figure e plates pull apar hot basalt from t they release extremely the mantle whic h in turn melt s the crust it Figure 15. Irelan

d is well-endowed of the Mourne Mountains is the with granite rocks. The gran ite northeast stand others in being s out from the significantly youn ger — only 55 million years old.

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ouldErs

Erratic B

ur — but erratic behavio ar rock etimes exhibit s of a particul umans som do so. Boulder ght, may even rocks can be many tonnes in wei may . Sometimes rock bed of type, which rent type or in fields. ng on a diffe tly on hilltops be found sitti to hed prominen s or pastures may find they are perc dow oil ring out mea hidden in subs Farmers clea boulders are nation that ster con r thei

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ace. below the surf immediately transported They have been ts during the ice shee along with .

Ice Age little closer Let’s look a y tend to be at some. The ded. The s, somewhat roun grained rock surfaces of fine e, often ston such as lime tches. ves and scra preserve groo the and ding Both the roun products of the grooves are sheet, within an ice movement ly abraded being constant g neighbourin by and scored the ice r afte l, unti boulders ained boulders rem melted, the ice way. iated, that is, in a random have been glac result most parts distributed the country as a Most parts of landscape. So around have a look enveloped the are of a sheets once boulders. Do t when they have erratic of the country are particularly prominen y striking erratics y l bedrock. Man your area. The ied from type to the loca ch was carr different rock this granite example whi osited on volcanic as dep largest remain, such in the background and ere is Ireland’s the granite hills County Wicklow. Wh ca, rocks near Avo erratic?

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COLOUR

INK often be anuscripts can a traced back to astery through es. particular mon used by the scrib inks the have been of an analysis of substances wide variety om of flow, For writing a irements; freed t the basic requ cy. Boiled tree found to mee ee of permanen ms, degr high a ink-cap mushroo clarity, and h produced by mus yellow k the blac bark, the dered root of .A flowers, pow have been used blue from corn strong coffee bark d even kene and flag iris, winter blac made from the glue. One black ink was with milk or , the twigs mixed of blackthorn e from oak galls of ink was mad oak trees. One common type by insects on ed form ds of iron round balls on was five poun of water, arati prep for formula , 12 gallons pounds of gum galls. sulphate, five 12 gallon of oak t g by volume, 12 gallons mus and measurin gh oak galls for s how big the Collecting enou but it just show e cult nsiv diffi exte more have been , and . On an even gum was and ink k for lampblac demand dirty was made from although very scale Indian ink became a big, , lampblack, grained soot Europe. The soot producing fine south eastern of s part ink. in ters’ industry ed to make prin linse with d 63 was mixe

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The quality of medieval inks had to be high for manuscripts such as this to survive.

This is a page from a medical manuscript, the Book of the O’Lees, preserved at the Royal Irish Academy.

Ireland’s science scene Tom Kennedy takes a quick look at the current standing of science, research and innovation in Ireland and reports on some of the issues that are of concern to the growing Irish science community

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rom modest beginnngs, the Irish science community has undergone almost explosive expansion. In spite of having a distinguished scientific past, in which figures such as Robert Boyle, John Tyndall, Nicholas Callan, William Rowan Hamilton, Ernest Walton and William Thompson stand out on the international stage, science up to the 1980s, while academically sound, was at a low ebb, and under-resourced researchers were thin on the ground.

Since then, Irish science has come to occupy a central role in Government strategy, thousands of people are actively engaged in education, research and innovation, and in some areas, such as immunology, nanotechnology, and information technology, Ireland is among the world leaders. Professor Luke O’Neill, who leads a team of researchers working on immunology at TCD, commented recently that, “in the space of ten years, we went from nothing to third in the world.”

This remarkable achievement is due to a combination of related developments, not least being the late Minister for Education, Donagh O’Malley’s decision to grant free-access to second level education in 1966, and the establishment of third-level institutes in the 1970s. The institutes brought higher education into the regions, and their emphasis on applied knowledge introduced a new, and highly influential element into the system, causing the universities in turn to become more involved in innovation.

Against this background, the strategy being adopted by the Industrial Development Authority, began to change. Educational standards in Ireland were traditionally high in the three Rs, reading, arithmetic and writing, labour was cheap, corporate tax was relatively low, Ireland was the back door into Europe, and these were big attractions that helped bring an increasing number of multinationals into Ireland. However, specialised skills were not high enough, and, anticipating that low-labour cost manufacturing would decline, the strategy, which has been highly successful up to then, made a radical shift towards attracting companies that were involved in high-technology and innovation. To support this strategy, third level education had to be given a boost. Thus, while Donagh O’Malley was principally concerned with education, the main purpose of increased spending in third level was basically economic.

The most significant development to occur during this shift in emphasis, was the launch in 1988 of the Programme for Research in Third Level Instutions. Usually just known as PRTLI, this programme, operating under the Higher Education Authority, has injected over a €1 billion into research resources. Under this programme about 45 research centres have received funding to date. The programme had a most unusual origin in that it was initiated by an offer of co-funding from a philanthropist, Chuck Feeney. The benefits of investing in resources to support researchers, were soon evident, and since then the PTRLI programme has continued through five funding cycles.

With PRTLI funding substantial research institutions were established, including the UCD Conway Institute, and the Tyndall National Institute, and all of the universities and ITs have also received their share of support.

This shaped a distinctly Irish science scene, in that unlike many other countries, applied research became firmly embedded in the higher education system. In Ireland, the agricultural research body, Teagasc, which has a long history, and the Marine Institute, established in 1991, are exceptions, standing outside the third level system, but, even so, have strong links to the colleges in research.

At first, researchers were almost completely dependent on European Commission, and compared to other European Union states, Ireland had a higher success rate in submitting bids. One of the benefits of this dependency, is that scientists and institutions began to forge international links and to become involved in bigger projects.

However, there was a growing need to give the science scene in Ireland more structure so that it could move up from its position as a junior partner. Following a comprehensive review of where Ireland stood in relation to the sciences, issued in 1995 as the Science Technology and Innovation (STIAC) report, the decision was made to establish Science Foundation Ireland in 2003 to fund high-level basic and strategic research.

Under Professor Frank Gannon’s direction, SFI then attracted a number of internationally respected researchers and provided generous funding for fundamental and applied science, provided projects could be regarded as of strategic importance. Frank

Irish Science Handbook 2012

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Jobs, enterprise and innovation, agriculture, food marine, communications, energy and natural resources

Education and skills

Gross

EXPENDITURE

Social protection

REVENUE

Health A snapshot of government expendature on some key areas, such as health, education, social protection and innovation compared to gross income. Based on Government budget allocations for 2012.

The aproximate ratio of spending as against revenue. Based on Government budget allocations for 2012 and supplementary figures.

AS WITH other European Union countries, Ireland has a target of spending three per cent of its gross national product on science and research. Ireland, like many other countries, lags behind this target, but is not far below the EU average of 2.01 per cent. Two years ago Ireland stood at 1.79 per cent according to EC figures, and while the figure has improved, this is mainly because total income fell, while spending on science and technology remained static. This places ireland more or less mid-way between the south and the north of Europe where Finland, Sweden and Denmark are all well above the 3 per cent target.

This aspirational figure includes state and private funding, and at present, about two thirds of the total expenditure on R&D comes from industry. This is a higher percentage than the EU average, where half the R&D is funded by private enterprise.

The biggest share by far, two-thirds, comes from the multinationals, but in numbers, there are more Irish owned companies spending lesser amounts. While figures on this are not up to date, for every big spending multinational there are about four or five Irish owned firms investing in R&D. All together, about 2,000 companies are actively engaged in R&D, and in 2010 they spent in the region of â‚Ź1.83 billion. Not all of this spending comes directly from the companies, some of it is made up from grants, and a growing amount comes from the State, with SFI high on the list. In 2011, SFI had a budget of â‚Ź160 million for research.

Earlier this year concerns were expressed that more than half of the Irish firms are spending under 2 per cent of their revenue on R&D, many continue to spend nothing at all. This is mainly a problem in extremely hard pressed smaller firms, many of which are run by entrepreneurs that know perfectly well that innovation is good for business, but having been hit hard by the downturn in the economy, they need to regain confidence that innovation is good for business.

Gannon, who had come in from a distinguished career in bioresearch, took the view that it was better to focus the available funding on a limited number of themes than to dissipate support over a wider range.

In less than a decade, research mainly in the life sciences and information technologies, reached the highest international level, and in terms of benefits, these developments have been responsible for embedding the pharmaceutical and information technology multinationals that might, otherwise, have abandoned manufacturing and moved on to conduct R&D elsewhere.

The support for science and research also had a huge impact on the emergence of Irish high-technology firms. Many of these firms began as suppliers to multinationals, and in time others emerged as exporters, a development strongly supported by the Irish development agency, Enterprise Ireland.

All of these developments depended on the Government making a strong commitment to science and research, and, of course, the economic collapse, in which a massive private debt became a public liability, threatened to bring everything to a halt.

Fortunately, the incoming Government, was quick to make clear that while massive cuts had to be made, science, research and innovation, are to remain a priority.

Again, it is worth pointing out that this decision is based primarily on the perceived economic benefits from investing in science. Ministers, both from the previous and the present governments, have repeatedly stressed this point. As Minister for Education in the previous Government, Mary Hannifin, told a meeting of early-career researchers, she might be all in favour of learning and the joys of discovery, but at the end of the day, her survival as a politician depends on convincing the voters that spending tax payers money on science will deliver jobs.

With the economic downturn, the stress on appearing to get value for money has become much stronger, and as a result, applied research has taken more of a lead, and the focus on strategic topics has become sharper. This is reflected in the shift in priorities within SFI. Under the previous direction of Professor Frank Gannon, there was a much greater overlap between applied and fundamental science, but under the new director, Professor Mark Ferguson, who took up position in January this year, research must be seen to pay its way, not in the long term, but preferably in the immediate future. From now on, no contracts will be signed with SFI unless researchers can show that projects will have an economic benefit.

Funding

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Celebrating 40 years of Innovation this year, the University of Limerick is an independent, internationally focussed University with a track record of educational and research excellence. 94% of UL’s 2010 PhD Graduates are in employment with the vast majority of these working in Ireland.

A survey of Irish students recently voted UL Ireland’s most popular university.

MAEVE KIELY Current PhD Student, funded by the Irish Cancer Society to study how breast cancer cells move around the body to set up secondary tumors.

DR IAN KENNY Lecturer in Biomechanics and Course Director of Irelands first MSc Sport Performance aimed at athletes and sports professionals.

www.ul.ie

Leadership In 2004 the Government established the Office of the Chieft Scientific Adviser. Since 2007 Professor Patrick Cunningham, who has a long and distinguished career in science, and is highly regarded by the science community, has occupied this office, and later this year he will retire from this position.

Professor Cunningham’s leadership in winning the bid to host ESOF was a major achievement and the event marks a good end to his period in office.

As yet, no decision has been made to appoint a successor.

One of Professor Cunningham’s main aims in holding this big science event was to leave a legacy in the form of continued activities, and whoever steps into his shoes could have an important role to in maintaining this focus on science as an essential part of Irish culture.

A number of scientists have commented that role of the Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser needs to be strengthened,

and in view of the ever shifting political demands, a detached view is likely to be of benefit to science and the society it serves.

For example, it is almost impossible to have a rational debate in the Dáil on issues such as stem cell research, ethics, or fracking.

As many leading members of government have admitted, there are quite a number of important topics that they are concerned about but, for political expediency they are reluctant to discuss these issues in public. In supporting science, senior ministers in this and the previous government, have stated quite clearly that they need scientists to be far more assertive in explaining what they are doing so that they can then justify allocating tax payers money to education and research. Compared to other groups, researchers are slow to engage with the voting public, and we are often reminded how few scientists there are in the Dáil, yet more people than ever before now work in science. Having a strong, well resourced and independent Chief Scientific Adviser’s office would help by giving this growing scientific community a voice.

Graduate placement programmes have shown that this is the best way to bridge that gap, but as a recent study, conducted jointly by firms and institutes, concluded, there is a problem in that while people in industry might not understand the complexities of research, academics have no idea of how business works, nor do they appreciate how important it is to get a product onto the market before a competitor comes up with something better.

Enterprise Ireland, with ten regional offices, is the agency charged Chris Horn, founder of Iona Technologies, when speaking to a with supporting start-ups and growth in Irish industry. Originally the meeting of PhD researchers, observed that while scientists like to focus was on improving manufacturing capacity and quality, but now discover something new, people in industry might be happier to take is it is on business development, innovation, marketing and export. up something that already has a track record. His own company, he Exporting firms are given on-location assistance through 30 overseas said, expanded rapidly into the international market not because the offices. software was new, but because it was packaged well and is useful.

The emphasis in support is on what are known as high-potential To create a common ground between local firms and applied start-ups, HPSUs, these being firms that appear capable of rapid growth researchers, thirteen Applied Research Enhancement centres, AREs, through exporting products or services. In general, smaller firms were established by Enterprise Ireland. The AREs are based in the employing under ten people, or without obvious export potential, institutes of technology, and each has a different speciality, and in are not supported by Enterprise Ireland, but are expected to seek another move to promote a better uptake of research, Enterprise assistance from local enterprise boards. SMEs are not always happy Ireland introduced vouchers that can only be used to pay for R&D. with this approach as local enterprise boards often lack competence in Larger firms and the multinationals do not have this problem in dealing with anything other than basic issues, and firms find it hard to connecting up with researchers. They know the rules, have the staff, reach the point where they can be taken seriously by Enterprise Ireland. and collaboration with the colleges and research institutes is the norm.

In terms of performance, the high-potential firms often do well, some Enterprise Ireland figures show licence agreements increasing from becoming highly successful multi-nationals, but support for the smaller just 12 in 2005 to 95 in 2009 and 93 in 2010, but in a way this growth firms has almost consistently produced poor results. This has led to masks a hidden problem. Smaller firms find it extremely difficult to some criticism of state agencies failing to address the problems facing take this step into innovation, and one of the reasons they give is that SMEs. the conditions attached to licensing by institutions are not realistic.

As both the Small Firms Association, SFA, and the Irish Small and Chris Horn, a successful academic turned entrepreneur, and member Medium Sized Enterprises, ISME, have of the Innovation Task Force established pointed out, helping them to survive and under the previous Government, has Collaboration with industry thrive is important because small and been highly critical of the knowledge In some areas of research, such as life sciences and medium sized local firms are vital to the transfer process, pointing out that while electronics, the distinction between industry and economy. In Ireland more than half of the industrial liaison officers had been put adademia is not always clear, and this is causing people in jobs work in firms employing in place, there was no consistency in problems for a number of researchers. Researchers less than ten people and in many other approach and no standard form of who work in a university environment can gain countries, the SMEs are not just far more contract or royalty agreements. valuable experience by spending time in industry, but important than multinationals in driving Earlier this year, some actions were this does not help them move up the academic ladder. the economy but they are a source of taken to address these problems, and In fact, they lose out, and this is an issue that has been renewal. in June the Government announced raised repeatedly among early career researchers.

One of the underlying reasons why so that a Central Technology Transfer Collaboration with industry is on the increase, with many SMEs fail is not because they lack office is being set up, working through SFI reporting a 44 per cent in these connections during entrepreneurial spirit, but because they Enterprise Ireland. The new office is to 2011, and one suggestion to improve the situation for do not develop new products. However, work with the ten technology transfer researchers is that credits be given for time spend in accessing the knowledge required for offices already established in higher industry, and that the system would work better if a innovation is proving to be a serious education institutes, and the intention two-way movement could be accommodated over the barrier, both for small firms on one side, is to make it easier for firms to tap into course of a a scientific career. and research organisations on the other. publicly-funded research.

How successful this approach will be, only time will tell.

Applied research can suit certain industries, but in the longer term Ireland may not be in such a strong position to profit from the sort of breakthroughs that come in from the blue.

Developing enterprise

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placing people first

Cpl and ESOF Dublin City of Science Cpl Recruitment is delighted to be associated with ESOF & Dublin City of Science 2012 through the “Alchemist Aperitif” event in conjunction with ISTJA, which will provide a platform for open conversation and debates with speakers from the ESOF Conference.

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Cpl and the “Alchemist Aperitif” event fully support the aims of the Euroscience Conference: l Showcasing the latest advances in science and technology l Promote a dialogue on the role of science and technology in society and public policy l Stimulate and provoke public interest, excitement and debate about science and technology Cpl Engineering & Science is committed to staffing the science and technology industry for the future. We recognise that the future stakeholders of these industries are currently sitting in classrooms around the country. This is why we believe it is critical to get these children and their families excited about science and engineering and encourage more public debate and dialogue about STEM.

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Cpl provides permanent, temporary and contract recruitment, outsourcing, managed services solutions, training, payroll and advisory services to major multinationals and indigenous companies alike. Cpl offers complete end-to-end services across the complete resourcing and recruitment lifecycle.

Cpl recruits nationwide and internationally in the following sectors: ICT, Engineering, Science, Supply Chain, Operations, Office Support, HR, Sales & Marketing, Finance and Executive Search.

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Scale and becoming part of the European Research Zone

Irish researchers have always managed to secure a high level of European funding under the Framework programmes, largely out of necessity, because no other funds were available. While the cash was welcome, the partnerships and connections made through participation in joint projects have been of much greater long-term significance. Irish institutions and researchers were not just left as passive recipients, but they become active participants in shaping the future of European science.

These connections have produced big benefits. Under the Marie Curie programme, for example, early career researchers from Ireland have gained the freedom of Europe, and high-technology research spin-off firms have done well from follow-up contracts. In a report published this June, Enterprise Ireland highlighted Ireland’s success in the aerospace sector. The number of highly specialised firms involved in this sector has been growing, and a lot of this is due to their success in winning contracts with the European Space Agency. According to the Enterprise Ireland report, high-technology firms involved in such areas as software, electronics and materials earned over €31 million from the ESA in 2010, and these earnings are increasing. Commenting on this, Tony McDonald from Enterprise Ireland said the biggest gains are coming from the application of space technologies to the nonspace market.

Europe has a great deal of diversity, and this is a great strength, but there are issues of scale, which in science can be a weakness. Many researchers are, in effect, locked in to home institutions, making it difficult to create the sort of broad research zone envisaged under the current Framework and the forthcoming EU Horizon 2020 programmes. In Ireland, the lack of scale is a even bigger issue in that the largest instutions are small by comparison with those in the UK, France, Germany, or the US. While this might not pose a much of a problem for all scientists, big projects in such areas as energy, health, transport or the marine generally need collaboration between many researchers. In Ireland scale has sometimes been achieved through partnerships, such as the TCD UCD Innovation Alliance, hailed by both college heads as “creating a new ecosystem for innovation,” and by establishing world class centres, such as CRANN for nanotechnology, Tyndall National Instution for microelectronics, and the UCD Conway

While Ireland has world class research institutes, such as the Tyndall National Institute, Irish scientists have also undertaken some of the most ambitious projects in the world.

In 2000 work began on surveying Ireland’s enormous marine territory, over nine times the area of dry land, and extending far out into the Atlantic. This project, jointly undertaken by the Marine Institute and the Geological Survey of Ireland, explored deep waters far from shore, and it was followed by the launch of the National Seabed Survey in 1999 to survey the coastal areas and bays. These enormous and highly ambitious projects have produced a rich treasure trove of discoveries, and have resulted in Ireland taking an international lead in marine surveying.

Another ambitious project was the launch of the Tellus Survey by the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland in 2004. This project, which continues as Tellus Border, involved airborne surveying combined with sampling on the ground, and

Institute for the life sciences. At UCD a number of departments and schools were brought together under the umbrella of life sciences, and as Professor Ciaran Regan there explained, this was done to show that the university is an internationally significant force in research. Bringing researchers from different backgrounds together has also helped to stimulate the development of cross-disciplinary studies at UCD. At the Tyndall National Institute in Cork, the aim is to be big and exceptional, and as Julie Dorel from the communication department there, explained, “by definition exceptional people are rare, and by comparison with other countries, Ireland is small.” For this reason, researchers at Tyndall are not just drawn from Ireland, but are recruited from many different countries. If the best researchers in highly specialised fields are not available, said Julie, posts are simply left unfilled rather than lower standards.

Numbers

Under the IRCSET postgraduate funding and support programme, a target was set in 2003 to double the number of PhD students by 2013. As a result there has been a big increase in research students, and by now many of them have entered employment in industry while a smaller number continue to work in instutions, and of course, more are on the way. According to official statistics, the total number engaged in research and development during 2009 was 21,393, of which 4,328 were considered full-time. A year later, in 2010, 8,901 researchers were on record as employees of foreign owned companies, and 7,788 were working in Irish owned companies. As a proportion of total population, this was above the European average, and as the former Director of IRCSET, Martin Hynes, explained, one of the main reasons for ramping up numbers, is that researchers are likely to create jobs, and they are qualified to bridge the gap between academic research and industry. As he observed, the traditional progression into academia no longer applies, and for the vast majority of post-docs, industry is going to be their final destination. Most of the companies that are doing well in Ireland are high-tech rather than low-skill operations, and to help researchers make the transition into industry, universities are now providing postdocs with top-up courses in business skills.

The demand for high-level qualifications has also been driven

by US based multinationals, and a common comment is that these companies, bargaining from a strong position, have unrealistic

like the marine survey, the project has been an eye-opener, revealing details in the landscape that were completely unknown before. Also, like the marine survey, this is a world class project, and not only had it produced a healthy return as mineral prospecting companies line up for licences, but it has generated many follow-up studies.

In 2011 the Tellus Project was extended to cover border counties in the Irish Republic and more than likely, this coverage will later extend to the rest of Ireland.

expectations. This, in turn, has an impact on students who accept that to get a job, they need a higher qualification, and of course, the colleges want almost all, if not all of their students, to succeed.

Some academics have raised concerns about the impact of this in the possible dilution of standards in awarding degrees simply to meet demand. The low numbers taking mathematical and engineering sciences suggests that the majority of students are indeed going for the easier options.

This is not a simple situation as evident from the fact that companies from the information technology sector state that they are unable to fill all of the available positions, due to a lack of suitable graduates, while many of the multinationals seem to be demanding qualifications that they do not actually need. In 2011, one of the recruitment firms, Archer Specialised Recruitment, conducted a survey among 700 IT professionals and found that 76 per cent were less than happy with the work they were given to do.

The jobs did not provide enough challenge, and the suggestion is that either they were over-qualified for jobs that required skills rather than academic knowledge, or they had schooled to have false expectations.

At the BT Young Science exhibition. Photos: Tom Kennedy, Source Photographic Archives.

Education

The annual BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition has a huge impact on school students choosing to engage with science.

The exhibition was started in 1965 by Fr Tom Burke and Dr Tony Scott, and it rapidly became established as the biggest public science event in the year. Many of the winners have gone on to have distinguished scientific careers, and ten have taken top prizes at the EU Contest for Young Scientists. It is regarded as one of the most successful exhibitions of its type anywhere in the world the and the number of entries continues to grow. This year over 1,700 projects were submitted, of which over 500 went on show.

The exhibition has always been held at the Royal Dublin Society in Dublin, and with continued growth, and no shortage of entries, many teachers began to ask if a similar showcase for projects could be organised for the regions. One of these teachers, Sheila Porter, took the initiative and established SciFest, and as she explained, exhibition events held in the regional Institutes of Technology, gave local students an opportunity to present projects. SciFest, supported

by Intel, has been a great success, and in many ways it complements the BT Young Scientist event.

The enormous success of these events shows that interest in science among school students is quite high, yet, the position for teachers who want to encourage science among senior students is made difficult by the demand to score high points in the final exams.

Entry to third level is determined by the number of points scored by school students in their final year exams, and this has led to excessive learning of anticipated answers by rote. Because of this, students

can gain bigh points without actually understanding the subject.

In addition, there is considerable pressure to achieve high points, because without them, a student may not be able to enter the third level course of their choice.

The points system has been widely criticised by successive ministers for education , the universities do not like it because it fails to recognise real ability, aptitude and comprehension, but for some unexplicable reason, the points system has remained firmly in place.

In a recent report for the Higher Education Authority, Professor Áine Hyland from UCC, recommended reforms, one of which is to have minimum acceptable points, above which students could apply for courses, and acceptance could determined through interview or by drawing lots as is done in other EU countries, such as The Netherlands.

As with other issues in science, this is of more than immediate concern. The students who get through the points system this year, and survive university life, will be scientists, doctors, engineers and teachers within the next four or five years.

The present Minister for Education, Ruari Quinn, has called for an urgent overhaul of the system, and just two weeks ago, he expressed dismay at how long it is taking to third level colleges to come up with something better. Strangely enough, the universities, who do not like the points system, and claim that it does not work, are the ones with the power to change it.

This is an issue that could have an impact on Ireland’s hard won standing for educational and scientific excellence, and some education experts, such as Professor Áine Hyland, former Professor of Education at UCC, have warned that just training students to tick the right boxes is a step in the wrong direction.

Martin O’Grady, Brendan Guilfoyle and Simon Quinn from Tralee Institute of Technology, also caused quite a stir by publicly taking a stand against what they see as ‘grade inflation’, and a recent case of a third level award being given for sports rather than academic excellence shows that they do have a point, as does the rather strange upsurge among schools of “graduation days”. „

Pure or applied

Support for science has always been divided between those who simply want to know more and those who want to profit from applied results. While fundamental research is needed to produce the breakthroughs, the follow-on applications produce the profits.

In practice, that division is not always so clear cut, but when overall support for science can swing one way or the other there is a lot

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to be said for steering a middle course. For every curiosity driven scientist there is probably another researcher intent on striking it rich. Both like to be faced with a challenge and in a way the two extremes are just two sides of the one scientific coin. Coins, however, usually fall on one side or the other, and in Ireland, the applied side is up.

The development agencies, IDA and Enterprise Ireland, have always seen science as providing the sort of results that industry can apply with the minimum of delay, but as many researchers would argue, without a deep pool of basic science to draw on, we are going to start fishing in dangerously shallow waters.

In the long term there is not much contest. Lasers, genetics, induction, wireless to name just a few economically important breakthroughs, all came out of the blue, but no one made any money until the results were applied. A lot depends on how we do our sums, but the fact remains that if Nicholas Callan, the curiosity driven cleric in Maynooth, had not discovered induction, we might still be waiting for some bright spark to invent a transformer.

The problem with basic research is that no one can predict the outcome, and while it produces the biggest return, bets have to the spread, and it takes a lot longer to cash in. This is not the sort of risk that civil servants, or politicians with five years or less to go before the next election, like to take.

At European level, where there had been a marked shift towards supporting applied science, an adjustment was made in the current Framework programme to beef up support for fundamental science.

This was done to prevent Europe losing a competitive advantage in science.

Ireland has gone the other way, and given the pressure to act fast and decisively to dig us out of an economic hole, a clear decision was made to focus funding on projects that were most likely to produce a short-term return.

Naturally, views on this are mixed, and while many scientists are upset at such a narrowing down of the agenda, the development agencies take the view that industry is only interested in applied research. The IDA, which has been promoting Ireland as a good place to conduct R&D, is a strong advocate of this position, claiming that because applied research is closer to the market, it is of more immediate interest to the multinationals.

COMMUNICATIONS

THERE ARE an enormous number of people actively engaged in science in Ireland, yet the science community has a fairly low profile. Only a tiny proportion of the work being conducted by over 800 research groups has been reported on in the press, yet the colleges, agencies and institutes spend quite heavily on marketing and public relations.

Obviously, this approach, while it might help with branding, is not working, at least, not if the object is to get more coverage in the media for science and research.

There are a number of reasons why reporting on science is weak, and all of these have nothing to do with any lack of interest among the public.

As in the rest of Europe, there has been a sharp drop in advertising revenue, so publishers have a lot less to spend on commissioning features and reports. Most publishers, and the journalists who work in the print and broadcast media, are actually far more concerned with content than they are with profit, but if the bottom line is in the red, the choice is stark, make cuts, or go out of business. Many newspapers across the world have indeed gone out of business, and of those that remain, in-depth content has been pushed out by features that are easier and cheaper to produce, or they are written specifically to pull in advertising.

Not many readers realise that the price they hand over for their paper or magazine is actually just a small fraction of its real cost, and it is the advertisers that pay the balance.

As publishers struggle to come to grips with the new reality, content is suffering, and this is particularly so of reporting on the sciences.

However, as a number of scientists point out, this is like reaping a harvest without sowing the seeds for the next crop, and as with the opening up of education in the past, we should be looking well ahead of the next elections.

Some evidence to support the value of this longer term view come from one of the most successful industrial sectors in Ireland.

Almost 60 per cent of Ireland’s goods exports come from the pharmaceutical and chemical industries. The Irish economy benefits to the tune of over €3 billion a year, but there is no certainty that this income stream will continue. The reason? Patents on top selling drugs are running out and the cost of bringing new drugs onto the market is rising, largely because research is focused on replicating the successes of the past. In other words, diminishing returns unless basic research comes up with some fresh ideas.

As the IDA claims, using R&D capacity to attract multinationals is a highly successful strategy, and one of the reasons why this works is that the pharmaceutical companies are not alone in coming to the conclusion the time has come to get out of in-house inward-looking research because a new type of cross-breed institution, straddling the line between academia and industry, can do the job much better. One of the reasons they can do the job better, and possibly a lot cheaper, is that they have all the latest the gear and lots of smart and enthusiastic young researchers. The other, possibly more important reason, is that, unlike companies that want their in-house boffins to come up with a quick fix, the instutions have no problem in delving the depths of scientific knowledge.

This approach of meeting industry half way, while maintaining a high degree of independence has a bright future in Ireland. During 2010 the agencies recorded 867 collaborations between industry and researchers through these bodies, an increase of 601 over the previous year, and the number of companies approaching the instutions has continued to rise.

In answer to a Dáil question earlier this year, the Minister, Richard Bruton, said that in 2004 ten per cent of foreign direct investment, valued at €120 million, was research, development and innovation based. In 2010, these investments had risen to €500 million, and in 2011 they had gone up to €700 million, so in just over just seven years, there had been almost a sixfold increase.

Across Europe, the majority of science journalists are free-lance, and very few have permanent staff positions. The reason for this is that almost all come from a science background, some even retain an involvement in research, and they need time to work up features. In general, science stories, while appreciated by readers, are not trying to sell anything, so as staffers try to hang onto jobs, specialised freelancers are regarded as a luxury, and when savings have to be made, they are the first to get the chop.

While this might appear to be a problem confined to journalists and publishers, it is actually an issue that might be be better addressed by the science community as a whole.

Many years ago, when a group of researchers was making recommendations on how the position of science could be advanced in Ireland, one of the offers they made to Irish newspapers, was to pay half the salary if editors were prepared to appoint a science journalist. While many of the recommendations made by this almost forgotten group in the early 1980s had a big influence on the subsequent development of science policy, this particular suggestion, backed by funding raised by the researchers themselves, never came to anything. In view of the current situation, ideas like this could be worth reconsidering.

Researchers need more exposure to maintain public support, and while there is a lot of talk about the emergence of new media, people do want quality content, instead of which they are being served up with journalistic junk. If the media cannot deliver quality content, readership must, inevitably decline. As people in business like to say, that old suggestion looks like a win-win solution.

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Discover Science & Engineering (DSE) is Ireland’s national science promotion programme, managed by Science Foundation Ireland on behalf of the Office of Science, Technology and Innovation at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. The initiative aims to increase interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) among students, teachers and members of the public. DSE’s mission is to contribute to Ireland’s continued growth and development by encouraging an active and informed interest and involvement in STEM. Science Week Ireland is a key national awareness event that has been running since the mid-1990s, which is coordinated and managed by DSE. www.ScienceWeek.ie houses many resources for schools and organisations, helping them to get involved. With over 500 events running in 2011, there is something for everyone!

Science Week 2012 runs from 11-18 November. Connect with the festival at www.Twitter.com/ScienceWeek and www.Facebook.com/ ScienceWeekIreland.

DSE also manages a number of education programmes at primary and secondary level.

The Discover Primary Science and Maths (DPSM) programme develops classroom resources for teachers to encourage the exploration of STEM using a fun hands-on approach. This includes teacher training, curriculum linked activities and the opportunity to participate in the Awards of Science and Maths Excellence.

Visit the award-winning www.primaryscience.ie for information on how to get your school involved. Connect with the project at www.

Facebook.com/DiscoverPrimaryScienceAndMaths.

Primary schools are also encouraged to participate in www.

Greenwave.ie - a mass science project across Ireland observing and recording the arrival of spring by tracking species and temperatures, to see whether the “green wave” of spring moves from south to north across Ireland or inland from the coast to the centre of the country.

Second Level schools are also supported through DSE’s Discover Sensors project which promotes inquiry-based teaching and learning, and encourages the use of ICT in the classroom, and developed by science teachers for use by science teachers. www.DiscoverSensors.ie provides a number of valuable resources, particularly its teacher section, with video tutorials which complement face-to-face sessions and a teacher forum where science teachers collaborate and share ideas as part of a community of practice. The project provides students with an experience of “real science” in the classroom while supporting the investigative approach promoted by the Junior Certificate science syllabus. The www.

Scifolio.ie project also provides Junior Cert science students with an online space to archive their science projects, photos and videos.

SciFest is a strategic partnership between Intel Ireland and DSE which aims to encourage a love of science through active, collaborative, inquiry-based learning, and providing a forum for second-level students at local and regional level

to present and display their scientific investigations. It is hosted nationwide by the Institutes of Technology and consists of a series of one-day science fairs which include an exhibition of projects, science talks and demonstrations in the college laboratories and a student competition.

DSE manages the European Space Education Resource Office (ESERO) in Ireland, providing educational material and activities using space observation and exploration as an engaging theme.

Established in 2010, ESERO also supports Ireland’s increasing involvement in the space industry. ESERO offices have been established in five countries across Europe. ESERO Ireland is jointly funded by European Space Agency (ESA) Education and Discover Science & Engineering.

DSE actively promotes STEM careers to Irish students. The Science Ambassadors Programme, which profiles young qualified scientists and engineers on its dedicated careers website www.

MyScienceCareer.ie from a wide range of employment sectors, showcases many diverse STEM career paths. This is a useful online resource for career guidance counsellors, parents and students making subject and CAO choices at second-level.

In early 2012 DSE delivered the Smart Futures Online campaign.

This was a joint effort between government, education and Industry, resulting in the first ever online careers fair for secondlevel students, promoting career opportunities in the ICT sector and developing online resources for career guidance counsellors, teachers and parents. Online Q&A sessions connected students with tech professionals in companies such as Microsoft, Ericsson and SAP. A national ‘Digital Creator’ competition showcased student talent in gaming, mobile applications and animation. Connect with www.Twitter.com/ SmartFuturesIE and www.

Facebook.com/SmartFutures to stay up-to-date and access the latest resources.

Read about all of Discover Science & Engineering’s programmes and activities at

www.Discover-Science.ie Minister Sean Sherlock launches Greenwave 2012.

ORGANISATIONS

Artificial Intelligence Association of Ireland

A selection of associations, organisations and public groups 091 Labs

Providing a community space for people involved in making electronic and other creative devices.

Tyrone House, 47 Eyre Square, Galway. info@o91labs.com www.091labs.com

Academy of Medical Laboratory Science, AMLS

The Academy is the recognized professional body responsible for the standard of training and education required to practice medical laboratory science in Ireland.

Executive Officer Tom Moloney 31 Old Kilmainham, Dublin 8

ORGANISATIONS

Advisory Council for Science, Technology and Innovation

The Advisory Council for Science, Technology and Innovation provides policy advice to the Irish Government on medium and long term science, technology and innovation (STI) issues and contributes towards the development and implementation of a coherent and effective national strategy for STI. It provides the primary interface between stakeholders and policymakers in the STI arena.

The Council gathers the expertise and experience of members who are recognised leaders in their fields and comprises members from academia, enterprise and professional sectors and a representative from Forfás, Ireland’s policy advisory board for enterprise, trade, science, technology and innovation. The Council is chaired by Dr Tom McCarthy. The ACSTI is a subBoard of Forfás which manages the work of the Council and provides it with research and analytical support. sciencecouncil@forfas.ie www.sciencecouncil.ie www.forfas.ie

Alchemists Café

As an Irish branch of the Café Scientificique movement, informal public discussions about topics of scientific interest are held in cafés, bars, restaurants and other locations outside the academic environment. The movement began in 1998 at Leeds, and have since spread to other centres. Meetings are free and open to everyone but a hat is usually passed around for contributions. alchemistscafe@goodlemail.com http://www.alchemistcafedublin. com

All Ireland Cooperative Oncology Research Group, ICORG A grouping of cancer experts aiming to give patients early access to new treatments. info@icorg.ie www.icorg.ie

AMT Ireland, Limerick

Established to provide advanced manufacturing consultancy, technical advice and training.

AMT centres are at University of Limerick, NUI Galway, University College Dublin and University College Cork.

Denis Kearney Plassy Technological Park, Limerick.

061 331588 denis.kearney@ul.ie www.amt.ul.ie

Applied Nanotechnology Technology Competence Centre, CCAN

expertise from all the major Irish universities. CCAN has offices in CRANN at TCD and the Tyndall National Institute at UCC. One of the Technology Centres established by EI in collaboration with the IDA. Executive Director Dr Alan Hynes Tyndall National Institute, Dyke Parade, Cork.

021 4904056 info@ccan.ie www.ccan.ie

AquaTT

An organisation founded in 1992 by UCC and NUI Galway to provide project management, dissemination of information, and training in support of sustainable management of aquatic resources.

Scientific Officer Dr Gill Marmelstein PO Box 8989, Dublin 2 01 6449008 gill@aquatt.ie www.aquatt.ie

Armagh Observatory

An international research institute promoting the rich heritage of astronomy and related sciences. About 30 astronomers study stellar astrophysics, the Sun, Solar System astronomy and its relationship to Earth. There is an active programme of science in the community, and the grounds are open to visitors every day.

Director Prof Mark Bailey College Hill, Armagh BT61 9DG, Northern Ireland. +44(0)2837522928 info@arm.ac.uk http://star.arm.ac.uk and http:// climate.arm.ac.uk

A national organisation established to enable Irishbased companies to increase competitiveness by developing nano-enabled solutions and products that satisfy industrydefined needs. CCAN is led by an industry steering board and can easily access research

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A group made up from people working on artificial intelligence in Ireland. There are a number of groups from DCU, Queen’s, TCD, UCD, UCC, NUI Galway, UL, UU, DIT and from industry.

Chairman Barry O’Sullivan University College Cork, Cork.

021 4205951 b.osullivan@CS.UCC.IE www/4c/ucc.ie/aiai

Association of Teachers’ Education Centres in Ireland, ATECI

Representing 21 full-time centres and 9 part time education centres.

Secretary Dolores Hammill Kildare Education Centre secretary@ateci.ie

Astronomical Science Group of Ireland, ASGI

Founded 1974 to foster scientific links between astronomers working in the Republic and Northern Ireland. Two meetings a year in which researchers present their work.

Chair Dr Peter Gallagher 01 7084658 peter.gallagher@tcd.ie http://www.astrophysics.ie/

Astronomy Ireland

A large astronomy club running regular events for members including lectures, and selling euipment through their shop in Swords.

Freepost PO 2888 Dublin 5.

01 8901111 sec.astronomy.ie www.astronomy.ie

Astroshack, J65

A small privately run observatory run by Dave McDonald in Celbridge. The observatory, recognized by the International Astronomical Union, provides scientific data to the Minor Planet Centre and other organisations.

Dave McDonald dmcdona@eircom.net www.astroshack.net

Megazyme International Ireland M

egazyme International Ireland develops test kits and reagents for quality control in the food, feed, fermentation, biofuels, wine and dairy industries. The company was founded by Dr. Barry McCleary and Ms. Angela Kennedy in Sydney, Australia in 1988 and relocated to Bray in 1996. It has 32 employees, 16 of whom were employed over the past 5 years. Heavy investment in research and development in the “good years” has positioned the company for rapid growth, even in these challenging times.

Many of the methods developed by Megazyme are world standards. Such methods include those for dietary fibre, starch, beta-glucan (the soluble fibre in oats that confers heath benefits) and many enzymes that affect the use of grain and fruit products. Recently, a new Integrated Total Dietary Fibre method developed

by Megazyme has gained international acceptance. McCleary coordinated the interlaboratory evaluation of this method through AOAC International in 2008-2009.

The study was named “Collaborative Study of the Year” for 2010, and McCleary was awarded “Study Director of the Year”. This method has recently been adopted by CODEX Alimentarius (a body established

by FAO and WHO whose main aims are to protect the health of consumers and ensure fair practices in the international food trade), positioning it to become the international standard method for dietary fibre.

Megazyme also develops reagents and test technology for measurement of enzyme activities. Enzymes are biological catalysts; in our body they digest our food

and they are widely used in food processing.

Enzymes are produced industrially by major corporations in Europe, USA and Asia.

These companies turn to Megazyme for their analytical requirements. Megazyme products are used to measure the amylase and protease enzymes in biological washing powders, the cellulase enzymes used to make “stone washed” jeans, and enzymes that are used to increase the digestibility of poultry and pig feeds. The quality of brewers malt is dictated by the levels of the enzymes α-amylase, β-amylase and limit-dextrinase.

Megazyme is the sole supplier of specific reagents to measure each of these enzymes, and these reagents are used in industry and research laboratories worldwide.

In 2003, Megazyme extended its research facility to house a molecular biology division, aimed at developing capabilities to clone genes to produce enzymes allowing the development of test kits for the wine and food industries. This venture has been very successful, allowing Megazyme to compete with multinational companies involved in this field. There are over 20 different biochemically measurable components in wine that affect quality and Megazyme has developed test kits for each; these components include organic acids, sugars and a number of nitrogen compounds and sulphite. Within five years, Megazyme became the market leader in supply of test kits in Australia, New Zealand and Chile.

Much of the wine you drink was analysed and standardised with a test kit developed and supplied from Bray, Ireland. Penetration of markets in USA, France, Spain, Italy and South Africa is proceeding rapidly.

Megazyme is now heavily involved in fungal genomics research, with the aim of producing enzymes that will contribute to developments in biofuels and glycoprotein research. The challenges and opportunities are limitless. Already, several valuable enzymes have been produced through an eukaryotic expression system, and some of these are now offered for sale. Megazyme is also developing an organic chemistry capability to allow the expansion of our range of novel substrates for rapid analysis of enzyme activity.

The commitment of Megazyme to “Setting New Standards in Test Technology” has been continually recognised over the years, with Megazyme and founder, Dr McCleary receiving a number of business and scientific awards. Megazyme was named the SFA Small Business Innovator of the Year in Ireland in 2007 and 2009 and McCleary was a finalist in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards in 2009. For his contributions to analytical chemistry, in 2002, McCleary was awarded the Harvey W. Wiley Medal by the Association of Official Analytical Chemists, USA — this is the most prestigious award given by this Association.

He was awarded the Clyde H. Bailey Medal in 2008 by the International Association for Cereal Science and Technology (Europe), the Edith Christensen Award in 2008 and the Applied Research Award in 2009 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists.

McCleary is an ISI highly cited author.

Currently he is Chair of the Board of the American Association of Cereal Chemists International.

Megazyme International Ireland, Bray Business Park, Bray. Co Wicklow.

www.megazyme.com

Atlantic Corridor

Fostering growth and development in the Midlands.

Funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and working with partnering organisations in Northern Ireland, the US and Camnada.

CEO Jackie Gorman McFadden House, Patrick Street, Tullamore, Co Offaly. jgorman@atlanticcorridor.ie www.atlanticcorridor.ie

Belfast Geologists’ Society

Open to amateurs and professionals with an interest in geology. Lectures sandf outings are organised during the year. belfastgeologists@live.co.uk www.belfastgeologists.org.uk

Bell Labs

ORGANISATIONS

Established in 2004 as one of the eight international Bell research laboratories run by Alcatel-Lucent. The Lab conducts research in communications technology. Through the Centre for Telecommunications Value Chain Research, there is collaboration with eight Irish universities.

Alcatel-Lucent, Blanchardstown Industrial Estate, Dublin 15. press@alcatel-lucent.com www.bell-labs.com

Biobank Ireland Trust

Collection and storage of tissue for cancer research Clarendon Mews, Lad Lane, Dublin 2.

01 2500053 info@biobankireland.com www.biobankireland.com

BioConnect

Organisation established in 2001 as an informal network for people working in biotechnology, life sciences and medical devices. BioConnect works from within Enterprise Ireland.

Jim Ryan Enterprise Ireland, East Point Business Park, Dublin 3.

01 7272692 jim.ryan@curca.ie www.biotechnologyireland.com/ bioconnect

BioInnovate Ireland

Based at NUI Galway.

BioInnovate offers a fellowship programme on innovation of medical devices. The programme runs in partnership with the University of Limerick, Dublin City University, RCSI, and UCC Programme Manager Clodagh Barry NUI Galway 091 494212 clodagh.barry@nuigalway.ie www.bioinnovate.ie

Biomedical/Clinical Engineering Association of Ireland, BEAI Established in 1992 for technicians working with electromedical equipment.

Biomedical Engineering Department, Cork University Hospital, Wilton, Cork.

021 4922849 noel.murphy@hse.ie www.beai.ie

BioPharma Campus, Galway

A 27 ha (67 acre) area in Galway being developed to fast-track development of bioscience companies.

Biorefining and Bioenergy Competence Centre One of the Technology Competence Centres established under a joint IDA Enterprise Ireland to foster innovation in industry. The Biorefining and Bioenergy centre is co-hosted

by NUI Galway, University of Limerick and University College Dublin.

Brendan Lawlor 01 7272692 brendan.lawlor@enterpriseireland.com www.nuigalway.ie/ccbb

Biotechnology Ireland A website connecting all those involved in the biotech and lifesciences community in Ireland. Online tools for interaction allow members to post information on the site, including individual and

organisation profiles, news, events, CVs and job vacancies.

Members can register online for the face-to-face BioConnect Ireland events.

Declan McGee Enterprise Ireland, East Point, Dublin 3.

01 7272668 editor@biotechnologyireland.com www.biotechnologyireland.com

Bird Watch Ireland

Organisation established in 1968 promoting conservation of birds and biodiversity. Bird Watch Ireland, with 14,000 members, is involved in a number of conservation projects in collaboration with state and other bodies.

Unit 20, Block D, Bullford Business Campus, Kilcoole, Co Wicklow.

01 2819878 info@birdwatchireland.ie www.birdwatchireland.ie

Bord Iascaigh Mhara, BIM

Established in 1952 as the state agency responsible for developing sea fishing and aquaculture. BIM provides a range of services including advice, technical, training and marketing support. The BIM Laboratory provides analytical testing of fish and shellfish products, water and environmental samples. Offices in Dublin, Galway, Clonakilty in Cork, Killybegs in Donegal, Castletownbere in Cork, and Greencastle in Co Donegal.

Crofton Road, Dunlaoghaire, Co Dublin.

01 2144100 info@bim.ie www.bim.ie

Bord na Móna

Originally established 75 years ago to exploit Ireland’s peat, the company has since diversified into energy, environmental and retail services.

Corporate Communications Paddy Rowland Main Street, Newbridge, Co Kildare.

045 439142 paddy.rowland@bnm.ie www.bnm.ie

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Botanic Gardens

Extensive collection of growing plants, herbarium and education centre. The National Botanic Gardens, originally founded by the Royal Dublin society is run under the state’s Office of Public Works.

Matthew Jebb Glasnevin, Dublin 9.

01 8040300 matthew.jebb@opw.ie www.botanicgardens.ie

Botanical Society of the British Isles

Society promoting fieldwork and recording of the flora of Britain and Ireland.

Botany Department, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD. coordinator@bsbi.org.uk www.bsbi.org.uk

Burren Connect Project Working on sustainable management of the Burren region with support of local community, County Council, Geological Survey, National Parks, National Monuments and other stakeholders. In 2011 the Burren was awarded international Geopark status.

Edel Hayes Ennistymon Area Office, Clare Co Co Ennistymon, Co Clare.

065 7072295 info@burren.ie www.burrenconnect.ie

Carna Research Station Research station for study of the atmosphere.

Muigh-Inis, Carna, Co Galway. bernadette.niniadh@nuigalway.ie

Centre for Civil Engineering Heritage

Archive on books, periodicals, plans and other records relating to civil engineering.

Dr R C Cox School of Engineering, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2.

01 6773072 rcox@tcd.ie

Fostering cross border cooperation in education, health and other areas of all Ireland interest.

Andy Pollack 39 Abbey Street, Armagh.

BT617EB. Northern Ireland. +44 (0) 2837511550. crossborder@qub.ac.uk www.crossborder.ie

Centre for Inclusive Technology, CFIT

Research and development of technology to overcome disabilities.

Accessibility Researcher Dr Antoinette Fennell Whiteworth Road, Drumcondra, Dublin 9.

01 18821988 antoinette.fennell@ncbi.ie www.cfit.ie

Centre for Women in Science and Engineering

Promoting advancement of women in science at TCD O’Reilly Institute, Trinity College, Dublin 2.

01 896308 wiser@tcd.ie www.tcd.ie/wiser

Centres for Science, Engineering and Technology, CSETs

SFI programme for campus industry partnerships in highend research. Costs are shared with industry.

Science Foundation Ireland.

CoderDojo

A network of computer clubs, launched in 2011 at the National Computer Centre in Cork. Since then Dojo clubs have been established in Dublin, Athlone and others are being set up in Limerick and Kerry. At meetings young people learn how to code and develop websites, apps and games. startup@coderojo.com http://coderdojo.com/

Coford

Based at the Department of Agriculture , Fisheries and Food. Programme of Competitive Forestry Research for Development. The Council, representing the forestry sector, is appointed by the Minister of State, and it is responsible for developing research policy. Coford research covers forestry harvesting, products, quality, species selection and applications for timber.

Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Kildare Street, Dublin 2.

01 6072487

Coillte

A state owned commercial company involved with management of natural resources. The company took over the State forests in 1989 and it currently owns about 445,000 hectares of land. The company has a board of directors appointed by the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

Since the take over in 1989 the company has diversified into three main divisions, panel products, forestry, and business activities developed from core skills and assets.

Dublin Road, Newtownkennedy, Co Wicklow.

01 2011111 info@coillte.ie www.coillte.ie

Cork Astronomy Club

Established in 1982 the club promotes an interest in all aspects of astronomy and runs a series of lectures. Meetings every month at UCC Civil Engineering building.

Secretary Lynda O’Mahony 021 4294509 astronomycork@yahoo.ie http://www.corkastronomyclub. com/

Cork Skeptics

A voluntary group holding regular meetings to promote skepticism and rational thinking about science. The group meet monthly at the CIT Blackrock Castle Observatory.

Crann

A voluntary organisation established in 1986 to promote planting and protection of trees, hedgerows and woodlands.

Marguerite Arbuthnot-O’Brien PO Box 860, Celbridge, Co Kildare.

01 6275075 info@crann.ie www.crann.ie

Dublin Naturalists’ Field Club, DNFC

Established in 1886, the DNFC fosters the study of natural history and organises field outings for identification and recording of Ireland’s flora and fauna.

Secretary Gerry Sharkey dnfc@eircom.net www.dnfc.net

Electricity Supply Board, ESB

Originally the state supplier and generator of electricity, but has since diversified into a number of energy and engineering related areas. Embracing a range of generation, supply, electricity networks infrastructure and international engineering consultancy activities. Businesses include: Electric Ireland, ESB Networks, Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE), ESB International and ESB Telecoms.

Corporate Communications Brian Montayne 27 Lower Fitzwilliam Street, Dublin 2.

01 7027309 brian.montayne@esb.ie www.esb.ie

Engineers Ireland

One of the largest and oldest representative bodies with a membership of engineers which now totals over 24,000. The membership incorporates all disciplines of the engineering profession in Ireland across industry, the public service, semi-state organisations and academic institutions.

22 Clyde Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.

01 6651300 info@engineersireland.ie www.engineersireland.ie

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Enterprise Ireland

The government agency responsible for development and promotion of Irish industry and business services with strong growth and export potential. EI has a network of 10 regional and 30 overseas offices.

Communications Alan Hobbs East Point Business Park, Dublin 3.

01 7272000 alan.hobbs@enterprise-ireland. com www.enterprise-ireland.ie

Environmental Protection Agency, EPA The statutory body responsible for environmental monitoring, controls and enforcement of regulations. The EPA is based in Johnstown Castle, and has nine other regional offices.

Johnstown Castle, Co Wexford.

053 9160600 info@epa.ie www.epa.ie

European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network A European body with an Irish branch, ICRIN, based at Molecular Medicine Ireland.

Networking of clinical research facilities.

Susan Lennon 85a St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2.

01 4779815 susan.lennon@ molecularmedicineireland.ie www.ecrin.org

European Science Events Association.

EUSEA

Providing a platform of exchange for science communicators across Europe. Members drawn from 36 countries including Ireland. www.euscea.org

ORGANISATIONS

Centre for Cross Border

Food Safety Authority of Ireland, FSAI

The FSAI is responsible for ensuring the safety of food produced and distributed in Ireland. The FSAI also ensures that food producers comply with food safety regulations.

Abbey Court, Lower Abbey Street, Dublin 2.

01 8171300 info@fsai.ie www.fsai.ie

Forfás

ORGANISATIONS

Forfás is the Government’s national policy advisory board for enterprise, trade, science, technology and innovation.

Forfas is an agency of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and advises the the Minister and DJEI on a range of policy areas from an enterprise perspectiveincluding science, technology and innovation. Forfas manages the work of and provides research and analytical support to the Advisory Council for Science, Technology and Innovation.

Forfas has a coordinating role in relation to the functions of its sister agencies, Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and Science FoundationIreland. Forfás also evaluates enterprise policy interventions. The Irish National Accreditation Board, Ireland’s national body within a European network of accredition is a division of Forfas. Forfas hosts the Office of the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government.

Communications Aideen Fitzgerald Wilton House Wilton Terrace, Dublin 2.

01 6073000 info@forfas.ie www.forfas.ie, www. sciencecouncil.ie; www.inab.ie

Friends of the University for the South East, FUSE

A group campaigning to have a university in the South East region. info@se4u.org www.se4u.org

Galway Astronomy Club

Monthly meetings for all who share an interest in astronomy.

Chairman Marcus Woerner 086 8434003 markus.woerner@nuigalway.ie http://galwayastronomyclub.ie

Geological Association The IGA, established for half a century, is open to all interested in geology and holds a number of field trips, workshops and lectures during each year. info@geology.ie www.geology.ie

Geological Survey of Ireland, GSI

GSI is responsible for mapping the mineral and geological resources of Ireland, both onshore and offshore. Key activities include mapping of ground water, geohazards, aggregates and Ireland’s subsurface and promotion of geoparks. GSI runs the national seabed mapping programme, INFOMAR, with the Marine Institute. It also manages the Griffiths Geological Research Programme and a number of EC and externally funded projects including Tellus Border, a geochemical and airborne geophysical survey of the border counties.

Beggar’s Bush, Haddington Road, Dublin 4.

01 6782000 gsisales.ie www.gsi.ie

Geological Survey of Northern Ireland

GSNI gathers and manages geological data, publishing and archiving maps and reports. GSNI has undertaken an extensive surveying project, Tellus, combining aerial observations with ground work. GSNI operates under the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, and works closely with its counterpart in the Republic, GSI. Colby House, Stranmillis Court, Belfast. BT95BF +44(0)2890388462 gsni@detini.gov.uk www.bgs.ac.uk.gsni

Geothermal Association of Ireland

Promoting the use geothermal energy in Ireland, mainly through recovery of heat from groundwater. The Association presents annual awards for high quality projects.

Brecan Mooney c/o Groundwater Section GSI Beggar’s Bush, Haddington Road, Dublin 4.

01 67827844 info@geothermalassociation.ie www.geothermalassociation.ie

Genetic Heritage Ireland

GHI promotes the conservation of Ireland’s plant and animal resources.

Dr Tom Curtis 17 Davitt Road, Bray, Co Wicklow. rico@geneticheritageireland.ie www.geneticheritage.ireland.ie

GlycoScience Ireland GSI

Established in 2007 to encourage and facilitate inter-disciplinary work on glycoscience.

GlycoScience us a cluster of scientists from a number of organisations in Ireland provides a forum for dialogue between researchers and industry. Their 5th annual meeting will be held in Galway during October 2012.

Professor Lokesh Joshi 091 495768 lokesh.joshi@nuigalway.ie www.glycoscienceireland.ie

Hamilton Mathematics Institute

Fostering mathematics and related disciplines.

Department of Pure and Applied Mathematics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2.

01 6081949 hmi@maths.tcd.ie

Health Research Board

HRB is responsible for funding health research and has an annaul budget of €40m. Chaired

by Reg Shaw. In 2011 105 grants were awarded by HRB. In the same year 38 PhD students were supported.

73 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2.

01 2345000 hrb@hrb.ie www.hrb.ie

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Health Services Research Institute, HSRI

The HSRI runs the Health Reserch Board (HRB) funded PhD Scholars Programme in Health Services Research. The programme is a joint initiative of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Trinity College Dublin and University College Cork and is funded by the Health Research Board in Ireland.

RCSI, Beaux Lane House, Mercer Street Lower, Dublin 2 01 4022735 hsriadmin@rcsi.ie

Higher Education Authority, HEA

The authority for planning and development in higher education and research. HEA is the funding body for the universities, institutes and a number of other organisations.

Brooklawn House, Shelbourne Road, Dublin 4.

01 3531231 info@hea.ie www.hea.ie

HEAnet

Providing a high-capacity Internet service to higher education and research organisations.

1st Floor, 5 George’s Dock, IFSC, Dublin 1.

01 6609040 info@heanet.ie www.heanet.ie

HRB Clinical Research Facility, Galway, CRFG

Facilities for clinical trials, nursing research, controlled storage of medicicinal and biospecimens, and education.

Geata an Eolais, University Road, Galway.

01 091 495964 crfg@nuigalway.ie

The final and biggest work programme of the Seventh Programme for research and development (FP7) will be published on 9 July 2012, with an injection of nearly €8 billion into Europe’s research and innovation system.

This represents a crucial opportunity to support growth and jobs at a time when the European economy teeters on the brink of further recession.

Our strategy for research and innovation is the essential element for a sustainable competitive economy and directly contributes towards the objectives of Europe 2020, the Innovation Union Flagship, and other EU policies.

The calls address key concerns facing Europeans where action at EU level is essential to address these challenges. They include: l Oceans of the future l Water l Raw materials l Smart Cities l Secure clean and efficient energy l Public sector reform l Brain research l Anti-microbial resistance l Bio Resource Efficiency l Europe: a destination for world-class researchers

Joint Research Centre — where science meets policy

As the European Commission’s in-house science service, the Joint Research Centre’s (JRC) mission is to provide EU policies with independent, evidence-based scientific and technical support throughout the whole policy cycle. With over 2 800 members of staff, three quarters of whom are scientists and technicians, the JRC has a headquarters in Brussels that manages seven different research institutes located in five EU countries: Belgium (Geel), Germany (Karlsruhe), Italy (Geel), the Netherlands (Petten) and Spain (Seville).

Each Institute specialises in a different scientific field covering research in: environment and climate change; energy and transport; agriculture and food security; health and consumer protection; information society and digital agenda; safety and security, including nuclear.

This work is complemented by extensive networks and collaborative projects with over 1 000 leading scientific organisations worldwide. In Ireland, the JRC collaborates with partners such as Trinity College Dublin, University of Limerick, University College Cork, the Food Safety Authority, the Health Service Executive and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Working for the JRC is professionally and personally enriching. It brings together experts from all EU countries and beyond, creating a crossdisciplinary and multi-cultural research centre of excellence. In addition, by supporting and advising EU policy-makers, the JRC directly improves the well-being of the European citizen. Finally, the JRC boasts state of the art laboratories and scientific facilities, for These strategic priorities in WP2013 are linked Visit the EU’s Research & Innovation stand example, the European Solar Test Installation to the challenges as identified for the focus to find out how you can get involved in EU (ESTI), the reference materials laboratory or the of research and innovative funding in the funded research projects Electric Vehicle and Smart Grid Interoperability next funding programme Horizon 2020 from at the ESOF 2012 Conference centre. It also manages seven EU reference 2014-2020, directly implementing the EU2020 11-15 July 2012 laboratories dedicated to areas such as strategy. This challenge-based approach will www.esof2012.org alternatives to animal testing, genetically bring together resources and knowledge modified food and feed and polycyclic aromatic across different fields, technologies and hydrocarbons. disciplines, including social sciences and the humanities. This will cover activities from research to market with a reinforced focus on innovationrelated activities, such as piloting, demonstration, test-beds, and support for public procurement and closer to the market activities.

There is a determined focus to foster new ideas, supporting world class teams tackling significant challenges, and on ensuring that the fruits of our investments can be properly exploited. Without jeopardising the principles of excellence, incentives for the participation of SMES will be put in place, fertilising future growth and job creation. In this way the work programme acts as a bridge towards Horizon 2020 - within the current structure and legal base - and will provide for a smooth transition towards the new programme.

Find out more:

The JRC is always looking for high-quality researchers. A third of its staff are on fixed term contracts and each year there are approximately 200 such posts needing to be filled. These include senior scientists, postgraduate and post-doctoral grantholder positions working with a multi-disciplinary approach. All the necessary information about current vacancies and the recruitment process can be found here: http://www. jrc.ec.europa.eu/jobs IRMM Institute for reference Mterials and Measurement

www.ec.europa.eu/research

Visit the “Research in Action” exhibition

Find out how robots can assist our daily living, take part in the Sugar Molecules Contest, see a demonstration of a new-to-theworld wave energy convertor, assess your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, and find out more about a coral reef discovered off the West coast of Ireland! from 9-20 July 2012 (closed 11 July) at — European Commission Representation in Ireland European Union House, 18 Dawson Street, Dublin 2 www.euireland.ie

Headquarters IPTS Institute for Prospective Technological Studies

IET Institute for Energy and Transport ITU Institute for Transuranium Elements IHCP Institute for Health and Consumer Protection

IPSC ISM IES Institute for the Ispra Site Institute for Protection and Management Environment and Security of the Citizen Sustainability

IDA Ireland — Industrial Development Agency Ireland The government agency promoting inward investment.

The agency has a strong record of attracting multinationals and has had significant success in changing over from assembly to research based industries.

The IDA has offices throughout Ireland and abroad.

Press Officer Thomas McEvoy Wilton House, Wilton Terrace, Dublin 2.

01 6034000 idaireland@ida.ie www.idaireland.com

Industrial Heritage Association of Ireland The IHAI was established in 1996 to record and encourage the preservation of sites, monuments and machinery as industrial heritage. info@ihai.ie www.ihai.ie

ORGANISATIONS

Inland Fisheries Ireland, IFI

The state agency responsible for protection, management and conservation of inland fisheries and sea angling resources.

Formed in 2010 following amalgamation of central and regional fisheries boards.

Operating from eight locations in Ireland.

Swords Business Campus, Swords, Co Dublin.

01 8842600 info@fisheriesireland.ie www.fisheriesireland.ie

Innovation, Research

Development Group, IRDG An industry led group of companies involved in research, development and innovation.

Managing Director Denis Hayes Mary Byrne, Communications Regus Pembroke House, 28-32 Upper Pembroke Street, Dublin 2.

01 2374671 info@irdg.ie http://www.irdg.ie/

Institute for Ethics

The Institute was established in September 2008 with the mission to create ethical awareness in relation to all fields of the university´s activities and to play a leading role in raising public awareness of, and stimulating debate about, ethical issues.

Henry Grattan Building, Dublin City University, Dublin 9.

01 7006571 ethics@dcu.ie

Institute of Chemistry of Ireland

Representing chemists and promoting chemistry. Founded in 1922 and incorporated as a non-profit body in 1950. The Institute aims to promote the interests of chemistry and its applications.

PO Box 9322, Cardiff Lane, Dublin 2. info@instituteofchemistry.org www.instituteofchemistry.org

Institute of Physics in Ireland, IOP

The Irish branch of the society, which includes Northern Ireland, promotes study and research in physics and is active in education.

Alison Hackett c/o School of Physics, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4.

01 7162216 Alison.hackett@iop.ie www.iopireland.org

Instutes of Technology Ireland, IOTI

Institutes of Technology Ireland (IOTI) represent 13 Institutes across Ireland. The Institutes of Technology have a long track record of delivering research, development, innovation and enterprise solutions to industry, ranging from multinational companies to locallybased SMEs. The Institutes have a strong reputation for delivering employerfocused undergraduate and postgraduate education in STEM and other areas. They have also built up significant expertise within internationally recognized research centres and initiatives,

all aligned with national priority areas. This provides a platform to deliver real change and impact for key sectors of the Irish economy.

Andrew Brownlee 1st Floor, Fumbally Square, Fumbally Lane, Dublin 8.

01 7082900 info@ioti.ie www.ioti.ie

Ireland Co-operative Oncology Research Group,The, ICORG.

Institution of Geologists of Ireland

Irish Association of Economic Geology

Formed in 1999 to represent professional interests and promote the geosciences in Ireland. c/o School of Geological Sciences University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4.

01 7162085 www.igi.ie

Integrated NanoScience Platform for Ireland, INSPIRE

A collaborative body of ten research institutions involved in nanotechnology supported

by PTRLI. The aims are to promote Ireland as a centre of excellence and to provide access to instrumentation, courses and supports.

Mary Colclough 01 8963022 www.inspirenano.com

International Association of Hydrogeologists (Irish Group)

The Irish branch of an international association for members working in groundwater resource planning, management, development and protection. Founded in 1976.

Secretary Jenny Deakin Department of Engineering, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2. deakinjl@tcd.ie www.iah-ireland.org

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An all Ireland network of cancer consultants established in 1996.

Chairman is John Kennedy, St James’s 60 Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin 2.

01 6677211 www.icorg.ie

Formed in 1973 as a professional association for geoscientists in Ireland. Includes geologists working in the universities, industry and the state services.

Secretary Noleen Fox nfox@lisheenmine.ie www.iaeg.org

Irish Astronomical Association, IAA

Amateur astronomical society holding regular meetings in the Bell Theatre, Physics Building, Queen’s University Belfast.

Publishing a quarterly newsletter.

Secretary Danny Collins 30 Lombard Park, Lisburn, Co Antrim BT28 2UJ Northern Ireland www.irishastro.org

Irish Astronomical Society

Long established society for amateur astronomers holding regular meetings in Dublin.

146 Santry Close, Dublin 9. irishastrosoc@gmail.com http://www.irishastrosoc.org/ wordpress/

Irish Bioindustry Association, IBIA

Represesenting the biotechnology industry in Ireland, the association is affiliated to IBEC. Director Michael Gillen Confederation House, 84-86 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2.

01 6051616 Michael.gillen@ibec.ie www.ibia.ie

Provides support, consultancy and training for computer intensive projects.

Infrastructure Manager Niall Wildon niall.wilson@ichec.ie www.ichec.ie

Irish Cleanroom Society Established in 2000 to provide training and address common issues within the industry, such as energy efficiency and state support.

Secretary Peter Fernie emat@iol.ie www.cleanrooms-ireland.ie

Irish Clinical Research Infrastructure, ICRIN

ICRIN is part of a project which will attempt to fill all remaining gaps needed to create a world class clinical research capacity in Ireland. ICRIN has been created under a Memorandum of Understanding between UCD, TCD, RCSI, UCC, NUI Galway and Dublin Molecular Medicine Centre (DMMC). ICRIN will be Ireland’s representative within the European Clinical Research Infrastructures Network (ECRIN).

01 4779 820 info@molecularmedicineireland.ie www.molecularmedicineireland.ie

Irish Coastal Network, ICoNet

Promoting good practice in coastal management, and bringing together practitioners, policy makers and researchers.

Cathal O’Mahony Naval Base, Haulbowline, Cobh, Co Cork 021 4703100 iconet@ucc.ie http://iconet.ucc.ie/

Irish Computer Society, ICS Founded in 1967 as the national body representing information and computer technology professionals. ICS fosters continual development in knowledge and skills and organises events and seminars.

Marketing Eoin Kiernan Crescent Hall, Mount Street Crescent, Dublin 2.

01 7753006 eoin@ics.ie www.ics.ie

Irish Institute of Pharmacy

The Institute was formed in 2012 by the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI) to provide structured education and continued professional development for pharmacists in Ireland. The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) has been contracted by the PSI to facilitate the establishment of an Institute of Pharmacy.

123 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2.

01 4022100 info@rcsi.ie

Irish Council for Science, Technology, and Innovation

Irish Medical Device Association, IMDA

Irish Energy Research Council

Irish Medicines Board

Established in 1997 to advise the government on science, technology and innovation strategy.

Communications Aideen Fitzgerald Wilton Park House, Wilton Place, Dublin 2. aideen.fitzgerald@forfas.ie www.sciencecouncil.ie

A government body looking at a national strategy for energy.

Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources 29-31 Adelaide Road, Dublin 2.

01 6782000

Irish Federation of Astronomical Societies, IFAS Umbrella group of clubs and societies in Ireland.

Chair David McDonald dmcdona@eircom.net www.irishastronomy.org

Irish Forestry and Forest Products Association, IFFPA

Representing the timber product processors and sawmills.

Marian Byron IBEC, 84-86 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2.

01 6051624 www.iffpa.ie

Representing the medical technology sector in Ireland. 250 companies are involved in this sector and exports are worth about €7.2 billion. IMDA is a sector within IBEC. Sharon Higgins 84/86 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2.

01 6051500 sharon.higgins@ibec.ie www.imda.ie

The body responsible for licensing human and veterinary medicines, medical devices and products, and cosmetics.

Pat O’Malley Kevin O’Malley House, Earlsfort Centre, Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2.

01 6764971 customerservice@imb.ie http://www.imb.ie/

Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute

National organisation for clinical nutritionists and dietitians in Ireland.

Ashgrove House, Kill Avenue, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.

01 2804839 info@indi.ie www.indi.ie

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Irish Research Council

In March 2012 the councils for humanities (IRCHSS) and science (IRCSET) were brought together under the Irish Research Council. Both are concerned with fostering postgraduate and postdoc skills. Dr Eucharia Meehan from the Higher Education Authority is interim director.

Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology, IRCSET

Operating under the HEA, IRCSET funds early career researchers in science, engineering and technology and runs supporting programmes. In late 2011 the two councils of IRCSET and its equivalent body for the humanities, IRCHSS, were amalgamated.

Brooklawn House, Crampton Avenue, Shelbourne Road, Dublin 4.

01 2315000 info@ircset.ie www.ircset.ie

Irish Research Staff Association, IRSA

Established in 2007 to act as an umbreall organisation for research staff in academic institutions. UCC, DCU, NUIG, Queen’s, TCD, UCD and UL staff associations are members of this group.

President Gordon Dalton Marine Researcvh Centre, University College Cork. g.dalton@ucc.ie http://www.irsa.ie/

Irish Robotics Group

The Irish Robotics Club is a voluntary, non-profit organisation set up to broaden people’s practical interest in robotics, inter-discipline engineering and computer based science. The club facilitates this through talks, workshops and by competing in national events.

David McKeown david@robots.ie www.robots.ie

ORGANISATIONS

Irish Centre for High End Computing, ICHEC

THE PAST decade has seen a growing acknowledgement that catalysing the movement of stem cell research into the clinic must be an international pursuit. The Irish Stem Cell Foundation (www. stemcell.ie) is Ireland’s member organisation of The International Consortium of Stem Cell Networks (ICSCN). Collectively, the member organisations share information about their mandates and the status of stem cell research in their respective countries.

The ICSCN seeks to accelerate stem cell research globally by providing a forum for exchange of best practice and the development of international equivalents of successful national initiatives; encouraging and facilitating the exchange of researchers and trainees between network members; organising and promoting international workshops and symposia, especially on topics where the expertise within any one jurisdiction may be limited; and facilitating communications to help in the coordination of research and translation between different countries.

STEM

CELL foundation

ORGANISATIONS

Irish Science and Technology Journalists’ Association, ISTJA

01 6486354 nmonaghan@museum.ie www.iscan.ie

An association representing science and technology journalists. ISTJA is affiliated to the European Science Journalists’ Association. The association, formed in 1985, aims to strengthen the position of science journalists in print, broadcasting and other media.

Anna Nolan a.nolan@iol.ie

Irish Science Teachers’ Association, ISTA

Irish Science Centres Awareness Network, iSCAN

An association within IBEC and ICT with membership drawn from over 160 companies involved in softwear in Ireland.

Paul Sweetman IBEC, 84-86 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2.

01 6051569 paul.sweetman@ibec.ie www.software.ie/

The group was established in 1997 to promote co-operation and collaboration between organisations and individuals involved in fostering an understanding of science and technology in Ireland.

Vice Chair Nigel T Monaghan c/o National Museum Natural History, Kildsare Street, Dublin 2.

An association for science teachers in Ireland with branches throughout the country.

Chairperson Mary Mullaghy mmullaghy@eircom.net www.ista.ie

Irish Software Association

Find out more about the ICSCN and the Irish Stem Cell Foundation at

www.stemcell.ie

or follow our activity at http://twitter.com/irishstemcell

Irish Stem Cell Foundation

A group including researchers, doctors and patients advocating greater support for stem cell research. The group aims to provide scientifically accurate information on the current state of research, and they advocate the establishment of appropriate guidelines to enable research to make progress in Ireland.

22 Northumberland Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4. stemcell@ireland.com www.stemcell.ie

Marine Biotechnology Ireland Linking marine research with food, health and biotechnology companies.

Nationa Co-Ordinator Dr Ilaria Nardello Marine Institute nardello@marine.ie

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Irish Timber Growers Association, ITGA Representing private timber growers throughout Ireland.

Chairman Brendan Lacey 01 2350520 info@itga.ie www.itga.ie

Irish Universities Association

The representative body for the seven Irish universities. The IUA facilitates collaboration and development of a collective strategy for education and research.

Communications and Projects Lia O’Sullivan 48 Merrion Square, Dublin 2.

01 6764948 lia.osullivan.ie www.iua.ie

www.iwdg.ie

Kerry Astronomy Club Members share an interest in astronomy and take part on observing sessions.

Chairman John Keane info@kerryastronomyclub.com www.kerryastronomyclub.com

Marine Institute

The Marine Institute is the national agency responsible for marine research, technology development and innovation.

The Institute was established in 1991 to co-ordinate a broad range of marine related research and activities. The Marine Institute is based in Galway, has a regional office in Dublin, and has a research station at Newport in Co Mayo.

Rinville, Oranmore, Galway.

091 387200 institute.mail@marine.ie www.marine.ie

Marine Institute

Dublin office of the Marine Institute which has its HQ in Galway.

80 Harcourt Street, Dublin 2.

01 4766500

Mental Health Commission

An independent statutory body promoting a high standard in delivery of mental health services. The Mental Health Commission is involved with maintaining standards and training.

St Martin’s House, Waterloo Road, Dublin 4.

01 6362400 info@mhcirl.ie www.mhcirl.ie

Met Éireann

Met Éireann is the national meterological service monitoring, analysing and predicting weather and climate conditions.

Customer Liaison Brian Deleney Glasbevin, Dublin 9.

01 8064200 customer.liaison@met.ie www.met.ie

Microscopical Society of Ireland

A society for all those involved in microscopy. The society holds an annual symposium as the main forum for discussion and presentation of findings. www.microscopy.ie

Midas

A grouping of electronics research and industry interests.

MIDAS includes the universities and ITs that provide electronics training course.

Tyndall National Institute, Dyke Parade, Cork.

021 4904375 info@midasireland.ie www.midasireland.ie

Midlands Astronomy Club

Formed originally as the Tullamore Astronomical Society in 1986 the club has regular meetings and holds lectures on astronomy.

Seanie Morris midlandsastronomy@gmail.com www.midlandsastronomy.com

MiLKabs

A hackerspace for people making robotic and other creative devices. info@milklabs.ie www.milklabs.ie

Mills and Millers of Ireland

Fostering restoration and maintenance of old mills.

Archivist William Hogg http://www.millsofireland.org/

Nanonet Ireland

An association of those engaged in the development of nanotechnology in Ireland.

NanoNet combines two other groups, the Integrated NanoScience Platform for Ireland (INSPIRE) and the Competency Centre for Applied Nanotechnology (CANN).

Mary Clairer O’Regan Tyndall National Institute, Dyke Parade, Cork. info@nanonetireland.ie www.nanonetireland.ie

National Biophotonics and Imaging Platform, NBIP

A consortium of imaging and biophotonics laboratories at universities and institutes of technoloigy in Ireland in association with CNRS Montpellier, France, CNR Institure of Biostructure and Bioimaging, Napels, and The Nordic Imaging Network.

Dublin City University, Dublin 9.

Dublin 2.

01 4022374 nbipadmin@rcsi.ie http://www.nbip.dcu.ie/

National Centre for Biomedical Engineering Sciences, NCBES

An interdisciplinary body engaged in medical research and development. NCBES is based at NUI Galway and has links to a number of research groups in Ireland and abroad and to industry.

Director Prof Frank Barry 091 495165 triona.quinn@nuigalway.ie www.ncbes.ie

National Digital Research Centre, NDRC

Bringing digital technology and enterprise together and helping new firms to secure support.

NDRC was established in 2007 by DCU, TCD, UCD, IADT and NCAD. Crane Street, Digital Hub, Dublin 8.

01 4806252 info@ndrc.ie www.ndrc.ie

National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training, NIBRT

Providing training, research and services to the bioprocessing industry. NIBRT involves a collaboration between TCD, UCD, DCU, and IT Sligo. The institute was established with funding from the IDA. NIBRT has stateof-the-art bioprocessing plant facilities for research and training in collaboration with a number of pharmaceutical companies.

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Director Ian Marison Foster Avenue, Mount Merrion, Co Dublin.

01 2158100 info@nibrt.ie www.nibrt.ie

National Library

The national collection of books, papers and other documtary records from Ireland’s past.

Kildare Street, Dublin 2.

01 6030200 info@nli.ie www.nli.ie

National Museum

The National Museum has collections in four locations.

Natural History is at Merrion Street in Dublin, Archaeology is at Kildare Street in Dublin, Decorative Arts are at the Collins Barracks in Benburb Street, Dublin, and the Folk Museum of County Life is at Turlough, Co Mayo.

See destinations. www.museum.ie

National Plaques Association

The association places plaques to commemorate people that have contributed to science in Ireland.

The project to place plaques began in 1996 and since then more than 100 have been placed in prominent positions around the country.

Dr Norman McMillan normanmcmillan@itcarlow.ie

National Space Centre

Based at Elfordstown Earthstation, Midleton, Co Cork where there is a 32 metre satellite dish, formerly used for international telecommunications. In 2010 National Space Centre took over control to operate the facilities as an independent deep space radio telescope.

Rory Fitzpatrick Elfordstown Earth Station, Midleton, Co Cork.

021 4630801 info@nationalspacecentre.eu www.nationalspacecentre.eu

ORGANISATIONS

Irish Whale and Dolphin Group

Neuroscience Ireland

The aim of the Society is to advance research and education in the neurosciences in Ireland, and to represent Irish neuroscience researchers both nationally and internationally.

Communications Officer AnneMarie Miller School of Medicine and Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience Lloyd Institute Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2.

01 8968477 milleram@tcd.ie http://www.neuroscienceireland. org/links.html

Northern Ireland Amateur Astronomy Society

Monthly meetings for people who share an interest in astronomy.

Brian Stafford http://www.eaas.co.uk

NUIM MakersClub

ORGANISATIONS

A group at NUIM for makers and creators of robotic and other devices. The group is migrating from a blog (http://bizmad332. biogspot.com)to YouTube as most of what they have to show is on video.

YouTube: http://www.youtube. com/user/NUIMMakersClub

Ordnance Survey of Ireland

The State body responsible for mapping Ireland. The Survey publishes a range of specialist and tourist maps.

Phoenix Park, Dublin 8.

890 674627 custserv@osi.ie www.osi.ie

Patents Office

The statutory body responsible for trade marks, protection of intellectual property and granting of patents.

Government Buildings, Hebron Road, Kilkenny.

056 7720111 or Lo Call 1890 220223 patib@patentsoffice.ie www.patientsoffice.ie

Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland The PSI regulates about 4,500 pharmacists, 550 pharmaceutical assistants and 1,700 pharmacies throughout Ireland. The PSI prescribes the qualifations required for practice and provides advice and guidance to members and the public.

18 Shrewsbury Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.

01 2837678 info@thepsi.ie

PharmaChemical Ireland

Representing the chemical and pharmaceutical industries in Ireland. PCI is one of the sectors within IBEC. Director Matt Moran Confederation House, 84-86 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2.

01 6051584 matt.moran@ibec.ie

Planetary Society in Ireland

Ireland’s branch of the international Planetary Society.

Member are involved in space exploration and astrophysics.

Kevin Nowlan info@planetary.ie www.planetary.ie

Plant Research Ireland A consortium of scientists working in plant research.

Charlie Spillane Frank Wellmer c.spillane@ucc.ie www.plantresearchireland.org

ProSilva Ireland

Pan European organization for foresters advocating management based on natural processes. The Irish branch was established in 2000.

35 Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin 2. prosilva@eircom.net prosilvaireland.org

Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland, RPII

Established in 1992, the RPII is the national organisation with responsibility for ensuring that people in Ireland are protected from the harmful effects of ionising radiation. This is done by regulating the use of ionising radiation, assessing people’s exposure to ionising radiation and advising Government and the public on the prevention of unnecessary exposure.

CEO Dr Ann McGarry 3 Clonskeagh Square, Dublin 14.

01 2697766 rpii@rpii.ie www.rpii.ie

Royal Dublin Society

The Society was founded in 1731 to promote agriculture, the arts, industry and science in Ireland. National institutions, such as the Botanic Gardens, the National Gallery and Library were established originally by the RDS. The Foundation activities of the Society continue, and membership is open to all.

Science and Technology Development Executive Karen Sheeran Ballsbridge Dublin 4.

01 2407289 science@rds.ie www.rds.ie

Science Foundation Ireland, SFI

SFI promotes and funds scientific research. SFI is particularly concerned with biotechnology, information and communications technology, and energy. The capital grant for SFI in 2012 is €156 million.

SFI supports 28 research centres and provides funding for about 3,000 research positions. Calls for proposals are issued several times a year. In 2012 the Discover Science and Engineering education programme was transferred from Forfás to SFI. Wilton Park House, Wilton Place, Dublin 2.

01 6073200 info@sfi.ie www.sfi.ie

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Seed Savers Association

Locating and preserving varieties of fruit and vegetables.

Rossinver, Co Leitrim.

071 9854338 www.theorganiccentre.ie

Shannon Developmemt

Regional development organisation covering County Clare, North Kerry, Limerick, South Offaly and North Tipperary. Shannon Development manages the Shannon Free Zone for business and industry, and promotes tourism in the region. In 2012 plans were announced to bring Shannon Airport and Shannon Development together as a new entiry.

Town Centre, Shannon, Co Clare.

061 361555 www.shannondevelopment.ie

Shannonside Astronomy Club

Monthly meetings at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick and observation sessions.

Dave Lillis 087 6137293 davelillis@eircom.net www. shannonsideastronomyclub.com

Society for General Microbiology

The Society, founded in 1945, is the largest microbiological society in Europe and includes an Irish Division. The Society provides a meeting ground for scientists in microbiological research and in applied fields including medicine, agriculture and industry. It publishes scientific journals, organizes international scientific conferences, and has programmes in education and public policy.

Dr William Burns Marlborough House, Basingstoke Road, Spencers Wood, Reading RG7 1AG, UK Tel: +44 (0)118 988 1829 W.Burns@sgm.ac.uk www.sgm.ac.uk

Groundwater a hidden resource

Did you know that over most of Ireland, fresh groundwater is hidden in the cracks in the rocks and soils below ground?

Did you know that hydrogeology is the science of groundwater and that there are many hydrogeologists and groundwater engineers practicing in Ireland that can help you secure a good quality, sustainable groundwater supply, or help you with groundwater management problems?

Did you know that groundwater feeds into many of our rivers and streams and keeps them flowing in the drier summer months when its not raining?

Did you know that groundwater is recharged by rainfall falling on the land surface and in some places, especially in the west of Ireland, it can travel several kms underground in a matter of hours?

Did you know that the choices we make about how we use our land can impact on the quality of our groundwater resources, and ultimately our drinking water, streams, rivers, estuaries and the ocean?

Did you know that there are simple things you can do if you are drilling your own well that will help protect it from contamination?

Society of Irish Foresters

Founded n 1952 to represent forestry professionals.

Glenaly, Co Wicklow.

0404 44204 sif@eircom.net www.societyofirishforesters.ie

Society of Irish Plant Pathologists, SIPP

Representing scientists who work in the field of plant pathology in Ireland at home and abroad. irishplantpathology@gmail.com www.sipp.ie

South Kerry astronomy and Cosmology Group Meetings held every second Tuesday of the month at 8pm in the Old Barracks, Caherciveen.

Children’s, adult and visitor astronomy classes and workshops.

Julie Ormonde Waterville, Co Kerry.

085 7845688 skastronomy@eircom.net www.the-universe.ie

Properly finished monitoring boreholes, Co. Meath (J. Deakin)

Speleological union of Ireland

The Speleological Union of Ireland is the national organizing body for caving throughout Ireland.

Membership is open to anyone interested in caving, for a small fee.

Burren Outdoor Centre, Turlough, Bell Harbour, Co Clare. info@caving.ie

teagasc

Providing integrated research, advice and training for agriculture and food industries. Teagasc employs 1,500 at 120 locations throughout the Republic. It has three food research centres, the National Food Centres in Dublin and Limerick, and the Dairy Products Research Centre at Moorepark, Co Cork. Teagasc also has an Agricultural Research Centre in Oak Park, Co Carlow.

Head Office, Oak Park, Carlow.

059 9170200 info@teagasc.ie

toG

Weekly meetings where members and the public use old and new technologies in creative

The Irish branch of the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH) holds monthly technical discussion meetings, training sessions, and an annual field trip and conference.

Membership is open to all.

For further details go to

www.iah-ireland.org

ways. The group began meeting in 2009 and now have a space where members have space to work on projects 24/7.

Warehouse Unit C, Chancery Lane, Dublin 8.

01 6581845 info@tog.ie www.tog.ie

tree Council of Ireland

A non-governmental organisation promoting the care and conservation of trees in Ireland.

The body links about 50 different organisations relating to trees.

Seismograph House, Rathfarnham Castle, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14.

01 4931313 treescouncil.ie www.treecouncil.ie

udaras na Gaeltachta

Support for social, economic and cultural development in Gaeltacht areas. The authority funds enterprise development in the Gaeltachta.

Na Forbacha Co na Gaillimhe 091 503100 eolas@udaras.ie www.udaras.ie

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wild Geese network of Irish Scientists, wGnIS An all-Ireland network for the Irish scientific, technical and engineering diaspora.

Established in 2011 with connections mainly in the US, Canada, Australia and the EU. http://wildgeesenetwork.org

women in Science and technology

A forum for women involved in sciencd, technology, engineering and mathematics.

PO Box 3783 Dublin 4. info@witsireland.com http://www.witsireland.com/ cms/

woodlands of Ireland Project

Promoting management and expansion of native woodlands.

Seismograph House, Rathfarnham Castle, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14. woodsofireland@iol.ie www.woodlandsofireland.com

orGanISatIonS

Groundwater under the landscape (www.wfdvisual.com)

Did you know that in many counties groundwater is used as a major source of water for private and public drinking water supplies?

RESEARCHERS

RESEARCH GROUPS

Applied Physics Research Group

A selection of centres and organisations involved in research

While all the larger groups and centres are listed here, we have also included many smaller teams and individual researchers currently at work in Irish institutions.

ACORN Research Group

The Applied Control for Distributed Renewable Energy Systems (ACORN) Research Group undertakes multidisciplinary work on sustainable energy management in the industrial, commercial and utility sectors. The key themes include renewable energy technologies, sustainable manufacturing, smart grids and environmental management.

John Cosgrove Limerick Institute of Technology, Moylish Park, Limerick.

061 208208 John.Cosgrove@lit.ie

Advanced Automotive Electronic Control Group, AAECG

The Group performs research, consultancy and training in software and electronic systems applicable to automotive applications.

Principal areas of interest include automotive network optimisation, advances in automotive networks and diagnostics, telematics and image recognition. The group is also engaged in the application of CAN networking in industrial automation via DeviceNet and CANOpen Henry Achenson Waterford Institute of Technology, Cork Road, Waterford.

051 845638 hacheson@wit.ie www.wit.ie/aaecg

Advanced Drug Delivery Group

Combining the expertise of group members in formulation science, cell culture models, molecular biology and physical chemistry to better methods of drug delivery.

Director of Research Dr Carsten Ehrhardt School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Trinity College Dublin,Dublin 2.

01 8962809 edaly3@tcd.ie http://www.pharmacy.tcd.ie/

Advanced Manufacturing Technology Research Group, AMT

Group established in 1995 with focus on automation in manufacturing processes. The key thematic areas of research are highly applicable to modern industry, including nanotechnology, automation and microfluidics. jim Lawlor

Waterford Institute of Technology, Cork Road, Waterford.

051 302090 jlawlor@wit.ie www.wit.ie/amt

Alimentary Glycoscience Research Cluster, AGRC

A grouping of research interests established in 2009 and led from NUI Galway. The group, working with industrial partners, explores the role of sugars in the gut.

Prof Lokesh Joshi National Centre for Biomedical Engineering Science, NUI Galway.

091 495737 lokesh.joshi@nuigalway.ie www.agrc.ie

Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre, APC

Research on gastrointestinal health and the role of microorganisms in the gut.

Communications and Outreach Dr Catherine Buckley Biosciences Institute University College Cork, Cork.

021 4903362 c.buckley@ucc.ie http://.apc.ucc.ie; and http:// microbemagic.ucc.ie (for children)

Amergin

Animal Behaviour Centre Research on behavioural aspects of domestic, farm and zoo animal well-being.

Director Dr Deborah Wells School of Psychology Queen’s University Belfast. Belfat BT7 1NN 038 90074386 d.wells@qub.ac.uk

ANSIN

Research centre working in partnership with Seagate Technology on computer hard drives, new and improved sensors and a host of advanced coatings.

School of Mathematics and Physics Queen’s University Belfast Belfast BT7 1NN 028 90073572 r.m.bowman@qub.ac.uk

Antenna and High Frequency Research Centre, AHFR Specialising in analysis, design and measurement of RF and microwave devices for wireless communications and medical applications.

Director Max Ammann Dublin Institute of Technology.

01 4024905 max.ammann@dit.ie www.ahfr.dit.ie

A centre for sustainable development at Tipperary Institute of Technology.

Involved in rural development and has a focus on bioenergy.

Administrator Maureen Ryan Tipperary Institute of Technology mmryan@tippinst.ie www.amergin.tippinst.ie

Applied Electrochemistry Group

AMT Ireland, Cork

Applied Intelligence Research Centre

Research and development in process engineering.

Dr Barry O’Connor Dept of Food Engineering, University College Cork.

021 902549 amt-irl@ucc.ie www.amt-irl.ie/home.aspx

Analytical and Biological Chemistry, ABCRF Research facility and mass spectrometry laboratory at UCC established with PTRLI support.

Prof Anita Maguire Cavanagh Pharmacy Building, University College Cork.

021 4901694 Debbie.curran@ucc.ie www.ucc.ie/en/abcrf

Carrying out research in electrochemistry and its prctical applications in industry.

Prof John Cassidy Focas InstituteDublin Institute of Technology, Dublin 8.

Researching the application of computational intelligence to real world problems. The core competencies include machine ,earning, language technologies, intelligent agents and data analytic.

Dr Sarah Delany Dublin Institute of Technology.

01 4027159 sarahjane.delany@dit.ie www.comp.dit.ie/aigroup/

Applied Optics Group

Working closely with physics, biophotonics, tissue optics and other groups, research covers a wide range of applied optics and imaging.

Director Prof Chris Dainty NUI Galway.

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A multi-faceted research group whose activities range from conducting oxide surface science investigations, spin electronics, the fabrication and characterisation of nanowire arrays.

Prof Igot Shvets School of Physics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2.

Aquaculture and Fisheries Development Centre, AFDC

A centre for aquaculture and fisheries research. Research includes work on fish biology, shellfish health, marine mammals and fishing practices.

Director Dr Sarah Culloty Cooperage Building, Distillery Fields, North Mall, Cork.

021 4904646 s.culloty@ucc.ie

ArcLabs

Established by WIT and TSSG to provide a one-stop shop for ICT firms to enable them to locate in the SE. There are connections now to over 18 companies in the region.

Manager Tom Corcoran Waterford Institute of Technology, West Campus, Carriganore, Waterford.

051 302900 info@arclabs.ie www.arclabs.ie

Artificial Intelligence and Applications, AIA Group Leader Prof Wang Hui School of Computing and Mathematics, University of Ulster, Shore Road, Newtownabbey, 028 90368981 h.wang@ulster.ac.uk

Artificial Intelligence Group, AIG

Conducting basic and applied research in a number of areas, including: computational linguistics, machine learning, computer vision, natural language processing, multimodal interaction analysis, dialogue systems, intelligent agents and logic programming.

School of Computer Science and Statistics, O’Reilly Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2.

01 8961765 www.scss.tcd.ie

Astronomy and Instrumentation Group

The group has a focus on high precision photometry using CCDs, processing large volumes of dfata, robotic telescope systems, and radio observation of active galactic nuclei.

The group is also actively involved with the Blackrock Observatory which is open to the public.

Bishopstown, Cork.

At Queen’s University Belfast School of Mathematics and Physics.

Research topics include wide-field astronomy and time domain studies, Director Prof Stephen Smartt Astrophysics Research Centre, Physics Building, Queen’s University, Belfast, BT7 1NN, arc.admin@qub.ac.uk http://star.pst.qub.ac.uk

Astrophysics Research Group

Conducting research on solar flares, novae, stellar winds and other aspects of astrophysics.

Astrophysics Course Director Dr Peter Gallagher School of Physics, Trinity College Dublin,Dublin 2.

01 6081675 peter.gallagher@tcd.ie

Atlantia Food CRO

Delivering human dietary intervention studies to food companies globally.

Director Dr Sally Cudmore Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre, University College Cork.

021 4901320 sally@atlantiafoodcro.com www.AtlantiaFoodCRO.com

Atmospheric and Environmental Physics Cluster

Bringing climate modelling, atmospheric composition, and ocean exchange research together into one cluster.

NUI Galway

Atomistic Simulation Centre, ASC

The group is working in the theory and modelling of molecular, liquid and solid systems at the atomic scale.

School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen’s University Belfast. Belfast BT7 1NN 02890245133 webmaster@titus.phy.qub.ac.uk

Automotive Control Group

Established at WIT in 2000 to develop software and hardware systems for automobile applications.

Brendan Jackman Waterford Institute of Technology, Cork Road, Waterford.

051 302000 bjackman@wit.ie wit.ie/Research/

Behavioural Development and Welfare Cluster

Investigating the biological basis of behaviour and its impact on health and welfare.

Director Deborah Wells School of Psychology, University Road, Belfast BT7 1NN. 02890975445 psychology@qub.ac.uk

Behavioural Ecology and Biocontrol Laboratory

Conducting research on the use of parasitic nematodes as biological pesticices.

Head of Laboratory Dr Christine T Griffin NUI Maynooth 01 7083841 christine.griffin@nuim.ie

Behavioural Neuroscience and Applied Behavioural Analysis

Research into Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases using molecular, histological and other neurobiological procedures and applied behavioural work on Autism.

Prof Julian Leslie Psychology Research Institute, University of Ulster, Cromore Road, Coleraine, 028 70124418 f.harkin@ulster.ac.uk

Bioengineering Technology Centre Orthopedics, biomechanics, design, FEA and CFD analysis and the application of rapid prototyping in the field of medicine.

Dr Fiona Evoy Dr Stephen Tiernan Institute of Technology Tallaght, Tallaght, Dublin 24 01 4042000 fiona.mcevoy@itdublin and stephen. tiernan@itdublin.ie

BIO-Explore

Research over wide area of bioanalysis and controls incuding characterisation of toxins, DNA profiling, and screening for novel antimicrobials Cork Institute of Technology Bishopstown, Cork.

021 4326100 info@cit.ie www.cit.ie

Bio-incubation Centre

Providing bioincubation facilities.

Dr Fiona Shalloe Trinity College Dublin, Pearse Street Enterprise Centre, Dublin 2.

01 6082864 fshalloe@tcd.ie www.biotechnologyireland. com/SITE/UPLOAD/DOCUMENT/ TCDpearseBiolcubator.pdf

Bioinformatics and Molecular Evolution Unit

A grouping of three labs at NUIM working on computational analysis of genes, proteines and genomes, and their interactions.

Department of Biology, NUI Maynooth, Co Kildare.

01 7083860 http://bioinf.nuim.ie/

Bioinformatics

Developing novel bioinformatics tools and systems.

Dr Werner Dubitzky University of Ulster, Cromore Road, Coleraine, Co Londonderry. BT521SA, Northern Ireland.

02870324478 w.dubitzky@ulster.ac.uk www.infj.ulst.ac.uk/~cbbg23/ interests.html

Biomedical and Environmental Sensor Technology Centre, BEST

Research and development of optical, humidity, gas and biomedical sensors and electrode implants for medical applications.

Jordanstown Shore Road, Newtownabbey, Co Antrim, BT370QB, Northern Ireland.

2890368934 bestctr@ulster.ac.uk www.nibec.ulst.ac.uk/best

Biomedical Diagnostics Institute, BDI

The Biomedical Diagnostics Institute (BDI) is a multidisciplinary research institute focused on the development of next generation point-of-care biomedical diagnostic devices. A Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) funded Centre for Science, Engineering & Technology (CSET), the BDI has developed a cutting edge collaborative research programme involving leading researchers from academic institutions, companies and the clinical environment to form a complementary, integrated cohesive partnership.

Prof Michael Berndt National Centre for Sensor Research, Dublin City University, Dublin 9.

01 7007658 michael.berndt@dcu.ie www.bdi.ie

Biomedical Engineering in Ireland

Currently focused on research into bovine bone fractures and damage.

Dr John Hession Institute of Technology Sligo, Sligo.

Biomedical Engineering, IT Sligo, Group Group in 1998 and at present the main focus is on orthopedics and bone fracturing.

Institute of Technology Sligo Ballinode, Sligo.

071 9155222 info@itssligo.ie www.itssligo.ie/research

Biomedical Research Cluster

Collaboration between WIT research staff and clinicians in Waterford Regional Hospital on addressing cancer, vascular health, diabetes and bone problems.

Dr Orla O’Donovan

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Waterford Institute of Technology, Institute of Technology Waterford, Waterford.

051 302626 oodonovan@wit.ie

Biomedical Sciences Research Institute, BMSRI

Conducting research on genenutrient interactions, degenerative diseases and application of molecular advances in medicine.

School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulster, Coleraine.

28 70124163 c.adams@ulster.ac.uk

BIOMERIT, UCC

Multidisciplinary research on immunology, microbiology, genomics and biotechnology.

Prof Fergal O’Gara Univerity College Cork, Microbiology Department, Cork.

021 4272097 f.ogara@ucc.ie www.ucc.ie/biomerit/

Bio-Pharmaceutical and Neutroceutical Research Centre

The team is working on antimicriobial peptides and is collaborating with industry andresearchers at DCU, NUIM and other institutions. The centre is managed jointly by Drs J Behan and M Costello.

John Behan Tallaght Institute of Technology, Tallaght, Dublin 24.

01 4042000 info@ittdublin.ie

Bioprocess Engineering Research Group

Research on characteristics and behaviour of cells during bioprocessing.

Administrative Officer Aoife Carney UCD School of Chemical and Bioprocessing Engineering Belfield, Dublin 4.

01 7161825 chemical.eng.ucd.ie

Bioserve

Developing in-vitro toxicology tests for industry.

Director Dr Paul Tomkin Athlone Institute of Technology, Athlone, Co Westmeath.

090 6424572 ptomkins@bioserve.ie

Bioscience Research Institute, BRI

Engaged in research on biopolymers and pharmacologically active compounds and materials.

Athlone Institute of Technology, Dublin Road, Athlone, Co Westmeth.

090 6468053 ptomkins@ait.ie

RESEARCHERS

Astrophysics Research Centre, QUB

RESEARCHERS

Biosciences and Translational Research

and angiogenesis and collaborates with the Trinity Centre for Bioengineering and REMEDI (NUIG) and other national and international partners.

01 402 2149 fjobrien@rcsi.ie www.rcsi.ie/boneresearch

BioSciences Institute, BSI

Boole Centre for Research in informatics

Conducting research on bio and neural engineering involving the interface between electronics and the nervous system.

School of Engineering, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2.

The research arm of the School of Life Sciences, Physiology, Pharmacology, and Thjerapeutics.

University College Cork Biochemistry Department.

021 4901435 bsireception@ucc.ie www.ucc.ie/en/bsi

Biotechnology Laboratory

The group, with a number of adacemic and industrial partners, is working on microbial pathogenicity and identification of diagnostic and therapeutic targets.

Head of Laboratory Prof Sean Doyle NUI Maynooth 01 7083858 sean.doyle@nuim.ie

Bone and Tissue Engineering Research Group

The group carries out research in a wide variety of areas including tissue engineering of bone and cartilage, regenerative medicine, stem cell biology, drug delivery, gene therapy

bringing together the expertise of the School of Mathematics, Applied Mathematics and Statistics and the Department of Computer Science at University College Cork to carry out interdisciplinary research under the banner of Informatics.

Room 2.51 Western Gateway Building, University College Cork.

021 4205946 bcriadmin@bcri.ucc.ie www.bcri.ucc.ie

Bridge and Transport Research Group

Group at UCD working closely with other national and international institutions, in the field of bridge and transport engineering research development.

Dr Ken Gavin UCD School of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering. Belfield, Dublin 4.

01 7163297 kenneth.gavin@ucd.ie

Built Environment Research Institute The Built Environment Research Institute is the University of Ulster’s focus for research activities relating to sustainable technologies, alternative and renewable energy sources, fire and hydrogen safety engineering, development, management, regulation and conservation of the built environment.

Director, Prof Stanley McGreal. ws.mcgreal@ulster.ac.uk www.beri.ulster.ac.uk

Callan Institute

The Callan Institute’s area of expertise is in electronic and software systems, wireless communications and in data mining, knowledge extraction and cognition. As a group, we wish to blend focussed basic research with a systems perspective that drives crossdisciplinary developments, essential in tackling the new challenges arising from the need for a more sustainable, knowledge-driven society.

Joanna O’Grady National University of Ireland, Maynooth, Co Kildare.

01 7086305 callan@nuim.ie www.callan.nuim.ie

Cancer Consortium

Agreement between the US National Cancer Institute, Dept of Health in NI, and Dept of Health in ROI. The aim is to improve access to treatment, strengthen research, and to run trials.

Cell Culture Engineering Researdh Centre

The group is involved in the study and application of metabolic and process engineering of animal cells.

Prof Mohamed Al-Rubeai School of Chemical and Bioprocessing Engineering University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4.

01 7161862 m.al-rubeai@ucd.ie

Cell Signalling Laboratory

See Institute of Immunology, NUIM

Cellular Immunology Laboratory

Research focus on response of immune system and how it can be modified to improve human health.

Dr Bernard Mahon See Institute of Immunology, NUIM 01 7083835 bp.mahon@nuim.ie

Cancer Biology

Indisciplinary research cluster including investigators from science, engineering and medicine.

University College Cork www.ucc.ie/en/cancerbiology

Leading the Development of Ireland’s Farming and Food Industry Teagasc, the Agriculture and Food Development Authority, supports science based innovation in the agri-food sector and the wider bioeconomy to underpin profitability, competitiveness and sustainability.

Through Research (food and agriculture) and Knowledge Transfer (education and advisory) Teagasc delivers six programmes:

Animal and Grassland Programme

Crops, Environment and Land Use Programme

Rural Economy and Development Programme

Food Programme

Education Programme

Advisory Programme

Teagasc Goals: ■ ■ ■ ■

Improve the competitiveness of agriculture, food and the wider bioeconomy Support sustainable farming and the environment Encourage diversification of the rural economy and enhance the quality of life in rural areas Enhance organisational capability and deliver value for money www.teagasc.ie

Conducts problem solving for industry involving build, test and validation.

Cork Institute of Technology

Centre for Advanced Photonics and Process Analysis

With links between Cork Institute of Technology and Tyndall National Institute, the centre is engagedf in pnotonics research.

Cork Institute of Technology, Rossa Avenue, Bishopstown, 021 4335338 info@cappa.ie

Centre for Affective Solutions for Ambient Living Awareness, CASALA

Engaged with the application of emerging technologies to enhancement of life for older people.

Centre Manager Andrew MacFarlane Dundalk Institute of Technology PJ Carrolls Building, Dundalk, Co Louth.

042 9370497 andrew.macfarlane@casala.ie www.casala.ie

Centre for Applied Biomedical Engineering Research, CABER

Conducting research in biomedical engineering. The centre has links to the clinical community and universities in the US and South Africa.

Materials and Surface Science Institute University of Limerick.

061 202217 tim.mcgloughlin@ul.ie www.ul.ie/caber

Centre for Astronomy

NUI, Galway’s Centre for Astronomy is the largest Astronomy group in Ireland. Members of the Centre carry out research in astronomy, astronomical instrumentation and computational astrophysics.

Research topics include: clusters and exoplanets, gamma-ray astronomy, high speed stokes polarimetry, pulsars, star formation and astrochemistry, ultra-cool stars and virtual observatories. Degree courses are given in Physics and Astrophysics : http://www.nuigalway.ie/physics/ prospectiveUgrad.html. For details of PhD studentships please contact relevant staff members : http://astro. nuigalway.ie/allstaff.php.

Director Dr Andy Shearer NUI Galway, School of Physics, Galway.

091 493114 Andrew.shearer@nuigalway.ie http://astro.nuigalway.ie

Centre for Atmospheric Chemistry

Research team engaged in study atmospheric chemistry, bioaerosols and particulate matter.

Lab B1, Chemistry Department, Kane Building, University College Cork.

021 4903526 crac@ucc.ie www.crac.ucc.ie

Centre for Authism and Neurodevelopmental Research, ICAN

Aiming to improve conditions for those with authism, and generating empirically validated practices in education and intervention.

Geraldine Leader 091 493434 geraldine.leader@nuigalway.ie NUI Galway.

Centre for Bioanalytical Research, CBAS

Works with BristolMyersSquibb and draws on the expertise at National Centre for Biomedical Engineering at NUIG, and the National Centre for Sensor Research at DCU. 30 academic researchers and nine from BMS working at the centre. The centre is headed by Harry Molthofer, former director of Technomedicum at University of Helsinki.

Dublin City University, Dublin 9.

01 7005729 kieran.odwyer@dcu.ie www.cbas.ie

Centre for Bioengineering, TCD

Translating research into clinical practice. The centre has five research themes: biomatgerials, regenerative medicine, musculoskeletal research, cardiovascular systems, and neural engineering.

Trinity Biomedical Science Institute, 152 to 160 Pearse Street, Dublin 2.

01 8964214 tcbe@tcd.ie www.tcd.ie/bioengineering

Centre for Biomolecular Environmental and Public Health Research

Multidisciplinary group working in biomolecular environment health research.

Programme Director Dr Frances Lucy Institute of Technology Sligo. Sligo. lucy.frances@itsligo.ie

Centre for BioNanoInteractions, CBNI

Collaboration between scientists, institutions and companies in research on nanosafety, nanobiology, and nanomedicine.

School of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4.

01 7162459 info@cbni.eu www.cbni.ie

Centre for Biopolymer and Biomolecular Research, CBBR

Centre for Creative Technologies and Applications

Based at AIT and established with PTRLI support. Works closely with medical device and diagnostic companies. Research focus on biomaterials and screening of DNA. Athlone Institute of Technology, Dublin Road, Athlone, Co Westmeth.

90 6471882 mirc@ait.ie www.mirc.ie

Bringing research interests of staff and post-graduates of IADT together.

Head Andfew Power Dunlaoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Dunlaoghaire, Co Dublin.

01 2394724 Andrew.power@iadt.ie

Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology, CCRCB

The harnessing of technologies and science for novel and creative application in the entertainment industries.

Carol O’Sullivan Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2. carol.osullivan@tcd.ie

Over 300 clinical and basic researchers working on biomarkers, targeted therapies and other aspects of cancer treatments.

Queen’s University Belfast. 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7BL Northern Ireland 28 90972760 ccrcb@qub.ac.uk qub.ac.uk/research-centres

Centre for Chromosome Biology

A network of researchers working on the molecular mechanisms underlying chromosome replication, segration, repair and evolution.

School of Natural Sciences, NUI Galway, Distillery Road, Galway.

091 492420 chromosome@nuigalway.ie

Centre for Climate and Air Pollution Studies, C-CAPS

A group within the Ryan Institute conducting research on climate, airsea exchange, and aerosols.

Ryan Institute for Environmental, Marine and Energy Research, NUI Galway.

Centre for Climate, Environment and Chronology, CHRONO

Research on past and present changes in climate and their impact on society.

Director Dr Paula Reimer Archaeology and Palaeoecology Building, Queen’s University Belfast, 42 Fitzwilliam Street, Belfast BT9 6AX 02890973980 p.j.reimer@qub.ac.uk

Centre for Clinical Health Service and Development

The centre is concerned with generating clinical research that is relevant to health service providers.

Administrator Breda Kelleher Discipline of General Practice, NUI Galway.

091 495306 breda.kelleher@nuigalway.ie

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Centre for Creative Technologies

Centre for Digital Video Processing, CDVP

The Centre for Digital Video Processing is a cross-disciplinary research centre and a collaboration between the School of Computing and the School of Electronic Engineering at Dublin City University.

In 1999 we were awarded “University Designated Research Centre” status. Our mission is to research and develop techniques and tools to automatically analyse and index digital video information and allow content-based operations such as browsing, searching, alerting, filtering and summarisation.

Director Prof Alan F Smeaton School of Computing, Dublin City University, Dublin 9.

01 7005262 asmeaton@computing.dcu.ie http://www.cdvp.dcu.ie

Centre for EfficiencyOrientated Languages, CEOL

Developing greater reliability in computer systems. The group address issues relating to safety and reliability.

Caitriona Walsh Western Gateway Building, University College Cork.

021 4205953 cw7@cs.ucc.ie www.ceol.ucc.ie

Centre for Elastomer Research, CER

Researching the characterisation of hyperelastic and viscoelastic properties of elastomers.

Centre Director Prof Steve Jerrams Dublin Institute of Technology 01 4022951 stephen.jerrams@dit.ie www.dit.ie/researchandenterprise/ ditrdcentres/cer/

RESEARCHERS

Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Management Ststems CAMMS

RESEARCHERS

Centre for Environmental Toxicolog, iCET

Researching the impact of bioactive contamination of effluents reaching water and the environment. Drawing from expertise in GMIT, NUI Galway and Athlone Institute of Technology.

Director Dr Brian Quinn Galway Mayo Institute of Technology, Dublin Road, Galway.

091 742515 brian.quinn@gmit.ie www.icet.ie

Centre of Excellence for Integrated Aircraft Technology, CEIAT

Combining engineering research with industrial expertise and involving a strategic partnership with Bombardier Aerospace.

Prof Mark Price Queen’s University Belfast, Ashby Building, Stransmillis Road, Belfast BT9 5AH ceiat@qub.ac.uk http://www.ceiat.qub.ac.uk/

Centre for Food-borne Zoonomics, CFZ

Grouping of food safety scientists working with the food industry to reeuce the incidence of food-borne poisoning.

Prof Séamus Fanning Centre for Food Safety, UCD Veterinary Science Centre, Belfield.

Dublin 4.

01 7166082

Centre for Global Health

Addressing key problems in global health through an interdisciplinary and multi-country approach to research and capacity building.

Eilish McAuliffe Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2. emcaulif@tcd.ie

Centre for Health and Diet Research, CHDR Providing the evidence base for policy on health promotion and clinical practice.

University College Cork k.mulcahy@ucc.ie www.ucc.ie/en/hrbc/home

Centre for Health Behaviour and Research, CHBR Undertaking a number of projects relating to promotion of positive health behaviour. Researchers drawn from variety of disciplines to produce output in support of public health policies.

Dr Naimh Murphy 051 302640 nmurphy@wit.ie www.wit.chbr

Centre for High Performance Computing, TCD

Providing large-scale supercomputing, high end computing, data management and visualization facilities for Trinity College, Dublin and third level Institutes in Ireland.

Administrator Nicola Boutall 2nd Floor, Lloyd Institute, Trinity College, Dublin 2.

01 8963041 info@tchpc.tcd.ie www.tchpc.ie

Centre for Industrial and Engineering Optics, IEO

The Centre specialises in holographic and interferometric techniques for industrial sensing, measurement and testing, and provides technical and R&D services to industry.

Centre Manager Dr Suzanne Martin Dublin Institute of Technology.

01 4024613 suzanne.martin@dit.ie

Centre for Infection and Immunity, CII

Research on diagnosis, treatment and prevention of infectious diseases.

Queen’s University Belfast. Helath Science Building, 97 Lisbrun Road, Belfast BT9 7BL 02890975876

Centre for Information systems and technoculture, INSYTE

Indisciplinary group working on information systems and category organisations. Research interests include technology management, building leadership and innovation capacities, strategic technology, cultural values and envisioning, adoption factors for control and automation technologies, technology management in developing countries, supply chain logistics systems, information privacy and security and information systems engineering education.

Dr Larry Stapleton Department of Computing Maths and Physics, Waterford Institute of Technology, Cork Road, Waterford.

051 302059 istapleton@wit.ie www.wit.ie

Centre for Innovation and Distributed Systems, CIDS

Set up by Dr Pat Doody, Tralee IT, and Dr Shoumen Datte, MIT, to encourage convergence of disciplines in solving big problems. The primary focus is on radio frequency identification and IOT, the Internet of Things.

Tom Crean Business Centre, Institute of Technology Tralee, Co Kerry.

066 7119671 info@creancentre.com www.cids.ie

Centre for Innovation and Structural Change, CISC

Centre for Maritime Archaeology

Centre for Innovation in Distributed Systems

Centre for Microbial Host Interactions

Group based at NUI Galway involving partnership with DCU and UCD established with PTRLI support.

In 2012 CISC became part of the Institute of Business, Social Sciences and Public Policy.

Development Officer Angela Sice J E Cairnes School of Business and Economics, NUI Galway.

091 492817 angela.sice@nuigalway.ie www.nuigalway.ie/cisc

The group is conducting research in the areas of wireless frequency identification, RFID, artificial intelligence, networking, data mining and middleware development.

Dr Pat Doody Tom Crean Business Centre, Institute of Technology Tralee, Co Kerry.

066 7119671 pat.doody@staff.ittralee.ie www.cids.ie

Jointly funded by University of Ulster and NI Environment Agency, the centre is involved carries out interdisciplinary research in the marine environment.

Prof Sandy Steacy School of Environmental Sciences, Cromore Road, Coleraine, Northern Ireland, BT52 1SA 02870124242 s.steacy@ulster.ac.uk www.science.ulster.ac.uk

Exploring the interactions between pathogens and human cells with aim of developing more effective antimicrobial therapies.

Dr Siobhán McClean Dr Máire Callaghan Institute of Technology, Dublin 24. siobhan.mcclean@ittdublin.ie

Centre for Nanostructured Media

Group of experts working on innovation, testing and marketing of new surgical devices and technology.

Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland 01 4022336 derekyoung@rcsi.ie

The grouop is working on nanoscale functional materials and devices and nanophotonics and plasmonics.

Director Dr R M Bowman Physics Building. School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen’s University Belfast, University Road, 028 90973572 r.m.bowman@qub.ac.uk

Centre for Intelligent Mechatronics and Sensors, CIMSS

Centre for Nanotechnology and Materials Research, CNMR

Centre for Innovation in Surgical Technology, CIST

The centre is involved in research on integration of electro-mechanical systems, robotics and sensors in agriculture, industry and healthcare.

Director Dr Joseph Walsh Tom Crean Business Centre, Institute of Technology Tralee, Co Kerry.

066 7144215 joseph.walsh@staff.ittralee.ie www.cimss.ie

Centre for Marine Biology

Undertaking applied marine biotechnology research in collaboration with industry in aquaculture, marine biodiscovery, marine food processing and waste remediation.

Business Innovation Centre, Letterkenny IT, Port Road, Letterkenny. Co Donegal.

074 9186751 cambio@lyit.ie www.cambio.ie

Centre for Marine Resources and Mariculture Research and development of mariculture project.

Director Dr Dal Roberts C-Mar, 12 The Strand, Portaferry, 02842729648 t.sewell@qub.ac.uk www.qub.ac.uk/bb/cmat/index.html

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Polymer development, physical testing, and materials analysis. Based at the former Polymer Development Centre adacent to Athone Institute of Technology.

Manager Breda Lynch IDA Business and Technology Park, Athlone Institute of Technology, Dublin Road, Athlone, 090 642440 blynch@ait.ie

Centre for Next Generation Localisation, CNGL Funded by SFI and linking researchers and companies. The objective is to foster research and development in support of localisation companies based in Ireland.

Dublin City University, Glasnevin, Dublin 9.

01 7006700 info@cngl.ie www.cngl.ie

Centre for Pain Research, CPR

Research into cause of chronic pain and its treatment.

Director Dr David Finn Dr Brian McGuire NUI Galway Galway.

091 493266 david.finn@nuigalway.ie

Left: Research at the 4C Cork Constraint Computation Centre in UCC. Below: Research at the Immunology Research Centre (IRC) at TCD. industrially-relevant research. A total of 245 SMEs and 237 multinationals now link to these groups. The goal of such relationships is to make companies more competitive by transferring technology and trained people out of the labs and into the companies.

Last year, SFI invested €153 million into Irish research and in 2012, SFI’s capital allocation of €156million is ensuring that the current cohort of 3,000 researchers and 28 large research centres are supported as part of an overall cohesive plan to return Ireland to economic growth.

Innovation is woven throughout Government policy, and science is very much seen as integral to our economic recovery. The Government’s Action Plan on Jobs, launched in Spring 2012, has at its core a scientific research and development strand.

The Report of the Research Prioritisation Steering Group, which maps out the sectors into which State funding for scientific R&D is to be channelled, identifies Data Analytics Management, Security & Privacy, Sustainable Food Production and Processing, Digital Platforms, Smart Grids & Smart Cities, Medical Devices, Diagnostics as priority areas.

SFI continues to expand and adapt in response to changing environments. In March 2012, Discover Science and Engineering (DSE), the national awareness programme for science, technology, engineering and mathematics, was formally incorporated into SFI. DSE, which was launched in 2003, has striven to ensure that students, teachers, their parents and the general public understand the benefits of science from an early age through to considering career options. Recent figures from the Central Statistics Office (published in March 2012) reveal an 18% rise in the number of students choosing a third-level science course this year, which shows the momentum behind science today.

In a further illustration of SFI’s ongoing evolution, the forthcoming extension of SFI’s remit - to include a mandate to fund applied research - will assist further in the generation of commercial opportunities from laboratory-based endevours.

Among SFI’s areas of focus for 2012 and beyond is the Call for Proposals under the new SFI Research Centres Programme. This new programme consolidates the existing Centres for Science, Engineering and Technology (CSET) Programme and Strategic Research Cluster (SRC) Programme into a ‘single-entry’ competition. SFI Research Centres will be eligible to receive up to six years of funding for core activities and SFI anticipates offering funding of between €1million5million per annum for the Centres.

As a State agency, SFI is acutely aware that the taxpayer must witness a commercial and social return on investment. SFI is, therefore, singularly focused on funding only excellent research that is value for money. All applications for funding are subject to rigorous peer review. Ireland’s research credentials, particularly in recent years, point to a strengthening scientific force that is emerging as a formidable player in key fields on the global stage, delivering tangible benefits in the health, technology, energy and related arenas.

SCIENCE FOUNDATION IRELAND

SFI

Science Foundation Ireland , the Government’s science agency, was established in 2000, with a mission to build and strengthen Ireland’s scientific and engineering research capacity and human capital in the areas of greatest strategic value to Ireland’s long-term competitiveness and enterprise development.

The agency strategically invests in academic researchers and teams in the fiends of science and engineering underpinning areas such as biotechnology, ICT and energyefficient technologies. Its portfolio of supports includes awards across this spectrum of research disciplines, from early-career to established Principal Investigators, all with an increasingly strong emphasis on economic impact.

Over the past decade, SFI has built a community of 3,000 researchers in Ireland’s higher education institutes, led by 300 lead scientists. The impact and influence of SFI on Ireland’s research credentials at home and abroad over that time has been profound.

Ireland has continued to climb the international ranking table for research quality, from 36th place in 2003 to a consolidated position inside the top 20 in recent times. Particular strengths have emerged in fields such as nanotechnology, materials science and immunology.

The last two years alone provide countless examples of discoveries

by SFI-funded researchers, including breakthroughs in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, cancer, superbugs, blindness, nano-sensor technology, predictions into epidemics, computer viruses and social media trends.

SFI, in partnership with IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, the Higher Education Authority and other agencies, has also been working systematically to address the traditional disconnect that has existed between academia and enterprise, and today, collaborations between researchers and industry are at unprecedentedly high levels. Industry collaborations by SFI researchers reached 1,035 in 2011 – an increase of 19% from 867 in 2010. SFI researchers are now working with 583 companies from 67 countries across the globe.

SFI has constructed 28 large, industry-connected centres, where companies partner with SFI research groups to pursue

Web: www.sfi.ie

RESEARCHERS

Centre for Pharmaceutical Research and Development, CPRD Inter-disciplinary team from ITT, DIT and NUI Maynooth working on development of novel therapeutic agents, process analytical technologies for drug intermneidate and finished product analysis.

Dr Denise Egan Institute of Technology Tallaght, Dublin 24.

01 4042861 denise.egan@ittdublin.ie

Centre for Plasma Physics

Research on plasma physics and interactions of ionised particles Head of Centre Prof B Graham School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN 02890973564 b.graham@qub.ac.uk

Centre for Preventive Medicine

Research across a number of disciplines on disease prevention and on improving quality of lifelong health.

Dr Donel O’Gorman Dublin City University, Dublin 9.

01 7008060 donal.ogorman@dcu.ie www.preventivemedicine.ie

Centre for Public Health, CPH Research covering areas including cancer and health services research, cardiovascular epidemiology, nutrition and metabolism, renal disease and ageing.

Institute of Clinical Science, Queen’s University. Royal Victoria Hospital, Grosnevor Road, 028890635009 cph@qub.ac.uk www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/ centreforpublichealth

Centre for Research in Electroanalytical Chemistry, CREATE Research combining expertise in sensor technology, nanotechnology and microfabrication.

Dr Eithne Dempsey Department of Science, Institute of Technology Tallaght,Dublin 24.

01 4042404 eithne.dempsey@ittdublin.ie

Centre for Research in Engineering Surface Technology, CREST

Centre for Research in Engineering Surface Technology is an ISO 9001:2008 accredited innovative coatings research centre based in Focas Research Institute in DIT. CRESTs expertise is in surface treatment and material characterisation offering both a professional consultancy service and R&D capabilities to Irish industries keen to develop novel technologies.

Dr Yvonne Cadogan Dublin Institute of Technology 01 4027945 crest@dit.ie www.crestdid.com

Centre for Research in IT in Education, CRITE

Research collaboration between education and computer science to combine educational principles with technical progress.

School of Computer Science and Statistics, O’Reilly Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2.

01 8961765 www.cs.tcd.ie/crite

Centre for Research in Vascular Biology, CRVB

Research addressing issues in vascular cell biology, artheroscherosis and vascular remodeling with aim of delivering diagnostic and therapeutic solutions in the clinic.

University College Cork 021 4901442 www.crvb.eu

Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructures and Nanodevices, CRANN

An internationally recognised centre for nanoscience research housed in custom designed buildings at TCD. Established in 2003 in partnership with UCC and since then has expanded through partnerships with university and industry collaborators.

Nanotechnology covers a broad field and about 250 researchers have been drawn from a range of disciplines including physics, chemistry, medicine and engineering.

Communications Mary Colclough Trinity College, Dublin 2.

01 8963022 mary.colclough@tcd.ie www.crann.tcd.ie

Centre for Research on Property and Planning

The Centre for Research on Property and Planning focuses upon the evaluation of property market performance, investment decisionmaking and analysis, computerassisted valuation models, the application of GIS, spatial planning, land use planning and urban sustainability, the appraisal of urban regeneration initiatives, housing and land use policies, systems of land and property taxation, econometric analysis, user-requirements and facilities management.

BERI, University of Ulster.

Director, Prof Stanley McGreal. www.beri.ulster.ac.uk

Centre for Scientific Computing

Multi-school research into computer driven applications in science and engineering.

Waterford Institute of Technology, Cork Road, Waterford.

051 302000 info@wit.ie

Centre for Scientific Computing and Complex Systems, SCI-SYM

Researchers working in high performance computing (HPC) applied to computational and mathematical models for complex systems in engineering, natural and applied sciences.

Dublin City University, Dublin 9.

01 7005513 martin.crane@dcu.ie

Centre for Secure Information Technologies, CSIT Developing high security for electronically stored information.

The Institute of Electronics, Communications and Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland Science Park 02890971702 info@ecit.qub.ac.uk www.csit.qub.ac.uk

Centre for Sensor Web Technologies, CLARITY

Established in 2008 as one of the CSETs. Developing a new generation of interactive information services.

Involving collaboration betwseen UCD, DCU and Tyndall. More than 100 researchers and 10 industrial partners.

Director Prof Barry Smyth Science North, University College Dublin, Dublin 4.

01 7162313 claritycentre@ucd.ie www.clarity-centre.org

Centre for Statistical Science and Operational Research, CenSOR

Current research interests of CenSSOR include Survival Analysis, Bayesian networks, Markov Modelling and Stochastic Models.

Director of Research Dr A H Marshall Information Technology (ECIT) 02890973155 a.h.marshall@qub.ac.uk

Centre for Sustainability

Indisciplinary research on energy recovery from waste and biomass, bog rehabilitation, and reuse of biosolids.

Dr John Bartlett Institute of Technology Sligo. bartlett.john@itsligo.ie

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Centre for Sustainable Technologies

The Centre for Sustainable Technologies carries out multidisciplinary research to create, develop, improve, demonstrate and evaluate emerging, existing and alternative sustainable renewable energy, building design, construction materials and environmental modification technologies.

BERI, University of Ulster.

Director: Prof Neil Hewitt

Centre for Synthesis and Biology, CSCB

Based in UCD and set up in 2001 with PTRLI support. The 2,200 square metre building contains mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy facilities.

Involves collaboration with TCD and RCSI. The €26 million investment by the Government was the largest yet for chemistry.

Director Prof Pat Guiry University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4.

01 7162966 cscb@ucd.ie www.ucd.ie/cscb

Centre for Systems Mediicine, CSM

This translational research centre identifies proteins implicated in human disease and utilises systems biology and mathematical approaches in order to develop new prognostic tools for the treatment of cancer, neurological disorders and diabetes, and to develop more targeted therapies for patients.

Jochen Prehn Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland 121 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2.

01 4028608 jprehn@rcsi.ie www.systemsmedicineireland.ie

Centre for Telecommunications ValueChair Research, CTVR

A multi-disciplinary group of researchers drawn from Irish universities working with industrial partners on developing telecommunications networks of the future.

School of Computer Science and Statistics, O’Reilly Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2.

01 8961765 www.ctvr.ie

Centre for the Environment

Supporting interdisciplinary research on the environment. Research spans wide range, including physicochemical and ecological studies, environmental technology and engineering and social sciences.

Norman Allott Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2. nallott@tcd.ie www.tcd.ie/environment

University College Cork

“Facilitating multidisciplinary environmental research for a sustainable future” The World’s Earth system continues to face unprecedented environmental challenges being confronted with unsustainable exploitation of its natural resources, potentially irreversible changes to its climate and a continued loss in biodiversity. There is an urgent need for novel technological and policy responses to address these ongoing challenges. Since 2000, the Environmental Research Institute (ERI) at University College Cork has been facilitating a multi-disciplinary approach to develop solutions which will help lead a gradual shift towards a resource-efficient and low-carbon global economy

Centre for the Theory and Application of Catalysis, CASTech

Research on evaluation, modelling and synthesis of catalists for industrial and environmental applications.

School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Queen’s University.

Centre for Theoretical Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics

The group is working mainly on computational and theoretical physics.

Director of Research Dr H van der Hart David Bates Building Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN Northern Ireland

Centre for Theory and Application of Catalysis, CenTACat

Interdisciplinary collaboration on researcing chemical processes for industry.

Queen’ University Belfast.

Centre for Transport Research and Innovation for People, TRIP

Research on transport involving engineering, electronics, social science and economic issues. The centre, based at TCD has links to UCC. Director Prof Margaret O’Mahony Dept of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering Trinity College Dublin Dublin 2.

01 8962084 margaret.omahony@tcd.ie

Centre for Unified Computing

Research group working on high performance and distributed computing.

Univerity College Cork, Western Gateway Building, Cork.

021 4901442 http://www.crvb.eu/

Centre for Vision and Vascular Health, CWS

One of the four research centres within the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences.

Research is focused on vision and microvascular areas.

The ERI is one of Ireland’s leading research institutes in the areas of Marine, Environmental and Energy research. The goals of the Institute are (a) to provide knowledge-based solutions addressing major societal challenges and opportunities (b) to train postgraduate research students for careers in environmental sciences and engineering and (c) to contribute to strengthening Ireland’s leadership in eco-innovation and the green economy. The Institute brings together over 200 researchers from the science, engineering and social science disciplines to work together in large, multi-skilled teams drawing on each discipline’s core competences. For example, the location of biotechnologists, ecologists and engineers within the ERI has enabled a broader research approach in the area of bio-fuels, where the biotechnologists study the bio-transformation of crops to fuels, the engineers focus on scale-up and process optimisation, while the ecologists look at the ecological impacts of changing land use to growing bio-fuel crops. The fusion and leveraging of scientific and engineering expertise from the Institute’s research centres (Coastal and Marine Research Centre, Aquaculture & Fisheries Development Centres and Hydraulics & Maritime Research Centre) ensures that the most innovative and appropriate solutions are being developed for a sustainable future. The ERI was recently awarded €14 to build the Beaufort Laboratory on the IMERC campus at Ringaskiddy, Cork which will provide space for an additional 135 researchers to become the world’s largest marine renewable energy facility upon completion in 2014.

Contact: Dr Paul Bolger, Manager Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, Lee Road, Cork Tel: 021-4901931 Email: p.bolger@ucc.ie Web: http://eri.ucc.ie

Institute of Clinical Science, Black A Royal Victoria Hospital, Grosnenor Road, Belfast BT12 6BA 02890632636 cvvs@qub.ac.uk

Centre for Vision and Vascular Science

One of the four Research Centres within the School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences (MDBMS). The centre has an international reputation in vision and microvascular research niches Institute of Clinical Science, Block A, Royal Victoria Hospital, Grosvenor Road, Belfast BT12 6BA. 02890632636 cvvs@qub.ac.uk www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/ CentreforVisionandVascularScience/

Centre of Applied Marine Biology, CAMBIO

Established in 2005 to conduct research and development on marine biotechnology. The main areas of research are in aquaculture and fisheries, marine biodiscovery, marine food processing and waste remediation.

Business Innovation Centre,

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Letterkenny Institute of Technology, Port Road, Letterkenny. Co Donegal.

074 9186751 cambio@lyit.ie www.cambio.ie

Centre of Applied Science for Health, CASG

Research on microsensors for clinical, veterinary, and other applications, microbial host interactions, antimicrobial peptides, and development of applications from cell biology research. Works in collaboration with agencies and industrial partners.

Centre Manager Dr Ken Carroll Old Blessington Road, Tallaght, Dublin 24. ken.carroll@ittdublin.ie

Centre of Bioethical and Analysis, COBRA

Engaging with bioethical scholarship.

Director Dr Richard Hull Department of Philosophy, NUI Galway. richard.hull@nuigalway.ie

RESEARCHERS

Environmental Research Institute

RESEARCHERS

Centre of Excellence for Integrated Aerospace Technologies, CEIAT

Research on materials and technology relevant to aerospace industry. The centre works in close collaboration with Bombardier Aerospace.

Director Prof Mark Price Queen’s University Belfast, Ashby Building, Stranmillis Road, Belfast BT9 5AH ceiat@qub.ac.uk www.celat.qub.ac.uk

Centres for Science Engineering and Technology, CSETs

SFI has, so far, supported nine CSETs. Three of these are in life sciences and six in ICT.

Charles Institute

Research on skin diseases in partnership with UCD School of Medicine and affiliated hospitals.

UCD Research University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4.

01n7164000

CLARITY: Centre for Sensor Web Technologies

CLARITY is an SFI-funded CSET involving UCD, DCU, and Tyndall, focusing on the development of sensor web technologies in a range of areas including health and fitness, environmental monitoring, and social media. It supports more than 140 researchers and actively collaborates with 50+ companies, from multi-nationals to Irish startups and SMEs. University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4.

01 7162313 claritycentre@ucd.ie www.clarity-centre.org

Claude Shannon Institute

The Institute, funded by SFI, supports research in the area of mathematics in communications. Research includes work on coding theory and cryptography. Through the Institute there is collaboration between NUIM, DCU, UCD, and UCC. Prof Gary McGuire School of Mathematical Sciences, University College Dublin, Dublin 4.

01 7165319 gary.mcguire@ucd.ie www.shannoninstitute.ie

Clean Technology Centre, CTC

Conducting research on sustainable production, energy management, and efficient manufacturing processes.

Cork Institute of Technology, 53 Melbourne Road, Bishopstown, Cork. ctc.cork@cit.ie www.cleantechnologycentre.eu

Cleaner Production Promotion Unit

The unit is involved in researching cleaner production methods, training and education. The unit collaborates with the private and public sectors.

Director Niall Dunphy Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University College Cork.

021 4836823 n.cunphy@ucc.ie www.ucc.ie/cppu

Climate Adaptation, Mitigration and Geohazards Research on geohazards such as volcanic eruptions, landslides and flooding, and study of climate change and its impact.

Director Prof Chris Bean UCD Earth Science Institute, Belfield, Dublin 4.

01 7162878 earth.director@ucd.ie

CLIQUE

A research cluster with a focus on graph and network analysis and visualisation. Working in collaboration with Digital Enterprise Research Institute at NUI Galway.

Manager Dr Prag Sharma CASL Room G1 8 Belfield Office Park, Beaver Row, Clonsleagh, 01 7165300 casi@ucd.ie http://www.cliquecluster.org/

Cloud Computing Research Centre, CloudCORE A consortium of higher education institutes lead by Dublin City University and including University College Cork, Athlone Institute of Technology and NUI Maynooth to conduct research and development in cloud computing. One of the ten centres established jointly by Enterprise Ireland the IDA. Director Ray Walsh Dublin City University, Dublin 9.

01 7005595 ray.walsh@computing.dcu.ie www.computing.dcu.ie

Coastal and Marine Research Centre, CMRC

Part of the Environmental Research Institute, ERI, at UCC it operates from the Irish National Naval Base at Haulbowling Island. Conducts applied research on governance, coastal processes, coastal mapping, megafauna, geomatics, GIS amd remote sensing.

Director Jeremy Gault University College Cork, Irish Naval Base, Haulbowline, Cobh, 021 4703100 grainne.lynch@ucc.ie www.cmrc.ucc.ie

Coastal Systems Group

Investigating the variables in coastal systems and developing mechanisms for coastal management.

Environmental Sciences Research Institute University of Ulster Cromore Road, Coleraine.

02870124242

Combustion Chemistry Centre, C3

Research on combustion of fossil and biofuels involving physics, fluid dynamics, thermodynamics and other disciplines.

National University of Ireland Galway Galway.

091 493856 henry.curran@nuigalway.ie http://c3.nuigalway.ie/

Communications Network Research Institute, CNRI

Research in fundamental and applied aspects of communication networks.

Director Dr Mark Davis Dublin Institute of Technology, Focas Institute,Dublin Institute of Technology, Dublin 8.

01 4027950 cnri@cnri.dit.ie

Competence Centre for Applied Nanotechnology, CCAN

Industry led collaboration with research groups on nanotechnology.

CCAN is self-governing, and is cohosted by CRANN at TCD and the Tyndall National Institute at UCC. One of the Competence Centres established by EI in collaboration with the IDA. Executive Director Dr Alan Hynes Tyndall National Institute, Dyke Parade, Cork.

021 4904056 info@ccan.ie www.ccan.ie

Complex and Adaptive Systems Laboratory, CASL

Group formed in 2006 involved in applied mathematics, computational science and informatice based at UCD. Director Prof David Coker 8 Belfield Office Park, Clonskeagh, Dublin 4.

01 7165327 casi@uc.ie www.casl

Complex Systems Research Centre, CORE

Interdisciplinary research on understanding and dealing with highly cojplex systems and problems.

Director Dr Petri Piiroinen NUI Galway.

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Computer Architecture and Grid Research Group, GAG

Conducting research on computer architecture combining a knowledge of software and hardware.

School of Computer Science and Statistics, O’Reilly Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2.

01 8961765 enquiries@scss.tcd.ie

Computer Integrated Manufacturing Research Unit, CIMRU

Conducting research on innovation management, new product development and manufacturing performance.

National University of Ireland Galway, Galway.

091 493125 anne.cryan@nuigalway.ie

Computer Science Research Institute, CSRI

Combining staff from the Schools of Computing and Information Engineering at Coleraine, Computing and Intelligent Systems at Magee, and Computing and Mathematics at Jordanstown. CSRI has four research groups: Information and Communication Engineering (Coleraine); Intelligent Systems Research Centre (Magee); Smart Environments (Jordanstown); Artificial Intelligence and Applications (Jordanstown) Director Prof Bryan Scotney University of Ulster 02870124648 bw.scotney@ulster.ac.uk

Construction Industry Research and Knowledge Centre, CIRK

Research and development to enhance the use of information and communication technologies in the construction industry. Thematic areas include ICT, knowledge management, sustainability and eco-innovation and human resource management in the construction industry.

Dr Ken Thomas Waterford Institute of Technology, Cork Road, Waterford.

051 302028 kthomas@wit.ie www.wit.ie/cirk

Convergent Technologies

Established at WIT in 2011. Based within the School of Engineering several researchers have actively clustered their research activities to explore new collaborations in the field of convergent technologies.

Austin Coffey Waterford Institute of Technology, Cork Road, Waterford.

051 3020090 acoffey@wit.ie

Working on synthetic, and organometallic chemistry to develop novel complexes with potential as catalysts, therapeutic agents or other applications.

Dr John McGinley Department of Chemistry, NUI Maynooth john.mcginley@nuim.ie

Cork Cancer Research Centre

Investigating issues relating to development and treatment of cancers, particularly those that do not respond well to current treatments.

Leslie C Quick Laboratory, Biosciences Institurte, University College Cork.

021 4901437 info@ccrc.ie www.ccrc.ie

Cork Constraint Computation Centre, 4C

Research group at UCC involved with application of computerised decision making. Comprising of 50 academics, staff and students.

Eleanor O’Riordan University College Cork, Cork.

021 4205954 e.oriordan@4c.ucc.ie www.4c.ucc.ie

Cork NeuroScience Group, CNS

Researchers in the group are investigating a range of neurodegenerative, neurological and psychiatric disorders. Basic and applied clinical research is carried out by the group.

Univerity College Cork, Cork.

021 4901651 michaelcronin@ucc.ie www.ucc.ie/en/cns

Cryptograaphy Research Institute

Developing cryptographic algorithms for data transfer security.

The group is a member of the Claude Shannon Institute which supports research in mathematics and communications, and it works with the Boole Centre for Research in Informatics.

University College Cork

Crystallization Researh Group

Investigation of process engineering aspects of industrial crystallization systems. A member of the SFIfunded Solid State Pharmaceutical Cluster which brings together a wide range of academic and industrial expertise in Ireland to address major challenges in the production of pharmaceutical materials.

Room 113, School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering, University College Dublin, Belfield. Dublin 4.

01 7161954 brian.glennon@ucd.ie

DEBRA

DEBRA Ireland is a charity established in 1988 to provide patient support and to drive research into treatments and cures for those with the genetic skin condition, epidermolysis bullosa (EB). To date the charity has raised over €2m for research.

Research Manager Dr Avril Kennan La Touche House, 1 Grove Road, Rathmines, Dublin 6.

01 4126924 avril@debraireland,org www.debraireland.org

DesignCORE

Involved with design and innovation and rapid prototyping. Key research themes/interests: sustainable product design & innovation; 3D visualisation and rapid prototyping in design; user interface and user centred design Hiliary Dempsey.

Institute of Technology Carlow, Kilkenny Road, Carlow.

059 9175343 designcore@itcarlow.ie www.itcarlow

Diabetes Research Group

Research is focused on increasing knowledge about diabetes and developing new approaches in therapy.

Research Leader Prof Peter Flatt School of Biomedical Sciences, Uliversity of Ulster, Cromore Road, Coleraine.

028 7032 4419 pr.flatt@ulster.ac.ukl

Diabetics Research Centre, UCD

Bringing researchers together on diagnosis and treatment of diabetes and associated diseases.

University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4. catherine.blake@ucd.ie www.ucd.ie/drc/research_centre.htm

Digital Communications cluster

Research focus on advanced networks, digital signal processing, radio and wireless communications.

Queen’s University Belfast, Queen’s Island, Belfast, BT3 9DT N Ireland 028 9097 1700 info@ecit.qub.ac.uk

NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR CELLULAR BIOTECHNOLOGY DUBLIN CITY UNIVERSITY

The National Institute for Cellular Biotechnology (NICB) at Dublin City University focuses its research on the cell, in particular: • The use of cells to make therapeutic and diagnostic products.

• Cells as therapeutic products (tissue engineering) • Cells as tools to study fundamental biological processes in health and in disease.

We are particularly interested in translating the output from our research into clinical application, and NICB has close collaboration links with hospitals in Dublin in the following disease areas: • Cancer • Ocular disease • Diabetes • Bone disease The NICB applies advanced molecular screening and bioinformatics technologies, at mRNA, miRNA and protein level, to investigate mechanisms and define markers for these disease areas.

NICB has an active collaboration with clinicians in the Royal Victoria Eye & Ear Hospital and with the Irish Blood Transfusion Board Laboratories, to develop and bring to clinical application stem cell/tissue engineeringbased therapies for ocular disease. One such treatment, for corneal repair, will reach the clinic shortly; others are in earlier stages of development. We have recently succeeded in generating induced pluripotent Stem (iPS) cells from cultured adult human eye cells; iPS cells can be used for similar research (and eventually potentially therapeutic) application to embryonic stem cells, but do not involve destroying human embryos. NICB is also involved in research, along with industrial collaborators, on the biology of the Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cell line, (which is the workhorse of the biopharmaceutical industry) and the application of this biological understanding to improving efficiency of cellular biopharmaceutical iPS generated from Corneal Fibroblasts production. The NICB has in particular pioneered the field of miRNAs as applied to CHO cells. at NICB

In cancer research, NICB has active discovery and validation programmes in serum biomarkers for breast, lung, colorectal and pancreatic cancers and for melanoma; in development and mechanism investigation of human cell models for resistance to standard and novel molecularlytargeted cancer therapeutic agents, some of this work in collaboration with MTCI (www.mtci.ie): and monoclonal antibody generation against cancer-related functional targets such as invasion. Cell Culture results are validated by immuno-histochemical studies on human cancer tissue, in collaboration with expert histopathologists.

The NICB is also involved in undergraduate and postgraduate education, as well as courses for the public and providing placements for secondary school students and teachers.

For further information contact: Professor Martin Clynes National Institute for Cellular Biotechnology Dublin City University, Glasnevin, Dublin 9 E-mail: martin.clynes@dcu.ie Web : www.nicb.dcu.ie

RESEARCHERS

Coordination Chemistry

RESEARCHERS

Digital Enterprise Research Institute. DERI

A Centre for Science Engineering and Technology established in 2003 and based at NUI Galway. Working with industry on such topics as semantic search engines, social media and sensor networks.

Director Prof Stefan Deccker IDA Business Park, Lower Dangan, Galway.

091 495053 hilda.fitzpatrick@deri.org www.deri.ie

Digital Media Centre, DMC

Research on spatial IT, speech, audio and cognition and e-community software developments.

Business Development Manager James Wogan Dublin Institute of Technology. james.wogan@dmc.dit.ie www.dmc.dit.ie

Distributed Systems Group, DSG DSG conducts basic and applied research into all aspects of distributed computing extending from the theoretical foundations underpinning the field to system engineering issues to emerging applications of distributed computer systems.

School of Computer Science and Statistics, O’Reilly Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2.

01 8961765 enquiries@scss.tcd.ie

Dr Brún Centre for Computational Algebra

A centre for algebraic research and its applications.

National University of Ireland Galway, Galway.

091 492332 mary.kelly@nuigalway.ie

Dublin Centre for Clinical Research, DCCR

Providing the infrastructure for clinical research at St James’ Hospital..

01 4779818 jeremy.towns@ molecularmedicinesieland.ie

Dublin Energy Lab, DEL

Conducting basic and applied research on energy generation and resources.

Dr Aidan Duffy Dublin Institute of Technology, Focas Institute, Dublin Institute of Technology, Dublin 8.

01 4027961 aidan.duffy@dit.ie www.dit.ie/dublinenergylab

Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies, DIAS

An institute for the study of basic disciplines with three schools, Celtic Studies, Cosmic Physics, and Theoretical Physics. The publicly funded Instutute was founded in 1940.

10 Burlington Road, Dublin 4.

01 6140100 registrarsoffice@admin.dias.ie www.dias.ie

Dublin Molecular Medicine Centre, DMMC Expanded to become the Molecular Medicine Ireland in 2008

Earth Resources Characterisation Cluster

Investigating opportunities to tap into the potential of wind, ocean waves, biomass and solar energy Director Prof Chris Bean UCD Science Centre South Belfield, Dublin 4.

01 7162878 earth.director@ucd.ie

Eco-Innovation Research Centre, EIRC

EIRC is concerned with adding value to natural resources, bioremediation and agrienvironmental management. The centre has particular relevance to marine, agriculture, forestry, and pharmaceuticals. Four groups are involved, molecular ecology, estuarine research, sustainable agriculture, and forestry.

Dr Peter McLoughlin 051 302029 cloughlin@wit.ie www.sit.ie www.wit.ie/eirc

Ecological modelling

A small three person group investigating invasion and dispersal, such as spread of greater-white toothed shrews in Ireland.

John Yearsley A small three person group investigating invasion and dispersal, such as spread of greater-white toothed shrews in Ireland. University College Dublin, Dublin 4.

01 7162265 jon.yearsley@uce.ie http://ucd-ie.academia.edu/ JonYearsley

Ecology, Evolution, Behaviour and Environmental Economics

Research includes freshwater and marine ecology, anaimal behaviour, concervation, and environmental economics..

Prof C A Maggs Queen’s University Belfast, Medical Biology Centre, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7BL 028 90975787 sobb.office@qub.ac.uk

Education and Research Centre

Established to increase the knowledge base supporting patient care. Laboratory and clinical research facilities work in collaboration with the UCD Conway Institute and with clinical staff in diagnosis and treatment of diseases.

Administration Geraldine Lanigan-Ryan St Vincent’s University Hospital, Elm Park, Dublin 4.

01 2214910 feedback@st-vincents.ie www.stvincents.ie

Efficient Embedded Digital Signal Processing, EEDSP

Research aimed at developing remote monitoring of patients using smart sensors and mobile technology.

Through the group researchers from UCC, NUI Galway, University of Limerick and UCC collaborate.

Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department, University College Cork. Cork.

Eldermet

Researchers from UCC, Cork University Hospital and Teagasc Moorepark are investigating the link between gut bacteria and health.

University College Cork http://eldermet.ucc.ie/

Electric Power Research Centre, EPRC

Specialising in power quality conditioning and integration of wind and solar energy into networks.

Dr Michael Conlon Dublin Institute of Technology 01 4022838 michael.conlon@dit.ie http://eleceng.dit.ie/eprg

Embedded Systems Research

Centre for research on embedded electronic systems covering hardware, software, systems integration and networking.

Dr Dirk Pesch Cork Institute of Technology Bishopstown, Cork. dirk.pesch@cit.ie www.nimbus.cit.ie

Endocrine Disrupters Research Group

Research group at AIT working on oestrogen mimicking chemicals in effluent and bathing water. The focus of the Group is to establish a precise battery of tests to assess sewage, industrial effluent and bathing waters in Ireland for oestrogen mimicking chemicals with a view to establishing causal relationships between impact and exposure.

Dr Cepta Brougham ept Life and Physical Sciences, School of Science, Institutiute of Technology Athlone, Athlone, 090 6471880 cbrougham@ait.ie

Energy Research Centre, ERC

Engaged with research, education and outreach on energy and the environment. Through ERC research on bioenergy, renewables, efficiency and environmental impact are brought together.

Outreach Officer Dr Sarah Knight Ryan Institute, NUI Galway. Galway.

091 495061 energy@nuigalway.ie

Engineering Research Institute, ERI

Electricity Research Centre

Research on advanced functional materials including composites and nanomaterials and coatings.

Director Prof J McLaughlin School of Engineering, University of Ulster,Newtownabbey, Co Antrim.

BT370QB Northern Ireland 02890 368933 jad.mclaughlin@ulster.ac.uk

Electrochemistry, Materials and Environment

EnviroCORE

An industry-university collaboration on research on electrical energy with particular emphasis on Ireland. The ERC is based at UCD and TCD. University College Dublin, Dublin 4.

01 7261858 erc@ucd.ie www.erc.ucd.ie

Working on chemical and electrochemical synthesis of new materials with potential for use in areas such as biological sensors, drug delivery and energy.

Chemistrty Department, NUI Maynooth.

01 7083815 carmel.breslin@nuim.ie

Electronic Structure Group Research on electronic structure of doped metal oxides.

Dr Charles H Patterson School of Physics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2.

01 8961468 charles.patterson@tcd.ie

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Promoting applied research and educartion in environmental biotechnology. Research is focused on bioremediation, phytotechnologies, biomass production, biotransformation, metagenomics and biofuels, environmental monitoring, modelling and risk assesment.

Dr David Dowling.

Institute of Technology, Kilkenny Road, Carlow.

059 9175500 david.dowling@itcarlow.ie www.itcarlow

Geological Survey of Ireland earth mapping and geoscience sector support The geoLogicaL surVeY oF ireLand (gsi), founded in 1845, is the National Earth Science organisation. The GSI are responsible for providing geological advice and information and for acquiring geoscience data to achieve these aims.

We produce a range of products including geological maps, reports and databases, which are available through our awardwinning webmapping interfaces, as well as through the customer centre by personal call, telephone or post.

The geoscience sector contributes more than €2 billion to the economy each year. GSI supports the sector through data provision and interpretation, and new national surveys. Our position at the interface between Academia, Industry and Government allows us to act as a knowledge centre and project partner in all aspects of Irish geology.

GSI’s strategic objectives include: l Supporting the sustainable development of Ireland’s earth resources. l Providing reliable geoscience support for environmental protection and effective spatial planning. l Completing strategic geoscience surveys in priority areas. l Supporting the knowledge economy through open geoscience database access and research support.

sustainable development, environmental protection and effective planning Many of the mapping themes within the GSI contribute to the sustainable development of earth resources and environmental protection. Combined, they contribute to effective and sustainable planning The RV Keary decisions in both rural and urban capturing data environments. for the INFOMAR

project.

Groundwater Protection mapping identifies groundwater resources, areas of groundwater vulnerability, and protection areas around drinking water sources supplied by groundwater wells or springs. These maps are used by planning and enforcement authorities, such as Local Authorities and the Environmental Protection Agency, to assist in development plans and environmental assessments. Other map suites used to inform the planning and development process include Geohazard mapping of landslides, and Aggregate potential maps, which show where different building materials are situated. In the urban environment, the SURGE (Soil Urban Geochemistry) project sampled soils across Dublin to produce maps of different metals and organic chemicals, whilst the GeoUrban geological model for the Greater Dublin Area is a 3-D representation of the subsurface Quaternary Geology and bedrock topography.

strategic geoscience surveys

Two major current strategic surveys include INFOMAR and Tellus Border. Projects such as these are large-scale and are generally only possible within the Government Sector. Cost benefit analyses

indicate that the returns on investment to the economy, through research uptake and commercial development of the data, significantly outweigh the original project costs. inFomar (INtegrated Mapping FOr the Sustainable Development of Ireland’s MARine Resource) is a joint venture between the GSI and the Marine Institute.

The surveys – undertaken with shipmounted acoustic multibeam sonar and geophysical technology and airborne LIDAR – provide vital information on water depth for safe shipping, as well as analysing the properties of the seabed for information that can guide fishing, ocean renewable development, environmental protection, and marine archaeology. tellus Border is collecting scientific data on soils, water and rocks in the Republic of Ireland’s border counties, and is a continuation of the survey undertaken in Northern Ireland. Soil and streamwater chemistry has been analysed in great detail. At the same time a survey aircraft has flown low over the landscape and collected information about the physical properties of soils and rocks.

Data on soil, rocks and surface waters is being compiled into freely available maps, and will be of great use to policy makers, researchers, students and private industry in helping to manage the environment and support sustainable development of our natural resources.

research and the knowledge economy

Through two Geoscience Research Initiatives – the €9.1 million Griffiths Research Awards, and the INFOMAR seabed mapping research programme – the GSI funds over 30 projects in Irish universities and SMEs, supporting fundamental geoscientific advances and also the creation of in the region of 40-50 studentships and jobs in the academic and commercial sectors.

The GSI also partners academic institutions and industry in national and EU-funded projects in the areas of groundwater characterisation, geothermal resources, mining heritage, geophysical/ geochemical environmental surveys and marine environment.

Geoscience Ireland is a recent initiative in which GSI and Enterprise Ireland have brought together a new consortium of companies and research groups in the Irish Geoscience Sector who can offer high quality, multi-disciplinary consultancy in the management of water, minerals and energy resources to new international markets.

For more information on the gsi’s maps and data http://www.gsi.ie/ http://www.infomar.ie/ http://www.tellusborder.eu/ http://www.geoscienceireland.ie

RESEARCHERS

Environmental Change, EC

Focusing on on how the Earth’s environments have changed, or are changing, over a range of different time scales from 50k years to the near instantaneous.

Director Dr Paula Reimer Archaeology and Palaeoecology Building, Queen’s University Belfast, 42 Fitzwilliam Street, Belfast BT9 6AX 02890973980 p.j.reimer@qub.ac.uk

Environmental Health Sciences Institute, EHSI

The Environmental Health Sciences Institute (EHSI) is a dedicated research institute for interdisciplinary environmental health sciences research. It integrates scientific and technical expertise with planning, policy and regulatory capability and relevant industry partners to bridge the sciencepolicy-innovation gap. The mission is to achieve healthier lives for children, the elderly and vulnerable populations.

Dr Noreen Layden Dublin Institute of Technology 01 4024704 noreen.layden@dit.ie www.dit.ie/researchandenterprise/ researchinstitutes/

Environmental Research Institute

The Institute brings biological, chemical and environmental sciences together for research and education. The Institute is also involved in transfer of technology to industry. Thematic areas include sustainable energy, environmental chemistry, microbiology, biodiversity, aquatic biology and environmental regulations.

Manager, Dr Paul Bolger.

University College Cork, Lee Road, Cork.

021 4901931 eri@ucc.ie http://eri.ucc.ie

Environmental Science Research Institute

The Institute brings together pure and applied researchers who investigate a range of Earth systems, with an emphasis on those with societal relevance. Examples include research on natural hazards and climate change, as well as human and physical influences in ecological, freshwater, coastal, and maritime systems. See ESRI for the other groups.

Director Prof Sandy Steacy School of Environmental Sciences, Cromore Road, Coleraine, Northern Ireland, BT52 1SA 02870124242 s.steacy@ulster.ac.uk www.science.ulster.ac.uk/esri

Environmental Technologies and Biomaterials Research Cluster

Group of researchers with focus on applying chemical principles, analytical techniques and novel materials to environmental and medical applications.

Chemistry Department NUI Maynooth,

Epithelian Immunology Group

Research on how the lung epithelial cells act as a protective layer.

Head of Laboratory Dr Shirley O’Dea NUI Maynooth 01 7086117 shirley.odea@nuim.ie

ESRI Centre for Maritime Archaeology

The CMA brings together science and the humanities to investigate evolving maritime and freshwater cultural landscapes - extending from riverine and lacustrine environments to the open ocean, with emphasis on coastal and nearshore archaeology.

It recognises that coasts are complex systems whose archaeology is influenced by a range of interacting variables.

Dr Colin Breen University of Ulster. cp.breen@ulster.ac.uk

ESRI Coastal Systems

This group studies coastal geomorphic change at timescales from millennia to seconds, focusing on the decadal to centennial scale.

Spatial scales range from a single beach to global comparisons of coastal landforms. In coastal management, research assesses the utility of various societal approaches and the constraints imposed by human values and organisational structures.

Prof Andrew Cooper University of Ulster. jag.cooper@ulster.ac.uk

ESRI Freshwater Science

Research in this area aims to understand the behaviour of rivers and lakes in catchments in order to model their important physicochemical and biological properties. There are three research themes: catchments and river quality, including groundwaters; fate of chemicals in lakes and; lake ecology.

The group co-operates with UK and Irish end-users of the research.

Prof Brian Rippey University of Ulster bhrt.rippey@ulster.ac.uk

ESRI Geophysics

This group focuses on understanding the science of earthquakes, particularly their location, timing, and size. One main emphasis has been on the Sumatran megathrust where a series of large events has provided unprecedented insight into the working of subduction zones.

Another major area of investigation is the continuing earthquake sequence in the Christchurch region.

Prof John McCloskey University of Ulster j.mccloskey@ulster.ac.uk

ESRI Quaternary Environmental Change

The main aim of this research is to better understand the processes of large-scale and long-term global change that occurred during the Quaternary. The group conducts research on reconstructing Quaternary ice sheets, ice-marginal fluctuations, ice-sheet dynamics, bedform generation and other landscape changes using terrestrial and marine remote sensing techniques, sedimentary analysis and cosmogenic surface exposure dating.

Dr Paul Dunlop University of Ulster p.dunlop@ulster.ac.uk

ESRI Terrestrial Ecology

The main aim of this research is understanding how local and regional ecological processes influence biodiversity and ecosystem functions and assessing the ecological impacts of environmental change. Applications relate to biodiversity conservation, habitat management and delivery of important ecosystem services such as the provision of food and the carbon sequestration ability of soils.

Dr Alan Cooper University of Ulster a.cooper@ulster.ac.uk

Estuarine Research Laboratory, ERG

Multi-disciplinary gtoup carrying out research into estuarine and coastal ecosystems.

Group Leader Dr Peter McLoughlin Waterford Institute of Technology, Cork Road, Waterford.

051 302029 pmcloughlin@wit.ie

Euro-BioImaging

Euro‐BioImaging is a large‐scale pan‐European research infrastructure project which will deploy a distributed biological and biomedical imaging infrastructure in Europe in a coordinated and harmonized manner by providing access to and training in imaging technologies.

The associated partners of the EuroBioImaging are NBIP Ireland and NUI, Galway.

Tel: +43-1-5334064-538 pzolda@eibir.org

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Euro Smart Cities Research Centre

A project at the IBM R&D centre located in Dublin. The research centre is the first to be established by IBM within the EU IBM, Mulhuddard, Co Dublin.

European Centre for Clinical Trials in Rare Disease One of the centres in a European network conducting clinical trials in treating rare diseases.

Director Dr Brendan Buckley Clinical Trials Unit, University College Cork. Cork.

021 4321563 L.heaphy@ucc.ie

European Centre for Connected Health

ECCH, established in 2008 with the aim of improving living conditions for chronically ill.

3rd Floor, 12-22 Linenhall Street, Belfast, BT28BS. 028 90553758 contactus@eu-cch.org www.eu-cch.org

Fault Analysis Group

Conducting research on faulting and other types of fractures and applying the results in hydrocarbon and mineral exploration.

UCD School of Geological Sciences Belfield, Dublin 4.

01 7162606 fault@fag.ucd.ie www.fault-analysis-group.ucd.ie

Federated Autonomic Management of End-to-Eng Communication Services, FAME A Strategic Research Cluster working on solving the problems involved in communications over a heterogeneous network infrastructure.

Based at WIT and involving researchers from a number of colleges and collaborating with industry.

Dr W Donnelly TSSG, Waterford Institute of Technology. fme-info@listserv.tssg.org

Fetal Behaviour Research Group

Research on prenatal behaviour.

Catherine Lynch Royal Jubilee Maternity Service Royal Hospitals, 274 Grosnevor Road, Belfast BT7 1NN 028 90974230

Financial Mathematics Computation Cluster, FMC2

A cluster of researchers from UCD, NUIM and DCU bringing together financial mathematics, financial economics and computer science.

Cluster Manager Irene Ward School of Business, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4.

01 7165358 irene.ward@ucd.ie

The Fire Safety Engineering Research and Technology Centre (FireSERT) seeks to improve building practices and reduce the human and economic costs of unwanted fires.

The Centre performs and supports field and analytical research on the performance of construction materials, components, systems and practices and identifies and quantifies the fundamental processes underlying the initiation, propagation, and suppression of fires.

Director, Prof Michael Delichatsios University of Ulster www.beri.ulster.ac.uk

Fluids and Heat Transfer Group

Modlling and analysis of fluid dynamics, heat transfer and thermodynamics.

School of Engineering, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2.

Fluids, Acoustics and Vibration Group

Conducting research on modelling and analysis of vibro-acoustic problems.

School of Engineering, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2.

Foams and Complex Systems Research Group Study of the physics of foam formation.

Dr Stefan Hutzler School of Physics Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2.

01 6711759 stefan.hutzler@tcd.ie

Focas Institute

The Institute provides a common, core facility and equipment for research activities in science and engineering. It has received further significant funding under PRTLI Cycle 4 as part of the multi-institutional National Biophotonics and Imaging Platform, Ireland (NBIPI) and the Integrated NanoSciences Platform for Ireland (INSPIRE) and has established significant links with key researchers in Universities and research centres across Europe.

Dublin Institute of Technology.

Prof Hugh J Byrne 01 4027900 hugh.byrne@dit.ie www.dit.ie

Food and Health Research Centre, FHRC Cross-disciplinary teams conduct research relevant to policy makers and industry.

Catherine Barry Ryan Dublin Institute of Technology catherine.barryryan@dit.ie

Food Health Ireland, FHI

Linking researchers at UCC, UCC, Teagasc, UL with industry partners to develop health enhancing foods. The group has a strong focus on dairy products.

Univerity College Cork, Cork.

021 4205190 fhi@ucc.ie www.fhi.ie

Food Microbiology Research Group, FMRG

Undertaking research on microbiological challenges facing food producers.

Prof David McDowell Biomedical Science Research Institute School of Biomedical Sciences, Coleraine Campus, Cromore Road, 028 70123283 mcdowell@ulster.ac.uk www.science.ulst.ac.uk/food/

GameCORE

Includes research in the areas of computer networking, computer game engines and serious computer games. A current significant project for the group is the EU/Enterprise Ireland funded Join-In Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) project aimed at alleviating social isolation as well as physical and cognitive decline in elderly people in Europe.

Dr Greg Doyle, Ross Palmer, Dr Dara O”Broin.

Institute of Technology Carlow, Kilkenny Road, Carlow.

059 9175526 greg.doyle@itcarlow.ie ross.palmer@itcarlow.ie daire obroin@itcarlow.ie www.itcarlow.ie/research/game-core.htm

Geochronology, Petrology and Isotype Geochemistry Group

Research and development for the food industry.

Fiona Walsh Dublin Institute of Technology, Cathal Brugha Street, Dublin 1.

01 8746058 fpdc@dit.ie www.gowest.com.cn/dit/index-62. html

The Geochronology, Petrology and Isotope Geochemistry Group carries out research in geochronology; geodynamic evolution of continental crust; igneous and metamorphic petrology; environmental geochemistry; climate change; mineralisation, sediment provenance and igneous petrogenic studies in crustal evolution.

UCD School of Geological Sciences Belfield, Dublin 4.

Forest Ecology

GeoCORE

Food Product Development Centre

Investigating life in the forest environment.

Dr Sandra Irwin Department of Zoology. Ecology and Plant Science, University College Cork. Distillery Fields, 021 4904595 s.irwin@ucc.ie www.ucc.ie/en.forestecology

Freshwater Sciences Research Group

Studying the behaviour of rivers and lake catchments to understand and model physiochemical and biological properties.

Environmental Sciences Research Institute University of Ulster Cromore Road, Coleraine.

02870124242

Game Based Learning, GBL

Group involved in design, deployment and evaluation of game based learning in primary, secondary and third level education. The primary aim is to apply and inform best practices for the design and deployment of game-based learning solutions.

Dr Patrick Felicia Waterford Institute of Technology, Cork Road, Waterford.

051 302733 pfelicia@wit.ie www.wit.ie/gbl

Involved with supporting regional and national industry in the development of testing, investigation and analysis techniques for the Built Environment. Based within the School of Engineering, GeoCORE’s major themes focus on geotechnics and Green Energy Optimisation, drawing together the established research skills of Engineers, Architects/Technologists and Construction Managers to investigate strongly applied solutions for industrial and public sector partners.

Dan O’Sullivan.

Institute of Technology Carlow, Kilkenny Road, Carlow.

059 9175436 www.itcarlow.ie

Geometric Optics Group

Conducting basic research in mathematics in an area with applications in physics, computer graphics and biomedical imaging.

Collaborators in this group come from University of Durham, TCD and UCD. Brendan Gilfoyle Institute of Technology Tralee Tralee, Co Kerry.

066 7144119 Brendan.guilfoyle@staff.ittralee.ie www.ittralee.ie

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Geophysics Group

Research on the Earth’s crustal system. Work includes fluidrock interactions, seismic wave propagation, and crustal imagery.

Prof Chris Bean UCD School of Geological Sciences Belfield, Dubl;in 4.

01 7162140 geophysics@ucd.ie

Geophysics Research Group

Study of the Earth’s crust, stress transfer and reseacrh on earthquakes.

Environmental Sciences Research Institute University of Ulster Cromore Road, Coleraine.

02870124242

Geotechnical Research Group Conducting applied research on spoil-structure interactions, onshore and offshore for the energy sector.

Dr Conleth O’Loughlin Institute of Technology Sligo, Sligo.

Geotechnics Research Group Research covering wide range of geoenvironmental engineering topics.

Dept of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2.

GlycoBiology Group

A research group within the National Institute of Bioprocessing Research and Training at UCD. Principal Investigator Pauline Rudd NIBRT, University College Dublin, Dublin 4. barbara.keegan@nibrt.ie www.glycogroup.nibrt.ie

GlycoScience Ireland GSI

Established in 2007 to encourage and facilitate inter-disciplinary work on glycoscience. GlycoScience us a cluster of scientists from a number of organisations in Ireland provides a forum for dialogue between researchers and industry. Their 5th annual meeting will be held in Galway during October 2012.

Professor Lokesh Joshi 091 495768 lokesh.joshi@nuigalway.ie www.glycoscienceireland.ie

Graphics Vision and Visualisation Group, GV2

An internationally active group carrying out research in computer graphics, computer vision and all aspects of visual computing. GV2 was formed in 2006 with the integration of two longstanding TCD research groups: the Image Synthesis Group [ISG], established in 1993, and the Computer Vision and Robotics Group [CVRG], which was established 1983.

Head of GV2, Prof Carol O’Sullivan Computer Science Dept., Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2.

01 8961220 carol.osullivan@tcd.ie www.gv2.cs.tcd.ie

RESEARCHERS

Fire Safety Engineering and Technology Centre, FireSERT

RESEARCHERS

Hamilton Institute

Providing the link between mathematics and applications in such areas as ICT and life sciences.

NUI Maynooth 01 7086100 hamilton@nuim.ie www.hamilton.ie

Hamilton Mathematics Institute

Fostering mathematics and related disciplines.

Dept of Pure and Applied Mathematics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2.

01 6081949 hmi@maths@tcd.ie

Health Informatics Research Group The group conducts research and development on the application of IT to delivery of healthcare.

T J McDonald Department of Chemical and Life Sciences, Waterford Institute of Technology, Cork Road, Waterford.

051 302683 tmcdonald@wit.ie

Health Psychology Research Group

The application of psychological theory to health and health care systems.

Psychology Research Institute, University of Ulster, Cromore Road, Coleraine, f.harkin@ulster,ac.uk www.science.ulster.ac.uk/psyri

Health Research Board Clinical Research Facility

Located at Mercy University Hospital, Cork, the HRB CRF provides researchers and health professionals to collaborate on research in developing new treatments and assess effectiveness of established therapies.

Director Prof Joe Eustace

Healthy Futures

An FP7 funded proect led by TCD to assess water-related vector-borne diseases such as malaria, Rift Valley fever and schistosomiasis in eastern Africa.

Project co-ordinator Prof David Taylor http://www.healthyfutures.eu

High Frequency Electronic Circuits group Large group developing novel generic solutions to advanced problems associated with wireless front-end technology.

Queen’s University Belfast, Queen’s Island, Belfast, BT3 9DT N Ireland 028 9097 1700 info@ecit.qub.ac.uk www.ecit.qub.ac.uk

High Performance and Distributed Computing

Research is concentrated on the theory and application of high performance and distributed computing with particular focus on grid computing, e-Science, high performance computational science and novel computing.

School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Bernard Crossland Building, Malone Road, Belfast BT9 5BN 02890974783 eeecs@qub.ac.uk

Higher Education and Lifetime learning Research Group Assessment through evidencebased practice in higher education.

Assessment of competence, role of higher education in society, higher education with mature students, learning technology, and research methodology.

Damien Raftery Institute of Technology, Kilkenny Road, Carlow.

059 9175343 www.itcarlow

HRB Centre for Health and Diet Research

Conducting public health nutrition research. The centre, established 2008, involves collaboration between UCC, UCD, Institute of Public Health in Ireland, UU and Teagasc, and there are links to other bodies involved in food and nutrition.

Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College Cork. Brookfield Health Science Complex, 021 4901604 k.mulcahy@ucc.ie http://www.ucc.ie/en/hrbc/

HRB Centre for Primary Care Research

A 5-year HRB-funded programme, led by the Department of General Practice RCSI, in collaboration with Trinity College Dublin and Queen’s University Belfast. The Centre also collaborates with Cochrane Primary Health Care Field and EU TRANSFoRm Project.

RCSI, Beaux Lane House, Mercer Street Lower, Dublin 2 01 402 2473 nialldoherty@rcsi.ie

Humaine Centre

Research on computer developments that mesh with human characteristics, such as emotions and expression.

Queen’s University Belfast. School of Psychology, University Road, Belfast BT7 1NN. 02890975445 psychology@qub.ac.uk

Human Factors Research Group

A research and consultancy group within UCC working on information technology. The group has developed questionnaires that are used extensively in the IT sector.

Director Jurek Kirakowski North Mall Enterprise Centre, University College Cork. Cork.

021 4904594 hfrg@ucc.ie

Industrial Engineering Optics, IEO

Specialising in holographic and interferometric techniques.

Centre Manager Dr Suzanne Martin Dublin Institute of Technology 01 4024613 ieo@dit.ie www.ieo.dit.ie

Infection and Immunity Research Group

Established in 1979 as a centre for research and development in ocean renewables and coastal engineering.

Mary Ryan HMRC, University College Cork. Cork.

021 4250021 hmrc@ucc.ie www.ucc.ie/research/hmrc

Conducting research across broad range of issues relating to infection and immunity, and working with industry.

Prof Geoffrey McMullan Biomedical Sciences Research Institute, School of Biomedical Sciences, Coleraine Campus, Cromore Road.

028 70124755 g.mcmullan@ulster.ac.uk

Hydrogen Safety Engineering and Research, HySAFER

Information and Communication Engineering, ICE

Hydraulics and Maritime Research Centre, HMRC

The HySAFER Centre is concerned with research on computational fluid dynamics, in particular on sub-gridscale modelling and validation of large eddy simulation (LES) models of the physical phenomena underlying hydrogen safety. Research topics range from hydrogen sub-sonic and supersonic releases and dispersion in the open atmosphere and enclosures, through spontaneous ignition of hydrogen in air during sudden releases, high momentum jet fires and interaction between fires and structures, to large scale nonuniform deflagrations and transition from deflagration-to-detonation.

BERI, University of Ulster.

Director, Prof Vladimir Molkov www.beri.ulster.ac.uk

Immunology Research Centre, IRC

Bringing leaders in the field of Immunology in Ireland together, along with industrial partners, to better understand and exploit the interface between innate and adaptive immunity.

Dr Jim Harris School of Biochemistry and Immunology, Trinity College Dublin.

Dublin 2.

01 8963865 jaharris.ie

INDICATE, Interdisciplinary Cancer Research Team

Based at DIT Kevin Street. Developing diagnostic tools and therapeutic agents. Operates under the umbrella of the Focus Institute at DIT. Dr Fiona Lyng fiona.lyng@dit.ie

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Group Leader Prof Sally McClean School of Computing and Information Engineering, University of Ulster, Cromore Road, Coleraine, BT52 1SA 028 70124602 si.mcclean@ulster.ac.uk

Information and Communication Technology, ITOBO

Working on improving the management of large-scale constructions. Applying IT to holistic building control.

Prof Karsten Menzel.

University College Cork.

Innovation for Ireland’s Energy Efficiency, 12E2

The I2E2 Energy Research Centre is a government sponsored Technology Centre, established to facilitate research having a direct impact on industry. The I2E2 research focus is on energy efficiency improvements in factories, plant, equipment and buildings. The current research agenda focuses on compressed air systems characterisation, use and solution integration; appropriate work environments and HVAC systems. The innovations will enable the Irish manufacturing industry to improve competitiveness via breakthroughs in energy efficiency and cost reduction.

Mark Fitzgerald IR1-0, Collinstown Industrial Park, Leixlip, Co Kildare.

01 6064652 info@i2e2.ie www.i2e2.ie

Ireland’s Champions of EU Research Building a brighter future for European citizens As leaders of major research projects in the Seventh EU Framework Programme for Research and Development (FP7) the researchers from academic institutions and companies in Ireland listed below are deemed to have reached the pinnacle of the European research system.

Tackling societal challenges concerning our health, the sanctity of our environment, energy demands and transport challenges, they are living proof of the world-class research that is ongoing in Ireland and testament to the robust research infrastructure that has been built in Ireland over recent years.

Their achievements were recognised at Ireland’s Champions of EU Research in Dublin on 8th June 2012 which was attended by President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins. The event was hosted by Enterprise Ireland on behalf of Ireland’s National Support Network for FP7.

Special Awards

FP7 Project Leaders

For projects ranked 1st in Europe

AquaTT UETP Ltd. Murphy, David

Solarprint Ltd. Bari, Mazhar

Dr Louise Dunne

BioAtlantis Ltd. O’Sullivan, John T

Solearth Ecological Architecture O’Brien, Brian

Transitioning towards Urban Resilience and Sustainability – addressing the challenges faced by the authorities in Europe posed by increasing populations.

Chancel Ltd. Shannon, Eoin

University College Dublin

Dr Jennifer Edmond Trinity College Dublin

Collaborative European Digital/Archival Infrastructure – using technology to provide access to European medieval and modern history archives.

Prof James Heckman University College Dublin

Understanding health throughout the course of life.

Mr Martin Hynes

Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering & Technology Enabling 50 experienced researchers to undertake up to two years of research outside of Ireland, and bring their learning home.

Dr Jennifer Claire McElwain University College Dublin

Atmospheric oxygen as a driver of plant evolution over the past 400 million years.

High performing companies

Intel Ireland Opsona Therapeutics Ltd Wavebob

a384m won by 1,200 Irish applicants Irish SMEs ranked 1st in EU* *source: Fourth FP7 Monitoring Report 2011

Members of Ireland’s National Support Network for FP7

Leading Ireland’s participation in FP7

Daithi O Murchu Marine Research Station Ltd. Maguire, Julie DePuy (Ireland) Clerkin, Gary Downey Hynes Partnership Hynes, William

Spectrum Telecom Installations Ltd. Carey, Billy Symantec Ltd. Leita, Corrado The National Microelectronics Applications Centre Ltd. O’Flaherty, John

Economic & Social Research Institute Smyth, Emer European Health Management Association Bremner, Jeni Health Research Board Maguire, Teresa Higher Education Authority O’Connor, Pat Institute of Technology Tallaght K.P. Pillai, Krishnakumar Dempsey, Eithne

National University of Ireland, Maynooth Collier, Martin Anthony Findlay, John Grant, Olga Mary Hendy, Gillian Mary Hormozi, Layla O Riain, Sean O’Dea, Shirley Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Brugha, Ruairi Byrne, Annette Davila, David Gonzalez Sanchez, Jose Antonio McKiernan, Eadaoin O’Brien, Fergal Joseph Prehn, Jochen

Institute of Technology Tralee Tierney, Joanna Walsh, Joseph

Research Institute for a Tobacco Free Society Clancy, Luke

Eblana Photonics Ltd. Somers, Jim

Ultra High Vacuum Solutions Ltd. Clochard, Laurent

Epi-Light Ltd. Hawe, Eamonn

Wavebob Ltd. Parish, Andrew

Institute of Technology, Sligo Tormey, David

Science Foundation Ireland Simpson, Stephen

HKPB Scientific Ltd. Haverty, Donncha

Athlone Institute of Technology Devine, Declan

Irish Research Council Carthy, Sorcha Hynes, Martin

Shannon Development Callanan, Brian

Cork Institute of Technology Cantillon-Murphy, Padraig Pesch, Dirk

Limerick Institute of Technology Stutte, Gary Walsh, Daniel

Dublin City University Audouin, Fabrice Bertoncello, Paolo Conway, Maura Conway, Maura Diamond, Dermot Fraser, Kevin James Guasoni, Paolo Heise, Andreas Holthofer, Harry Irving, Kate Kapela, Rafal Killard, Tony Landais, Pascal Lynam, Carol Marsili, Enrico McLoughlin, Eilish Nikolopoulos, Lampros Ó Beacháin, Donnacha Staines, Anthony Sukno, Federico Tropea, Daniela

National College of Art and Design O Conchubhair, Gearoid

Holfeld Plastics Ltd. Ward, Patrick Cullen, John IIMC International Information Management Corporation Ltd. Cunningham, Paul Infrasonic Ltd. Pilla, Francesco Innopharma Labs Jones, Ian Kingspan Research and Developments Ltd. Dowd, Lorcan Lightwave Optics Ltd. (Irish Precision Optics) Roy, Arun Kumar LM Ericsson Ltd. Krco, Srdjan OneCard Total Solutions Ltd. Hogan, Con Opsona Therapeutics Ltd. Reilly, Mary Roughan & O’Donovan O’Brien, Eugene Sigmoid Pharma Ltd. Coulter, Ivan

Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies Bosch-Ramon, Valenti Caratti O Garatti, Alessio Coffey, Deirdre Dublin Institute of Technology Cullen, Charlie Kilfeather, Eoin

National University of Ireland, Galway Barry, Frank Bliokh, Konstantin Buerstedde, Jean-Marie Buitelaar, Paul Collins, Gavin Cunningham, Laoise Maria Decker, Stefan Grehan, Anthony Hausenblas, Michael Hauswirth, Manfred Hayes, Jessica S Joshi, Lokesh Kanno, Tatsuo Karatzas, Kimon-Andreas Laffey, John Li, Ruihua Lo Re, Daniele MacFarlane, Anne O’Brien, Tim O’Connor, Gerard Pandit, Abhay Quinn, Gerard Shearer, Andrew Wang, Rongchang Ward, Brian

The Seventh EU Framework Programme for Research and Development 2007-2013 has a total budget of c50 billion.

Ireland is well on its way to reaching the national target of winning c600 million.

Teagasc Barth, Susanne Berry, Donagh O’Brien, Bernadette Dewhurst, Richard James Grogan, Helen O’Driscoll, Keelin Trinity College Dublin Basu, Biswajit Begley, Cecily Blanco, Fernando Bloomfield, David Shaun Bradley, Daniel Brennan, Sabina Chaika, Alexander Cleaver, Laura Coleman, Jonathan Connon, Stephen Dreher, Jean-Claud Edmund, Jennifer Flavin, Kevin Gorman, Michael John Gunning, Robert Denis Hintersteiner, Norbert Jin, Lei Kamber, Balz Samuel Kelly, Daniel John Lawlor, Brian Lynch, Lydia MacLachlan, Malcolm Matthews, Mark Joseph McDonald, Nick McLaughlin, Myles McLoughlin, Rachel, Mary Merdjanova, Ina (Dimitrina) O’Doherty, John O’Neill, Luke O’Sullivan, Carol

Purseigle, Pierre Ruffini, Marco Sanvito, Stefano Schulzke, Carola Stordal, Britta Kristina (& Dublin City University) Sykora, Daniel Taylor, David Thomas, Christopher Volkov, Yuri Wade, Vinny Walsh, Patrick Timothy Wan, Chaoying Wolfe, Kenneth University College Cork Bardosova, Maria Carmody, Ruaidhri Colinge, Jean-Pierre Corbett, Brian Dempsey, Eugene Doyle, Hugh Fagas, Georgios Gocalinska, Agnieszka Gupta, Manoj Kumar Healy, Ken Healy, Robert Michael Huyet, Guillaume Iacopino, Daniela Jaksic, Aleksandar Keeshan, Karen Kenny, Louise Lewis, Tony Mainer, Sergi Manning, Mary Marshall, Melanie Menzel, Karsten Mooij, Marlies, J. Moore, Alfred James Morris, Michael O’Mahony, Denis O’Murchu, Cian O’Connor, Rosemary O’Reilly, Eoin O’Riordan, Alan Pinhasi, Ron Quinn, Aidan Raghunandan, Ranjini Ralph, David Schmuck, Stephan Sillitoe, Peter Sreenan, Cormac John Stam, Frank Stanivukovic, Goran Tangney, John Mark Townsend, Paul Wang, NingNing Yilmaz, Ercan University College Dublin Albrecht, Martin Birtwistle, Marc Russel Casey, Eoin Coffey, Rory Côté, Sylvana M Daly, Aoife Dawson, Kenneth De Londras, Fiona Dias, Frederic Dickson, Matthew Ronald Dunne, Louise

Everard, Colm Gallagher, William Gavin, Kenneth Gerwarth, Robert Benjamin Gibney, Michael Gowen, Aoife Grimes, Nicole Guazzelli, Lorenzo Hadjadj Aoul, Yassine Heckman, James Jarikote, Dilip Venkatrao Jones, Anna Frances Kilinc, Devrim Kolch, Walter Martines, Elena Matthews, James McBreen, Sheila McElwain, Jennifer Claire McHugh, Louise McNally, Ciaran Meloni, Simone Mitchell, Jennifer Murphy, John O’Brien, Eugene O’Hare, Gregory O’Rourke, Sharon Pagell, Mark Platt, Mark Reilly, Richard Ribeiro de Menezes, Alison Stenson, Nancy Jean Tremblay, Richard Wall, Patrick Zagozdzon, Radoslaw Destrade, Michel Libel, Tamir WIlliams, Brendan University of Limerick Amarandei, George Aragao, David Dukkipati, Abhiram Grech, Helen Grimes, Ronan Gunnigle, Patrick Hayes, Michael O’Keeffe, Sinead Salmon, Nancy Schmalenberger, Achim Karsten Sheahan, Con Tofail, Syed A. M. Tosi, Daniele Waterford Institute of Technology Clarke, James Cleary, Frances Donnelly, William Foley, Brian McGovern, John McLoughlin, Peter Nolan, John Michael Ó Foghlú, Mícheál Phelan, John Paul

The final call for applications to the Seventh EU Framework Programme opens in July 2012. Companies and academic researchers interested in making an application can find out more by visiting www.fp7ireland.com

RESEARCHERS

Innovation Value Institute

Research into improved management of IT. The Institute has addressed issues of design, capability, business alignment and risk management for a number of organisations.

Academic Director Prof Brian Donnellan NUI Maynooth, Maynooth, Co Kildare.

01 7086931 ivi@nuim.ie www.ivi.nuium.ie

Innovative Molecular Materials Group, IMM

Characterisation of reactive intermediates, analysis and development of molecular level processes to modify materials.

Director of Research Prof S E Bell School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering David Keir Building, Stranmillis Road, Belfast BT9 5AG. 028 90975418

Inorganic Pharma and Biomimetric Research Centre

The centre runs a number of postgraduate and undergraduate research projects on novel material developments. Applications include molecular recognition, biomimetic chemistry and supramolecular chemistry.

Prof Mary McNamara Dublin Institute of Technology mary.mcnamara@dit.ie www.dit.ie/ipbrc

Inorganic Synthesis with Medical Applications

Research on synthesis of metal complexes with potential for medical applications.

Dr Malachy McCann Department of Chemistry NUI Maynooth mmcann@nuim.ie

Insect Ecophysiology Group Research on insect-plant interactions Dr Tom Wilkinson UCD School of Biology and Environmental Sciences Belfield, Dublin 4.

01 7162264 tom.wilkinson@ucd.ie

Institute for Networks and Communications Engineering, RINCE

Research on engineering technologies including image processing, high speed devices and networks.

Faculty of Engineering and Computing Dublin City University, Dublin 9.

01 7005604 ger.lardner@dcu.ie www.rince.ie

Institute of Agri-Food and Land Use, IAFLU Conducting environmental, food safety and nutritional research of local, national and international importance Queen’s University Belfast, Medical Biology Centre, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7BL 028 90975787 sobb.office@qub.ac.uk

Institute of Electronics, Communications and Information Technology, ECIT

Research groups in key areas of advanced digital and communications technology. Within the Institute there are research clusters on high-frequency electronic circuits, systems-on-chip, digital digital communications, speech and vision systems.

Queen’s University Belfast, Queen’s Island, Belfast, BT3 9DT N Ireland 028 9097 1700 info@ecit.qub.ac.uk www.ecit.qub.ac.uk

Institute of Immunology

Seven research groups operate within the Institute working in such areas as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and asthma.

Researchers collaborate with colleagues around the globe.

Biosciences and Engineering Building, NUI Maynooth, Co Kildare.

01 7086480 institute@immunology.ie

Institute of Molecular Medicine

Conducting research over a broad range of areas including cell signaling, immunology, molecular microbiology and cancer.

Director Prof Dermot Kelleher Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2.

01 8962100 mkvanagh@tcd.ie www.tcd.ie/IMM

Integrated Aircraft Technologies Research Cluster

Within the cluster there are a number of specific research projects relating to aerospace technolgies.

Dr Adrian Murphy School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Queen’s University Belfast, Ashby Building, Stranmillis Road, 02890974095 a.murphy@qub.ac.uk

Intelligent Systems and Controls, ISAC

Research is concerned with theoretical and technological advances and their application in intelligent control of engineering and other systems.

Prof George Irwin School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Queen’s University Belfast, Ashby Building, Stranmillis Road, 028 90975439 g.irwin@ee.qub.ac.uk

Intelligent Systems Research Centre

Research on mimicing aspects of natural intelligence in computer systems, the development of smarter mobile devices, and working with neuroscientists on hybrid systems.

Director Prof Martin McGinnity MS111 University of Ulster, Magee Campus, Derry BT487JL 02871375616 tm.mcginnity@ulster.ac.uk

Internal Combustion Engines Research Group

Research on engine modelling, aftertreatment systems, turbo systems and design.

Prof Roy Douglas School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Queen’s University Belfast, Ashby Building, Stranmillis Road, 02890974133 r.douglas@qub.ac.uk

International Centre for Neurotherapeutics

The centre undertakes research into the fundamental mechanisms of neurotransmitter release and its control by voltage-activated K+ channels.

Research and Engineering Building, Dublin City University, Dublin 9.

01 7008979 icnt@dcu.ie www.dcu.ie/icnt

International Energy Research Centre, IERC

A collaboration between industry, agencies and research groups working on energy. Hosted by The Tyndall National Institute in Cork.

With support of Enterprise Ireland, Sustainable Energy Authority, IDA and SFI, the aim is to become a leading centre for collaborative research on integrated energy systems.

Mark Whelan mark.whelan@enterprise-ireland.com www.ierc.ie

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International Research Centre for System-onChip and Advanced Microwireless Integration,SoCaM 2

Developing complete electronic systems on single silicon chips.

Queen’s University Belfast Belfast BT3 9DT 044 28 90971700 info@ecit.qub.ac.uk www.ecit.qub.ac.uk/SoCaM/

Ion Channel Biotechnology Centre, ICBC

Multidisciplinary research on urinary incontinence and osteoarthritis.

Dundalk Institute of Technology 042 9370475 mary.earle@dkit.ie www.icbe.ie

Irish Centre for Authism and Neurodevelopment Research, ICAN

Education, research and delivery of autism support services.

Director Geraldine Leader NUI Galway, Galway. www.nuigalway.ie/ican

Irish Centre for Composite Research, Icomp

Established as one of the Enterprise Ireland/IDA Competence Centres and hosted by the University of Limerick.

Icomp works with industry to apply composite research and develop applications.

Director Dr Terry McGrail University of Limerick 061 213055 scieng@ul.ie www.ul.ie/comp

Irish Centre for Environmental Toxicology, ICET Multi-disciplinary environmental toxicology research centre based at GMIT and collaborating with AIT and NUI Gaway. Specialising in the development of new biomarkers for investigating chronic toxicity by novel pollutants, particuarly in mussels and fish.

Dr Brian Quinn 091 742515 brian.quinn@gmit.ie www.icet.ie

ICMR is a consortium of leading Irish manufacturers collaborating to conduct research and innovation.

The industry-led research is designed to maintain our partners’ competitive edge. The current focus is on tacit knowledge management, production line simulation/cycle time improvement and measurement inference/part life-cycle prediction.

In addressing these areas the ICMR is helping to ensure that Ireland remains the location of choice for advanced manufacturing in Europe.

Mark Fitzpatrick IR-0, Collinstown Industrial Park, Leixlip, Co Kildare.

01 6064652 info@icmr.ie www.icmr.ie

Irish Climate Analysis and Research Units, ICARUS

Research on climate change and impact assessments on society.

NUI Maynooth, Maynooth, Co Kildare.

01 7086834

Irish Drug Delivery Network Network of scientists working on replacement of injections with oral and inhaled drug delivery systems.

Researchers from UCD, TCD, RCSI and UCCcollaborate with the support of SFI and industry, University College Dublin 01 7166017 drugdelivery@ucd.ie www.ucd.ie/iddn

Irish Maritime and Energy Resource Cluster, IMERC

An alliance between University College Cork, Cork Institute of Technology and the Irish Naval Service. The cluster was formed in 2011 to foster developments in marine and energy markets. A research base has been established at Ringaskiddy, Co Cork.

Director Dr Valerie Cummins 021 4335715 v.cummins@merc3.ie www.imerc.ie

Irish Phytochemical Food Network, IPFN

The Irish Phytochemical Food Network is an alliance of scientists generating knowledge on important plant bioactives (phytochemicals) and their impact on human health. The network looks at theses compounds in a farm to fork approach (all the food chain) from a multidisciplinary point of view gathering the expertise of chemists, biologists, engineers and nutritionists.

Dr Juan Valverde Teagasc Food Research Centre, Ashtown, Dublin 15.

01 8059500 juan.valverde@teagasc.ie www.ipfn.ie

Irish Separation Science Cluster

Irish Separation Science Cluster, ISSC SFI funded Strategic Research Cluster Group composed of researchers involved in the development of next generation materials, technologies and assays for use in the delivery of robust novel methodologies enhancing the delivery of novel drug design, development and commercialisation. Key stakeholders include Pharmaceutical and Biopharmaceutical Industry as well as original equipment manufacturers delivering solutions into this sector.

Centre Secretary Angela Lally 01 7008821 angela.lally@@dcu.ie www.separationscience.ie

K Camp Research Group

Complex information management.

School of Computing, DIT Kevin Street, Dublin 8.

01 424819 bing.wu@dit.ie

Knowledge and Data Engineering

Research focus is on advancing database systems, artificial intelligence, modelling and software adaptivity.

School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Bernard Crossland Building, Malone Road, Belfast BT9 5BN 02890974896 eeecs@qub.ac.uk

Laboratory of Molecular Evilution and Mammalian Phylogenetics

Researching evolutionary history of bats and other eutherian mammals, with particular focus on evolution of sensory perception, role of echolocation, conservation and evolution of natural immunity in mammals.

Dr Emma Teeling School of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University College Dublin, Dublin 4.

01 7162263 emma.teeling@ucd.ie www.batlab.ucd.ie

LERO, Irish Software Engineering Centre

Lero is a software engineering research centre bringing together software engineering teams from universities and institutes in a coordinated centre with a strong industry focus.

Director Prof Michael Hinchley University of Limerick, Limerick.

061 233799 www.lero.ie

Long Room Hub

Encouraging interdisciplinary research across spectrum of arts and humanities at TCD with particular interest in applying new technologies to unlock library resources.

Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2. irhub@tcd.ie

M Zones

Group at WIT involving partnerships with CIT and TCD, established with PTRLI support.

Waterford Institute of Technology, Waterford.

Macular Pigment Research Group, MPRG

MPRG studies macular pigment (MP), a dietary pigment found at the back of the eye. Macular pigment is made of the dietary carotenoids lutein, zeaxanthin, and meso-zeaxanthin and given its blue light filtering and antioxidant properties, is believed to play a role in protecting against age-related macular degeneration and enhance visual performance and comfort.

Director Dr John Nolan Vision Research Centre, WIT West Campus, Waterford.

051 834074 mprgresearch@wit.ie www.wit.ie/mprg

Madam Curie Laboratory for Membrane Proteins

Investigating the contact between living cells and the environment.

Head of Laboratory Prof John Finlay Nui Maynooth, Co Kildare.

01 7086611 john.finlay@nuim.ie

Magnetism and Spin Electronics Group

Research on all aspects of magnetism and magnetic materials Department of Physics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2.

Marine and Environmental Sensing Technology Hub, MESTECH Grouping including DCU sensor researchers working on marine and environmental sensing.

Director Prof Fiona Regan Dublin City University, Glasnevin, Dublin 9

Marine and Petroleum Geology Research Group

Conducting research on role of slope and deep water marine processes in basin hydrocarbon reserve formation.

U D School of Geological Sciences Belfield, Dublin 4.

01 7162331 geology@ucd.ie

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Marine Biodiversity Ecology and Evolution, MarBEE A group of researchers with broad interests in marine biology UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science Belfield, Dublin 4.

Marine Functional Foods

Researchers from UCC, Teagasc, UL, UL, NUI Galway, Marine Institute collaborating on development of foods based on marine resources.

Marine Institute Catchment Research Facility

Fisheries and environmental research station operating as part of the Marine Institute, located in a river catchment area.

Furnace, Newport, Co Mayo.

098 42300

Material Processing Research Centre, MPRC

The Materials Processing Research Centre (MPRC) was founded1990 and is comprised of members of staff from the School of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering in Dublin City University. The value of collaborative research and pooling of resources in this field was recognised by the researchers involved.

School of Mechanical Engineeering Dublin City University, Dublin 9.

01 7005403 lisa.looney@dcu.ie

Material Synthesis and Applications Group, MSA Developing materials with novel magnetic, electronic and photophysical properties.

Dr Mary McNamara Focas Institute Dublin Institute of Technology, Dublin 8.

01 4027900

Materials Characterisation and Processing Group, MCP Research on characterisation, processing and modeling of polymers and composite materials.

Group Leader Dr John O’Dwyer Waterford Institute of Technology.

051 302060 jodwyer@wit.ie www.wit.ie/mcp

Materials Research Group

Research on characterisation, processing and modelling of polymers and composite materials. Research includes bulk metallic glasses and composites, magnetially targeted nanoparticles, polymers and composites, smart materials and structural health monitoring, metallic foams and porous materials, nanostructured materials, high-performance coatings, X-ray microtomography, microwave processing and remediation, superplastic forming.

Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2.

RESEARCHERS

Irish Centre for Manufacturing Research, ICMR

RESEARCHERS

Materials Research Institute, MRI

Conducting interdisciplinary research on material science and technology and providing contract and testing services to industry.

Director Dr Chement Higginbotham Athlone Institute of Technology, Dublin Road, Athlone, Co Westmeth.

090 6468050 chigginbotham@ait.ie www.ait.ie/mri

Materials Surface Science Institute, MSSI

Interdisciplinary group based at UL working on surface science and materials. The group involves partnerships with WIT, UCC and NUI Galway.

University of Limerick 061 213127 mssi@ul.ie www.mssi.ul.ie

Medical Engineering Design and Innovation Centre, MEDIC Research on developing smart medical devices to assist rehabilitation.

Cork Institute of Technology pat.oconnor@cit.ie www.medic.ie

Medical Ultrasound Physics and Technology Group The group concentrates on the medical ultrasound physics and technology, disease characterisation using ultrasonic techniques and performance testing of medical ultrasound equipment.

Dr Jacinta Browne Focas Institute Dublin Institute of Technology, Dublin 8.

01 4024783 jacinta.browne@dit.ie

Man’s Health Research Group

Involved with men’s health research - has developed strong international links with similar centre’s in Australia and the UK. The NCMH has a close working relationship with the HSE and the Department of Health and Children, and has also developed strong partnerships with the Men’s Health Forum in Ireland, the European Men’s Health Forum, the Institute of Public Health in Ireland, the Irish College of General Practitioners and the National Office for Suicide Prevention.

Dr Noel Richardson Institute of Technology Carlow, Kilkenny Road, Carlow.

059 9175343 www.itcarlow

Microelectronics and Sensors Systems Research Group

Research and design of custom integrated circuits. Research includes sensor system development, analogue signal conditioning, mixed signal embedded system design, and board level and IC level mixed signal design.

Group Leader Ken Deevy Waterford Institute of Technology, Cork Road, Waterford.

051 302060 kdeevy@wit.ie www.wit.ie/microelectronics

Microelectronics Competence Centre Ireland, MCCI One of the Competence Centres established by the IDA with Enterprise Ireland to apply research in industry. The MCCI works with a number of industry and universities and is based at Tyndall.

Director Mike Barry Tyndall National Institute, Dyke Parade, Cork.

021 4904164 info@mcci.ie www.mcci.ie

Molecular Cell Laboratory

The focus of research is on programmed cell death, apoptosis.

Prof Seamus J Martin Smurfit Institute of Genetics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2. martinsj@tcd.ie www.tcd.ie/genetics/martin_ research.php

Molecular Diagnostics Research Group, MDRG

Research on developing diagnostic tests.

NUI Galway 091 493189 thomas.barry@nuigalway.ie

Molecular Ecology and Nematode Research Group, MENR

Group based at Carlow Institute of Technology working on bioindicators of pollution.

Dr Thomas Kakoili-Dwarte 059 9170554

Molecular Evolution and Bioinformatics Group, DCU

An applied research centre at the Institute of Technology Tallaght working with industry on microfabrication, synthesis of novel organic compounds, and sample delivery systems.

Centre Manager Dr James Hayes Institute of Technology Tallaght, Dublin 24.

01 4042084 james.hayes@ittdublin.ie www.micra.ie

Research isprimarily focused on understanding mammal evolution and disease from a molecular perspective. Our research involves phylogenetic and molecular evolutionary analyses of protein and genome evolution. Research addresses fundamental questions about mechanisms of evolution and innovation in mammal genomes at both regulatory and protein levels.

Principal Investigator Dr Mary O’Connell School of Biotechnology, Dublin City University, Dublin 9.

01 7005112 mary.oconnell@dcu.ie http://bioinf.dcu.ie

Mitochondrial Biology and Radiation Research

Molecular Evolution and Bioinformatics Unit

Microsensors for Clinical Research and Analysis

Conducting research on influence of sunlight and electromagnetic radiation on mitochondrial function.

Dr James Murphy Institute of Technology Sligo, Innovation Centre, Rooms G0035 and G0007 071 9155239 murphy.james@itsligo.ie

Molecular Biosciences Research Cluster

Broad range of research activities including work on cell processes, parasites, disease control and bioremediation.

Head of School Prof C A Maggs Queen’s University Belfast, Medical Biology Centre, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7BL 028 90975787 sobb.office@qub.ac.uk

The group conducts research on the evolution of genomes, gene transfer, dublication and gene loss.

Head of Laboratory Dr James McInerney 01 7083860 james.o.mcinerney@nuim.ie

Molecular Evolution Lab

Investigating the origin and evolution of new genes and gene loss.

Dr Aoife McLysaght Smurfit Institute of Genetics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2.

01 8963161 aoife.mclysaght@tcd.ie

Molecular Immunology Laboratory

Prof Paul Moynagh See Institute of Immunology, NUIM

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Molecular Medicine Ireland, MMI Molecular Medicine Ireland is a research partnership established

by NUI Galway, RCSI, TCD, UCC and UCD and their associated academic hospitals, to accelerate the translation of biomedical research into improved diagnostics and therapies for patients.

CEO Dr Ruth Barrington Newman House, 85a St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2.

01 4779823 info@molecularmedicineireland.ie www.molecularmedicineireland.ie

Molecular Population Genetics Lab

Research includes detection of genetic tracers for disease in cattle, DNA studies on ancient remains.

Head Prof Dan Bradley Smurfit Institute of Genetics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2.

Molecular Therapeutics for Cancer, Ireland, MTCI

Molecular Therapeutics for Cancer, Ireland (MTCI) is a Science Foundation Ireland-funded Strategic Research Cluster which aims to discover and develop new anticancer drugs.

Dublin City University, Dublin 9.

01 7007467 researchmanager@mtci.ie www.mtci.ie

Molecular Therapeutics Research Cluster

A research cluster within the School of Pharmacy. Research focus is on chemical biology, experimental therapeutics, natural drugs, and proteases.

Director of Research Dr Chris Scott Queen’s University Belfast, Medical Biology Centre, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7BL c.scott@qub.ac.uk

Moorepark Technology Ltd A joint venture company between Teagasc and industry who provide pilot plant facilities to the food and beverage industry worldwide, facilitating technology transfer and scale up to commercial production.

Kieran Downey Teagasc Moorepark, Fermoy, Cork.

025 42677 Kieran.downey@teagasc.ie www.moorepark.ie

Nano Systems Biology Research Group

Using high resolution microscopy to acquite structural and biochemical data from living systems.

Prof C Vyvyan Howard Biomedical Sciences Research Institute, School of Biomedical Sciences, Coleraine Campus, Cromore Road.

028 7012 3383 v.howard@ulster.ac.uk

The Forensic Science Laboratory The Forensic Science Laboratory / Eolaíocht Fhóiréinseach Éireann is an agency of the Department of Justice and Equality and forms an integral part of the criminal justice system in Ireland. It was set up in the mid 1970s and now has a scientific staff complement of 86. A total of 57 (66%) have qualifications of Level 9 and/or 10 (National Qualifications Authority of Ireland); this corresponds to Masters (19) and Doctorate (38) level. It has been accredited to ISO 17025 since 2003.

analysis and interpretation of the outcome. This outcome is an identified compound, which is either controlled by legislation or not subject to it. On the other hand, armed robbery or sexual assault submissions involve assessment of what examinations are likely to progress the investigation, the completion of these and interpretation of the findings in the context of our knowledge of the incident. This process is one of the aspects that distinguish us from analytical laboratories.

The laboratory has developed through the provision of specialist services, the implementation of new technology and also as a response to changing trends in illegal activities.

The profile of work is a mirror of what takes place in society; the evolution includes subversive activities, abuse of traditional and novel drugs, actions of criminal gangs and co-operation with various campaigns implemented by an Garda Síochána.

The vast majority of our submissions are from an Garda Síochána, with additional cases from the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, Customs and Excise officers and the Department of Agriculture. Reports are included in prosecution files for all courts, from District to the Central Criminal (High) Court. As we are sandwiched between two non-scientific disciplines, it is an essential requirement that staff can communicate scientific findings, along with methodology and interpretation, to lay audiences.

The internal organisation reflects the trends above and requires a technically skilled and flexible workforce.

The media feeds the populist view of the discipline; high tech units with fast throughput and answers supplied by instrumentation. The reality is different. The high tech unit is useless if evidence is not found, if the appropriate samples are not selected or if the interpretation of the results ignores the circumstances and known information about a particular case. The first step in a case is to assess the likelihood of science progressing the investigation. The first instrument used is the eye of a trained, observant operator, familiar with the background, who has already assessed what, if any, further examinations are required. This cannot be supplanted by instrumentation.

The laboratory workflow incorporates case/sample intake, assessment, examination and analysis, interpretation, report, oral evidence in court. The case type determines the proportion of, for example, assessment, analysis and interpretation. A sample of suspected illegal drug takes minimal assessment, a menu of

The role of the expert in criminal investigations culminates in the witness box during a trial. The provision of this service is founded on the basis of an organisation that has earned the trust of the Courts, Prosecution and Defence and which is free from inducement from any quarter. The Forensic Science Laboratory is proud to be a Public Service Agency.

Primarily a working laboratory, research interests centre on areas to aid the interpretation of results. Some projects are undertaken in house; the organisation is always interested in collaboration with relevant institutions. The main areas of interest are that of transfer and subsequent persistence of biological and non-biological evidence, improved tests for specific body fluids and synthesis of standards for novel drugs.

The laboratory was a founder member of the European Network of Forensic Science Institutes (ENFSI) and is prominent in the activities of many of its discipline-based working groups. It is the only non-UK member of the Association of Forensic Science Providers in the UK.

Technology/Instrumentation: The instrument used in the initial examination of submissions in serious crimes is often the human eye, trained in observation and leading to inference and action plans for the specific case. The subsequent use of the following technology is case and exhibit dependent.

Microscopy, visible, uv, polarised light Microspectrophotometry, visible and uv Ion Chromatography

TLC SEM-EDX XRF FT-IR GRIM GC with range of detectors GC-MS LCMSMS DNA extraction/quantitation/amplification Capillary electrophoresis STR analysis Robotic liquid handling platforms LIMS (under installation)

RESEARCHERS

Nano-bio Laboraratory

Developing imaging technologies from nano to macro-scale for wide range of applications.

University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4.

01 7162229 james.rice@ucd.ie

Nanolab

Examining and analysing the interaction of nanomaterials with biological systems.

Dr Gordon Chambers Focas Research Institute, Dublin Institute of Technology. Dublin 8.

01 4022856 gordon.chambers@dit.ie www.dit.ie/nanolab

Nanoscience and Neurodegeneration Research Group

Investigating the neurophysiological and pathophysical processes in the brain. Processes leading to Alzheimer’s Disease and memory are of special interest to the group.

Dr Christian Holscher Biomedical Sciences Research Institute, School of Biomedical Sciences, Cromore Road, Coleraine, 028 70124178 c.holscher@ulster.ac.uk

Nanotechnology and Integrated Bio Engineering Research Institute, NIBEC

National Biophotonics and Imaging Platform, NBIP

NBIP Ireland was established in 2007 under HEA PRTLI Cycle 4. The platform consists of a consortium of imaging and biophotonics laboratories from across the Universities and Institutes of Technology in Ireland and 3 EU partners; CNRS Montpellier (France), the CNR Institute of Biostructure and Bioimaging, Naples(Italy) and The Nordic Imaging Network.

Research Office,121 St Stephen’s Green,Dublin 2.

01 4022374 nbipadmin@rcsi.ie www.nbipireland.ie

National Cancer Registry

The National Cancer Registry has been collecting comprehensive cancer information for the whole population of the Republic of Ireland since 1994. The information we collect is used in research into the causes of cancer, in education and information programmes 6800 Cork Airport Business Park, Cork.

02 4318014 info@ncri.ie http://www.ncri.ie/ncri/index.shtml

National Centre for Biomedical Engineering Sciences, NCBES

Involved in carbon nanotbe development at University of Ulster.

Prof James McLaughlin University of Ulster, Newtownabbey, Co Antrim, BT370QB, 02890 368933 jad.mclaughlin@ulster.ac.uk www.nibec.ulster.ac.uk

An interdisciplinary body engaged in medical research and development.

NCBES is based at NUI Galway and has links to a number of research groups in Ireland and abroad and to industry.

Director Prof Frank Barry 091 495165 triona.quinn@nuigalway.ie www.ncbes.ie

Nanotechnology Research Group

National Centre for Geocomputation, NCG

The group is working on photovoltaic polymers and techniques to determine nanoscale characterisations of organic thin films. The group is also working on sensors for early detection of diseases. Research interests include organic electronics, novel sensing technologies, novel instruments for the investigation of nanoscale phenomena and materials research.

Dr Joe O’Manony Waterford Institute of Technology, Cork Road, Waterford.

051 845660 jomahony@wit.ie www.wit.ie/nano

National Adult Nutrition Survey

Collecting detailed food consumption data of the adult population in the Republic of Ireland.

Dr Janette Walton School of Food and Nutrition, University College Cork.

021 4903387 janette.walton@ucc.ie http://www.ucc.ie/en/nans/

Specialising in spatial data capture and researching applications in planning, transport, environment and other areas.

Iontas Building, North Campus, NUI Maynooth, Co Kildare.

01 7086455 ncg@nuim.ie

National Centre for Laser Applications

Research centre based in School of Physics with focus on laser materials processing.

Director Dr Gerard O’Connor NUI Galway, Galway.

091 493595 ncla@nuigalway.ie www.ncla.ie

National Centre for Plasma Science and Technology, NCPST

National centre for research into plasma and its applications in different fields including sustainable energy, nanoscience, astrophysics, mathematical and computional modelling and photonics.

Director Prof Miles Turner Administration, Shiela Boughton Dublin City University, Dublin 9.

01 7005382 ncpst@dcu.ie www.ncpst.ie

National Centre for Sensor Research, NCSR

The National Centre for Sensor Research is a world renowned, large-scale, multidisciplinary research facility focused on the science and applications of chemical sensors and biosensors. The NCSR’s vision is the promotion of sensor technology for societal and economic benefit, particularly in the areas of environmental monitoring, nanomedicine and fundamental materials science Dublin City University, Research and Engineering Building, Dublin 9.

01 7008821 ncsr@dcu.ie www.ncsr.ie

National Institute for Cellular Biotechnology

A multidisciplinary centre for research into fundamental and applied molecular cell biology. The main research interests are in cell culture technology including stem cell research, proteomics, gene expression analysis, microRNA profiling and bioinformatics with particular application to cancer, ocular research and diabetes.

Through NICB DCU, IT Tallagh and NUI Maynooth collaborate with each other and industry.

Dublin City University, Dublin 9.

01 7005700 nicb@dcu.ie www.nicb.dcu.ie (See half page notice in this section for more details)

National Institute for Regional and Spatial Analysis, NIRSA

A grouping of researchers working on spatial processes and their effects on social and economic developments. Through the NUIM hub, researchers from Mary Immaculate College Limerick, IT Sligo, and Queen’s University Belfast collaborate.

Research Support Offic e John Hume Building, NUI Maynooth, Co Kildare.

01 7086682

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Natural Computing Research and Applications Group Developing computer systems inspired by nature.

University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4. ncra.ucd.ie/site/ucd_ncra.shtml

Natural Product Research and Development Centre, NPRDC

Based at IT Tralee. Developing products from natural materials, such as algae and food waste.

Brendan McCarra Chemical and Life Sciences Dept., Institute of Technology Tralee, Tralee, Co Kerry.

066 7145616 ext 2387 brendan.mccarra@ittralee.ie www.ittralee.ie

Natural Products Research Group

Research on discovery and extraction of novel therapeutic agents from natural products.

Head of Research Group Dr Helen Sheridan School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2.

01 8962809 edaly3@tcd.ie

Neonatal Brain Research Group

The NBRG, (established 2003 by Prof Geraldine Boylan) specialise in neonatal neurophysiology. Their aim is to improve the long term outcomes of newborns through early and accurate detection of neurological problems. The multidisciplinary group is working on investigating the application of the EEG for diagnosis and prognosis, assessing medications for sick newborns and methods to automatically analyse EEG. Research Manager Mairead Murray Univerity College Cork, Cork.

021 4205049 mairead.murray@ucc.ie www.ucc.ie/en/neonatalbrain

Network of Excellence for Functional Biomaterials, NFB

Based at NUI Galway. Research and development on biomaterials for wound treatment and repair. The group is a strategic research cluster and works in collaboration with other institutions here and abroad and with industry.

Director Prof Abhay Pandit National University of Ireland Galway, IDA Business Park, Dangan, Galway.

091 495833 nfb@nuigalway.ie www.nfb.ie

Investigating the neurophysiological and pathophysical processes in the brain. Processes leading to Alzheimer’s Disease and memory are of special interest to the group.

Dr Christian Holscher Biomedical Sciences Research Institute, School of Biomedical Sciences, Coleraine Campus, Cromore Road.

028 70124178 c.holscher@ulster.ac.uk

Neuropsychiatric Genetics Research Group, NRG

Research on psychiatric disorders, cognitive neuroscience and genetic influences on mental functioning.

Dept of Psychiatry, Trinity Centre for Health Sciencnces, St James’ Hospital, Dublin 8.

01 8962241 qquinn@tcd.ie www.medicine.tcd.ie/ neuropsychiatric-genetics/index.php

Northern Ireland Centre for Food and Health, NICHE

Optics Research Group

Researchers from departments of mathematics, computing and physics are engaged with research on optics and photonics. Interests include interferometric techniques for optical characterisation of transparent materials, interrogation of fiber Bragg gratings and other fiber optic components, optical science, discrete device fabrication, characterisation and analysis to te design and testing of novel optic systems.

John Houlihan Waterford Institute of Technology, Cork Road, Waterford. jhoulihan@wit.ie www.wit,ie/org

Oral Health Services Research Centre

Interdisciplinary team of researchers working on oral health and conducting clinical trials.

University Dental School, Wilton, Cork.

021 4901210 h.whelton@ucc.ie

Palaeobiology Research Group

Research on diet-related health issues.

Dr Maria Mulhern Cromore Road, Coleraine, BT52 iSA Northern Ireland 02870 123539 m.mulhern@ulster.ac.uk

Research focus is on fossilised remains of decay-prone fauns from deep marine environments.

UCD School of Geological Sciences Belfield, Dublin 4.

01 7162331 geology@ucd.ie

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Institute Research Centre, NMRics

Palaeoclimate Research Group

Conducting research on magnetic resonance and providing facilities to support researchers in adademia and industry.

Dr Brian Murray Institute of Technology Tallaght, Dublin 24.

01 4042811 brian.murray@ittdublin.ie

Nursing, Health and Social Care Research Unit

Investigating the application of research results to nursing care.

Siobhan ni Mhaoirunaigh Institute of Technology Tralee Tralee, Co Kerry.

NutraMara

NutraMara is the Irish Marine Functional Foods Research Initiative. It is an all Ireland research programme, led by the Teagasc and has five collaborating institutes. These are NUI Galway, UCD, UCC, UL and UU. The work program aims to identify novel marine food ingredients and products for uptake by food and beverage manufacturers including Irish SMEs and multinationals.

Dr Maria Hayes Ashtown Food Centre, Dublin 15.

01 8059500 maria.hayes@teagasc.ie www.nutramara.ie

Combining peleology, geochemistry, climate dynamics, geomicrobiology and other disciplines in elucidating past climates.

UCD School of Geological Science Belfield, Dublin 4.

01 7162331 geology@ucd.ie

Perinatal Ireland

Perinatal Ireland is a multi-centre, all-Ireland research consortium focusing on carrying out research into women’s and children’s health.

The consortium, funded through the Health Research Board (HRB) and links 8 maternity hospitals across the island of Ireland, harnessing the expertise of Ireland’s leading maternal fetal medicine specialists.

RCSI Unit, Rotunda Hospital, Dublin 1 01 878 6070 perinatalireland@rcsi.ie www.perinatalireland.ie

Pharmaceutical and Molecular Research Centre, PMBRC

Research themes are novel polymeric drug delivery technologies, pre-formulation and materials characterisation, novel processes and sensor technologies, molecular biotechnology, chromatography and separation science, nanotechnology and biomedical R&D. Centre Manager Dr Niall O’Reilly 051 306167 noreilly@wit.ie http://pmbrc.org

Pharmaceutical Research Centre

Working on discoveries and insights on medication and health to improve the quality of life.

Carsten Ehrhardt Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2. carsten.ehrhardt@tcd.ie

Pharmaceutical Sciences and Practice

A research cluster within the School of Pharmacy. Research is focused on bioactive materials, advanced drug delivery systems, clinical pharmacy and applied clinical microbiology.

Queen’s University Belfast, Medical Biology Centre, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7BL 028 90972086 pharmacyinfo@qub.ac.uk

Photonic System Group

Research on photonic systems in collaboration with Dept of Physics at UCC, other institutions and industry.

Tyndall National Institute, University College Cork, Lee Maltings, Dyke Parade Cork.

021 4904854 martina.connolly@tyndall.ie

Photonics Device Dynamic Group

With links between Cork Institute of Technology and the Tyndall National Institute, current research is concerned with quantum dots, optical feedback and semiconductor devices.

Group Leader Guillaume Huyet Tyndall National Institute Lee Maltings. Cork 021 4904851

Photonics Research Centre, PRC Undertaking research in photonics with particular emphasis on optical sensing.

Prof Gerald Farrell Dublin Institute of Technology 01 4024577 gerald.farrell@dit.ie www.aoc.dit.ie

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Photonics Group

Group working on the generation and application of light.

School of Physics Trinity College Dublin,Dublin 2.

Prof J Donegan School of Physics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2.

01 896187 jdonegan@tcd.ie www.tcd.ie/physics

Physics Research Education Group, PERG Developing appropriate teaching methods to enhance student learning in physics.

Dr Brian Bowe Focas Institute,Dublin Institute of Technology, Dublin 8.

01 4023616

Polymer Processing Research Centre, PPRC

Conducting research and development on polymers and processes. The centre also conducts research for industry.

Director Dr Tony McNally Queen’s University Belfast, Ashby Building, Stranmillis Road, Belfast BT95AH 028 90974700

Power Electronics Research Centre, PERC

Conducting research on automotive electronics, sensor technology, battery management and power harvesting in collaboration with industry.

Centre Director Prof W G Hurley Electrical and Electronic Engineering , NUI Galway, Galway.

091 494511 ger.hurley@nuigalway.ie

Precision, Strategic Research Cluster

Fostering interaction between academic and industry partners on developing applications using plasmas. One of the SFI funded Strategic Research Clusters.

Patricia James Research and Engineering Building Dublin City University, Dublin 9.

01 7007635 patricia.jamesdcu.ie

Programme for Human Genomics, PHG

Group involving partnership with RCSI, TCD, UCD working on human genomics.

Molecular Medicine Ireland Newman House 86 St Stephen’s Green Dublin 2.

01 4779 820 info@molecularmedicineireland.ie

RESEARCHERS

Neuroscience and Neurodegeneration Research Group

RESEARCHERS

Prostrate Cancer Institute

NUI Galway. Director, Prof Frank Sullivan, Consultant Radiation Oncologist. Developing treatments for prostrate cancer. Collaboration with National Centre for Biomedical Engineering Sciences at NUI Galway and Galway University Hospital. The Institute was established in 2011.

NCBES, NUI Galway.

091 495165 biomed@nuigalway.ie

Psychological Epidemiology and Mental Health Conducts research in the areas of psychological measurement, diagnosis and prevalence of mental health problems in the population.

Prof Gary Adadson Prof Mark Shevlin Psychology Research Institute, University of Ulster, Magee Campus, Co Londonderry, BT487JL 028 70124418

Psychology Research Institute

Conducting research in four areas, behavioural neuroscience, peace and conflict, health psychology, and measurement and statistical modelling.

Director Psychology Research Prof Maurice Stringer University of Ulster.

028 7012 4418 f.harkins@ulster.ac.uk www.science.ulster.ac.uk/psyri

Pure Mathematics Research Centre Research interests of the group members include functional analysis, Banach Lattices, and Infinite Dimensional Analysis.

Director Dr I G Todorov Queen’s University Belfast, University Road, Belfast BT7 1NN Northern Ireland 02890976003 pure.maths@qub.ac.uk

Quaternary Environmental Change Research Group

Study of the geological record during the past 11,500 years of the Quaternary Era. Environmental Sciences Research Institute University of Ulster Cromore Road, Coleraine.

02870124242

Queen’s University Ionic Liquid Laboratory, QUILL

A centre of expertise collaborating with industry in research on ionic chemistry.

Director Prof Jim Swindall David Keir Building. Queen’s University Belfast, Stranmillis Road, Belfast bT9 5AG 028 90974223 j.swindall@qub.ac.uk http://quill.qub.ac.uk/

Quercus

Conducting ecological research and promoting collaboration between academia and government.

School of Biological Sciences Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast. BT9 7BL Northern Ireland 028 90072281 neil.reid@qub.ac.uk

Questor Centre

Research on water and wastewater treatment, modeling, dispersion and remediation.

David Keir Building, Stranmillis Road, Belfat, BT95AG, Northern Ireland.

028903355778 questor@qub.ac.uk http://questor.qub.ac.uk/webpages/ qcindex.html

Radiation and Environmental Science Centre

The group specialises in radiobiology and environmental toxicology.

Developing novel in vitro cultures from human, fish and invertebrates of ecological importance, for employment in radiation and ecotoxicological studies.

Dr Fiona Lyng Dublin Institute of Technology, 01 4027972 fiona.lyng@dit.ie www.dit.ie/resc

Regenerative Medicine Institute, REMEDI

The focus is on promoting organ and tissue repair. REMEDI has a programme of research on fundamental cell biology and is investigating the application of stem cells. Research is being conducted in partnership with industry partners to commercialise results.

Director Prof Timothy O’Brien National Centre for Biomedical Engineering Sciences NUI Galway, Galway.

091 495166 info@remedi.ie

Rehabilitative Science Research Group

Involved with the critical evaluation of therapeutic practices and procedures employed by therapists in clinical practice, but also other areas such as strength and conditioning, exercise rehabilitation, gait analysis and sports rehabilitation. The aim of the group is to develop innovative and multi-disciplinary research and rehabilitative programs and to develop partnerships with other key stakeholders and clinicians in the area of rehabilitative science.

Jennifer Wallace Institute of Technology Carlow, Kilkenny Road, Carlow.

059 9175343 www.itcarlow.ie

Reproductive Biology Cluster

The Reproductive Biology Research Cluster is a research initiative focused on investigating solutions to reproductive problems in cattle.

The Cluster was formed in 2007 with major funding from Science Foundation Ireland, University

College Dublin and Teagasc.

Project Manager Dr Niamh McLoughlin Evans Room 255 Veterinary Science Centre, University College Dublin, Belfield, 01 7166258 reproduction@ucd.ie

RINCE Institurte

Research focus on innovation in engineering. The Institute, based at the Faculty of Engineering, has three research centres, Image Processing and Analysis, High Speed Devices and Systems, and Network Innovation Centre.

Research Officer Ger Lardner Dublin City University, Dublin 9.

01 7005604 ger.lardner.dcu.ie www.rince.ie

Rosemount Environmental Research Centre Established in 2011 and based at UCD to combine plant biology, horticuloture, environmental and other disciplines. The centre has an extensive collection of apple varieties.

University College Dublin Belfield, Dublin 4.

Ryan Institute

Extensive facilities supporting research, development and promotion of marine resources.

The Institute’s is spread over two main buildings on the NUI Galway campus – the Orbsen Building and the Martin Ryan Building – and four off-campus facilities – the Mace Head Atmospheric Research Station, the Carna Aquaculture Research Facility, the Carron Field Research Station, and Finavarra Field Research Station.

NUI Galway, Orbsen Building, Galway.

091 493548 caroline.murphy@nuigalway.ie http://mri.nuigalway.ie/mri.html

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine operates three competitive research funding programmes: 1) Food Institutional Research Measure (FIRM)- Food research 2) Research Stimulus Fund(RSF)- Agri production research 3) Programme of Competitive Forest Research for Development (CoFoRD) – Forest based research The three programmes are targeted at public Research Performing Organisations (RPOs) and have the overall objective of building expertise and capability to underpin the development of the agri-food & forest sector.

For further information on our funding programmes, please visit www.agriculture.gov.ie/research or email research@agriculture.gov.ie

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Research and develop,ent of silicon technology, thin film technology and device structures. The centre has a complete silicon processing suite.

School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Bernard Crossland Building, Malone Road, Belfast BT9 5BN

Sensor Technology for Neurochemical Applications

Research on functioning of neurochemicals in the brain. Working with other scientists through the NeuroAnalytical Chemistry Laboratories, NACL. Prof John Lowry Department of Chemistry, NUI Maynooth 01 7084639 john.lowry@nuim.ie

Separation Science Research Group

The main area of research is in the use of chromatographic and electrophoretic techniques to facilitate the separation, purification and analysis of complex mixtures of both chemical and biological compounds.

Dr Peter McLoughlin Waterford Institute of Technology, 051 302056 pmcloughlin@wit.ie

Shannon Applied Biotechnology Centre — Limerick

Developing new processes and products from bio-resources.

Researchers work in collaboration with industry. Shannon ABC is one of the Applied Enhancement Centres established by Enterprise Ireland.

Operating from two locations, Limerick and Tralee, Co Kerry.

Dr Patrick Murray Enterprise Acceleration Centre, Limerick Institute of Technology, Moylish Park.

061 448545

Shannon Applied Biotechnology Centre — Tralee

Developing new processes and products from bio-resources.

Researchers work in collaboration with industry. Shannon ABC is one of the Applied Enhancement Centres established by Enterprise Ireland.

Dr Shane O’Connell South Campus, Institute of Technology Tralee, Tralee, Co Kerry.

066 7144188 shane.oconnell@staff.ittralee.ie www.shannonabc.ie

Smart Ambient Assisted Living, SAAL

A multi-disciplinary group of medical professionals, engineers and other specialists developing unobtrusive support for the elderly or disabled.

Involves collaboration between NUI Galway, Georgia Tech Ireland, and University of Limerick.

Smart Cities and Infrastructure

Researchers from different disciplines address issues and challenges facing cities and towns Director Prof Chris Bean UCD Earth Science Institute, Belfield Dublin 4 01 7162878 earth.director@ucd.ie

Smart Environments Research Group, SERG

Group Leader Prof Chris Nugent School of Computing and Mathematics, University of Ulster, Shote Road, Newtonabbey, 02890368330

Smart Ocean Ireland

A multi-disciplinary industry orientated group engaged in applying ICT in a marine environment. Activities include environmental monitoring, offshore operations, transport and aquaculture.

Lisa Fahy Marine Institute Oranmore, Galway.

091 387471 lisa.fahy@marine.ie www.marinetech.ie

Software Research Institute, SRI

Developing software engineering capability and working with start-ups and SMEs on innovation.

Brian Lee Athlone Institute of Technology, Dublin Road, Athlone, Co Westmeth.

090 6483035 blee@ait.ie www.ait.ie

Soil Society of Ireland

Representing scientists who work in the field of plant pathology in Ireland at home and abroad.

UCD School of Biosystems Engineering, Univdersity College Dublin, Belfield Dublin 4.

01 7167460 nick.holden@ucd.ie www.ucd.ie/sssi/Home.html

Solar Energy Conversion, SEC Researchers from UCD, UL, DCU collaborating with industry partners in developing solar power and synthetic photosynthesis applications.

UCD School of Chemical and Bioprocessing Engineering, , University College Dublin. Belfield, 01 7161719 info@seccluster.ie

Solid State Pharmaceutical Cluster

Strategic Research Clusters

Sonic Arts Research Centre, SARC

Strategic Research in Advanced Geotechnologies, StratAG

University of Limerick. Started in 2007. PI is Kieran Hodnett from UL Material and Surface Science Institute. Involved in collaboration with TCD, UCD, UCC, NUIG and nine pharmaceutical companies. Each of the collaborators concentrates on different aspects.

University of Limerick, Limerick.

061 234629 jon.ohalloran@ul.ie www.ul.ie/sspc

Combining music, electronics and computer science and equipped with a 3D studio.

Queen’s University Belfast. Belfast BT7 1NN

South Eastern Applied Materials, SEAM

Concerned predominantly with medical devices and precision engineering. Currently involved in the following areas, development of novel implants for interpositional arthoplasty of knee, finite element analuysis of components and systems, development of technology for prolonged release of drugs, microwave processing of polymeric materials, residual stress analysis of PVD coated cutting tools, developing a sensor system for real-time in-situ monitoring pf tool wear in precision engineering.

Dr Ramesh Raghavendra.

Waterford Institute of Technology, Cork Road, Waterford.

051 845648 rraghavendra@wit.ie www.seam.ie

Sport and Exercise Sciences Research Institute, SESRI Research of physical activity and health, sports sciences and social sciences of sport.

Prof Eric Wallace University of Ulster Jordinstown Campus. Shore Road, Newtownabbey, es.wallace@ulster.ac.uk www.science.ulster.ac.uk/sesri

Stokes Research Institute

A multidisciplinary, multinational group of scientists and engineers working in close collaboration with industries, hospitals and government organisations. The core research activities at the SRI are conducted in the field of micro-scale mechanical engineering.

Director Dr Jeff Punch Engineering Research Building, University of Limerick. Limerick.

061 202449 stokesresearch@ul.ie

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SFI run programme in which there are centres for focused research working in partnerships with companies.

More than 40 companies work with these centres, among which are the Solid State Pharmaceutical Cluster in Limerick, the Network of Excellence in Functional Biomaterials, the Glycoscienc e Research Cluster at NUIG, the Irish Drug Delivery Network at UCD, BioNanointeract Cluster at UCD. www.sfi.ie

Drawing on geotechnology researchers from NUIM, UCD and DIT. The focus is on application of geospatial data. The group works in partnership with agencies and industry in developing visualisation and modelling tools.

Iontas Building, NUIM, Maynooth, Co Kildare.

01 7086972 Email: stratag@nuim.ie

Surface Engineering Group Investingating the use of plasma deposition on polymers, metals and ceramics.

Denis Dowling University College Dublin Belfield, Dublin 4.

01 7161747 denis.dowling@ucd.ie www.ucd.ie/surfaces

Synthesis and Bioorganic Chemistry, SynBIOC

Research on synthesis of pharmacologically active products and medicinal chemistry.

Director of Research Prof K J Hale School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering David Keir Building, Stranmillis Road, Belfast BT9 5AG.

System-on-Chip, SoC

Research focus is on developing novel approaches to system on chip design, programming and applications.

Queen’s University Belfast, Queen’s Island, Belfast, BT3 9DT N Ireland 028 9097 1700 info@ecit.qub.ac.uk

Systems Biology Ireland

Established in 2009 as a centre of excellence bringing scientists, engineers and industry together on systems biology research. SBI is an initiative between UCD and NUI Galway, and is one of the SCI funded (CSET) Centres.

Conway Institute, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4.

01 7166979 systemsbiology@ucd.ie www.ucd.ie/sbi

RESEARCHERS

Semiconductors and Nanotechnology, NISRC

RESEARCHERS

Teagasc Food Research Centre, Ashtown

Research, development and innovation initiatives supporting meat and dairy processing, cereals, and marine food sectors are the core activities.

The programme is delivered by four departments: Food Industry Development (pat.daly@teagasc. ie), Food Safety (geraldine.duffy@ teagasc.ie), Food Biosciences (tom. beresford@teagasc.ie) and Food Chemistry and Technology (mark. fenelon@teagasc.ie).

Ashtown, Dublin 15.

01 8059500 www.teagasc.ie

Teagasc Food Research Centre, Moorepark

One of the two food development centres run by Teagasc to support innovation in industry. Teagasc scientists work in collaboration with development agencies in providing technical and scientific support for

the food sector.

025 4222 info@teagasc.ie www.moorepark.ie

TeaPOT

Research into technology that interacts with humans or with the human body — People Oriented Technology (POT) Dr James Condron Focas Institute, Dublin Institute of Technology, Dublin 8.

Technologies for Embedded Computing Centre, TEC Associated with the Nimbus Centre at CIT working on embedded computer systems Cork Institute of Technology Bishopstown Cork 021 4335567 info@tec-centre.ie www.tec.centre.ie

Technology Centres

Established in 2010 as a joint IDA Enterprise Ireland initiative. The nine industry led centres, based in higher education institutes, were given budget of €56m to generate innovative technology.

Programme Manager Martin Hussey Enterprise Ireland, The Plaza, Dublin 3.

01 7272571 martin.hussey@enterprise-ireland.com www.enterprise-ireland.com

Telecommunication Software and Systems Group, TSSG

The TSSG’s key research area is autonomic network and service management with a focus on the next generation of networks and services, including the IP-based infrastructure, services, especially mobile services, and the enabling software systems. With over 400 international links, the group has worked with more than 100 Irish companies. The TSSG is regarded as

Irish Science Handbook 2012

48

an internationally significant body, and it has been highly successful in attracting funding from a variety of sources. TSSG secured 40 projects valued at €21.4 million from the EU 7th Framework Programme.

Dr William Donnelly 051 302963 mofoghlu@tssg.org www.tssg.org

Telehealth Research Group

Established in 2011, the group evolved from the HIRG, taking in new partners and broadening objectives.

Recently the group has been engaged in three areas, wellbeing of communities and rural women, online CBT intervention of breast cancer and fatigue, and the National Epilessy Care Programme.

Dr John Wells 051 845542 jwells@wit.ie

RESEARCHERS

Natural gas is composed mainly of about the use of this method of extraction mud damage, gluteraldehyde to prevent methane, CH4. It is a clean-burning fuel in Ireland and local activists in the microorganisms from fouling the and is more environmentally friendly Sligo/Leitrim region are opposing the fractures and dimethyl formamide (DMF) than coal or oil. It can be used both exploration. It is feared that disturbing which is an oxygen scavenger, to prevent UCD forcould Food Safety Terrestrial Ecology Research Trinity Centre for UCDofInstitute ofThese Food substances and for domestic heating and cooking and the geological strata inCentre this way corrosion the pipes.

Research on presence on pathogens, Group Bioengineering, TCBEseismic tremors. for electricity generation. It would be cause There are also are allHealth in common use. antimicrobial resistance and other Research on how local regional Combining knowledge of Combining food science with beneficial for and Ireland to develop natural fears that substances in the fracking Potassium chloride is a component of projects relating to food safety. processes influence biodiversity and biomaterial, regenerative research on production, nutrition, gas as an indigenous energy source. fluids could leach into the ground water argicultural fertilizers, and is present in Researchers at UCD collaborate with ecosystems. medicine, muscoskeletal research, biosystems and regulations.

Unfortunately, there are technical food safetyThere authorities in Ireland and and cause is even our own body fluids, acid Environmental Sciences Research cardiovascular systems and neuralcontamination.

Institute of Food andhydrochloric Health abroad.

Institute University as of Ulster Cromore medical University College problems, this gas will notengineering be easy toin developing a mobile cinema travelling through the is produced with theDublin, gastricBelfield, juices in the of Public Health, Road, Coleraine. devices.

Dublin 4. extract. region, showing aSchool documentary film, human stomach, glutaralhedyde is used Physiotherapy and Population 028 70124242 Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity 01 7162808 Natural gas was formed, millions made in America, called ‘Gaslands’, in the healthcare industry for sterilization CITY OF SCIENCE 2012 Science, Veterinary Science Centre, College Dublin. 152-160 Pearse of years ago, in a marine environment. which aims to show the risks associated and DMF is used in the pharmaceutical University College Dublin, Dublin 4.

Street.

Dublin 2.

Transcriptional Regulation Vision Science Research It arosewith froma the decomposition of the is underwriting about someone scientific background 01 of 7166082 with hydraulic fracturing.

Theatplot of a Cunningham, industry.

However, to reassure thehalf public, of my own experience science 01 8964214 and Epigenetics Group tcbe@tcd.ie of tiny and cost, Multidisciplinary compared to previous willremains look at of themillions evidence, and plants they will recent episode of cfs@ucd.ie CSI dealt with the itsame theTamboran has recently announced school, it was too corralled, narrowing Research into classical and research onevents sight that it There may still beadditives a buzz around Molecular gastronomy is opening up gastronomy when she attended a the seminar animals that died sank towww.tcd.ie/bioengineering non-classical mechanisms ofand and vision.

Research includes the European Commission have a good grasp of what charts andsea theme showed dramatic will not use any in the fracking down, andand what this event is all images about isof elsewhere, Complex and Adaptive molecular gastronomy but “Note by called Chefs MeetOn Scientists” at a of a whole new area forUCD innovation when transcriptional control. clinical studies, cell growth research, bed“When and became trapped in sediments has doubled its support, and industry statistics actually mean. this point, water from a tap apparently catching water, other than sand, which helps to the opposite.”

Systems Laboratory, CASL Trinity College Institute of Note Cooking” is being touted as theafter the it comes to the preparation of food and in Paris in 2007.

It was a light Drconference Colum Walsh cortical processing of vision and or sand.

In conventional gasCity fields, is also expected to make a significant theclay Mayor said that one part of the firespite andof a huge explosion erupting keep the gas-bearing strata apart In the challenge of convincing Using mathematicsfor and computation Biomedical Sciencesshe Research Neurosciences, TCIN mathematical modelling. next culinary trend.

It involves taking it is creating a range of possibilities bulb moment says.

Always looking natural gas may accumulate inTCD, pockets, of this, said Prof of Science programme that appealed a well, thereiswas sofrom much waterUniversity has All seeped away, thus facilitating voters that aonbigbecause investment justified, to extracting value data. contribution.

Institute, of Biomedical At involvedfood withfrom research of Ulster elements which upgas. a food and textures, flavours and colours. for anSchool interesting to teach science when it is trapped a dome shaped Cunningham, is very positive, and apart strongly to him isway the under “Hacking the City” flammable gasCunningham entrained it.

No“The doubt the the escape of themake natural Without UCD CASLin 8 Belfield Park, Professor Patrick remarked Sciences, Coleraine Campus, impact of drugs on brain function 028 70124374 recreating the food using these elements spin-off from molecular gastronomy to culinary students, she was enthused Clonskeagh, layer impermeable rock.

Cromore Road. and works in collaboration with ja.little@ulster.ac.uk from Irishadditives, perspective, are hosting project inofwhich the public willVertical have makes for good TV andDublin cinema thethe usual the we extraction of the thatthis there hasthe been no division in the4. fusing them with something else higher to by molecular because of will is enormous,” says Burke.

Sheto is scare peopleor 01 7165327 028 7032 4375 through pharmaceutical industry. drilling thedata. overlying rock Europe’s biggest science conference at open access togastronomy council Hundreds of viewing, it also serves gas will be more costly, because political willbut to maintain support for casl@ucd.ie make something new.

“You could currently overseeing a research project its ability combine with theand, cp.walsh@ulster.ac.uk Education and Outreach Wireless Communications readily release gas. a critical time.will The current data sets, to he said, the are science being released, andGillian make them worried any pressures have to beFramework used.present This is science and research.

When about the idea of Roddie a7 carrot in athe gel formScale or create a mixture investigating innovative methods culinary arts.

“It really opened up my and Large Simulation The Lough Allen Natural Gas Field programme, under which research to take one example, people will be able attempt to extract natural gas from such a price company is willing to pay, in inviting Europe’s biggest science event UCD Conway Institute Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2.

Trinity Centre for Group of aorder carrot and a parsnip,” says Burke. eyes to the possibilities trying create novel foodfields. products using is up an unconventional gas to throughout theconcerned European to do their own analysis carboniferous onand the I’m water unconventional to reassure the public. to Ireland first came of up,Biomolecular he said “the and is funded roddiegi@tcd.ie Biodiversity Research Research primarily with And it’s not just the restaurant industry molecular gastronomy. to find ways to teach science to culinary basin,how formed 350 years ago. isapplied coming to anfor end, and under supply, much there, and how it At tiger was If it in turns outand that is aResearch Union,Whatever decisions are made town, allthere the graphs Biomedical Interdisciplinary studies onis million research innovation inwith that is using molecular gastronomy One of the aspects of the project is students that makes sense to them and is Trinity Consortium on that time, Ireland wasAs part a greater UCD Conway Institute brings Commissioner environmental, technical, Geoghegan Quinn, changes during thescientific day. heof remarked, commercially viable gas regard to developing naturalfor modulation, codingour and rtelated were pointing up.”

As we allprospect. know, that extraembedding bitthey of wow factor.

The Boston flavourtogether pairings.

White of interest to them,” she says. over 550 research and economic issues relating to Ageing, processes. land mass, see Science Spinway 37, and theTCAinvestigating a bigger, and more comprehensive “Hacking the City” is a great to get the Northwest of `Ireland, both the staff resorces, should be Recent based on sound thein cut-backs, when they came, were Globe recently named “molecular chocolate and cheese is one of the more A twelve week molecular gastronomy from all over the University and its maintaining biodiversity.

Collaboration between research innovations in the electronic systemwas once contiguous severe, Horizon 2020, be taking theLough publicAllen more field involved in science. companies and the licencingadmitted authorities programme, scientific findings, not onwill uninformed and Prof Cunningham associated teaching The Director Dr Jane Stout centres, and inviduals on combinations on-chip area, which combined radio at bars” as number two in there unusual flavour that arehospitals. module was launched in DIT inin 2009.

Itinstitutes is with the Bruton, Appalachian Basin therelating USA, its place starting in 2014.

Richard Minister for Jobs would do well toInstitute takemoments time to explain to gastronomy scaremongering.

Having said that, to having some anxious thatof biomedical community School of Natural Sciences Trinity issues to ageing. frequency capability onto the SOCs it list of the top ten food trends for 2012. being investigated.

“Sometimes you get the first of its kind in Ireland.

The module where extracted at Dublin, Ireland’s researchers benefit from Enterprise and Innovation, said that College public, detail,ishave exactly how should awill public debate on all the ambitious plans would to be researchers engaged in exploring College Dublin,natural Dublin 2.gas is being Trinity Dublin 2. in precise arecertainly also beingbe exploited, enabling Smoked gin and tonic anyone? peaks on GC-MS chromatograms that is taught asthe anconsists option in four of present.

It of year tight gas sandstone cell and government systems biology to discover jane.stout@tcd.ie ageing.research@tcd.ie this,the yet, as Prof Cunningham remarked, following continued and sustained it will be extracted.

Modern fracking issue, because, left towireless themselves, extensive research into scrapped.

However, as the come out the same innew totally different the Bachelor ofwhich Arts in in Culinary ways to treat a range and control. reservoirs, are less porous and justplanning a fewsensing years ago, all of thisalways would get it support for science Ireland theArts City of fluids consist of water, but theyof human authorities don’t changed, the Citymainly of Science was seen Caroline Kidd has a BSc inWhen Microbiology foods that you would not normally put and on aevent DIT Springboard programme diseases.

Ubiquitous Computing Dr Paul O’Leary permeable than inatconventional fields, have seemed impossible. it came Science comes a good time.

It is usually contain certain additives, most of right. as just the sort of event that would help Communications Elaine Quinnfrom UCD051 302630 and she is Irish currently studying for a together, which indicates that they have for people who have lost their and Research UCRG making it difficult extract the gas. Group, to getting support, scientists were important for people to see thejobs relevance which are substances already in common Ireland recover, and indeed show the University College Dublin, Belfield, www.wit.ie/wireless Aisgroup drawn from differentflavours. Sometimes Masters in Journalism in DIT. matching it’s the wish to up-skill.

A third module at However, in recent years, a new method world the starting line, but that has of this support, he said, and to appreciate and in should pose no4.great risk to the hardly atevironmentalhealthsciencesinstitute/ that aspects of science and Dublin faculties on use ubiquitous ormany as and opposite situation isitno matchthat changed. master’s level and is taught on the MScworking been to extract natural gaspervasive, 01 there 7166706 “WeFranklin are moreisthan pulling thathas there aredeveloped concrete benefits to the environment.

Innow any case, istolikely Margaret a chemist andout former research, Ireland is second none. it also termed, computing. in the peaks but the flavours still seem in Culinary Innovation and gas Food Product Elaine.quinn@ucd.ie from tight gas shale reservoirs. weightSenior now,”Lecturer said Prof economy from theand investment.

“Thinking School of Computing Dublin Institute the gas reservoirs would at Cunningham.

Athlone Institute of The government, said Profbe at a much is a whole science in and that Development. www.ucd.ie/conway Technology to work.

This method uses horizontalof drilling, lowerThere level than the water table Technology. Margaret is co-author of the area,” says Burke. combined with hydraulic fracturing, there would be a natural impermeable book, Colour, what we see and the science colloqually known as ‘fracking’. A barrier above the gas field, preventing of sight. vertical bore is first drilled to the required contamination of ground water. But the depth, then several horizontal drills are public need to be reassured about this.

BIG AND GETTING BIGGER

CITy OF SCIEnCE 2012 follows the European Science Open Forum event in Turin in 2010, and that in turn was two years after ESOF in Barcelona. The ESOF events were initiated by Euroscience, an independent group of scientists who saw the need to highlight the best in European science. In the US there is the well-funded American Association for the Advancement of Science, usually simply known as the AAAS, which acts as a showcase for American science.

The members of Euroscience thought that Europe needed to have something similar, so in 2004 the first ESOF conference was launched at Stockholm, and since then it has continued to grow as a biannual event, going on to Munich in 2006, Barcelona in 2008, Turin in 2010, and this year Dublin.

At a Euroscience Ireland meeting Prof Cunningham said the number of

proposals for the programme has greatly remarked that it might be a good idea exceed expectations. Four months, he to look at how it is funded. One of the said, had been spent winnowing these recent developments that could be down, and that meant that about three relevant, he said, is the recent regrouping quarters of the submissions had to be of European organisations involved turned down, and a number of these in supporting research. The former Subscription €30 a year, six issues, would have been worth including. “We European Heads of Research Councils, are trying to do something about that,” has been reorganised, and on EUROHORCs, sale in newsagents. said Prof Cunningham, and one of the and rebranded as Science Europe, and questions on many peoples’ minds now, the new organisation is made up of 42 global science viewed is just how big can the ESOF events Local get. and research funding bodies, including the The success of ESOF has taken throughHealth Irish Research eyes. Board and SFI in Ireland. many people by surprise, yet it began While recognising that there would be as a bottom-up initiative by a group issues to be resolved, Prof Cunningham of scientists who retain their ultimate said it is hard to escape the compelling www.sciencespin.com control and ownership. The group is logic — “Science Europe has endless independent, but as is often the case, money, billions, while Euroscience independence can mean having to work SCIENCE SPIN Issue 48 Page 16 just has pennies,” he commented. yet, within limited budgets. ultimately, while independence would As ESOF seems destined to grow have to be weighed up against political and grow as a major event in promoting pressures, both organisations have European science, Prof Cunningham similar aims.

IDEAL FOR THE LIBRARY

DUBLIN CITY OF SCIENCE 2012 Irish Science Handbook 2012 49

Searching for gold in County Wicklow, by the late 18th century Irish landscape artist, Thomas Sautell Roberts.

Courtesy of the National Library of Ireland.

GOLD FRENZY The story of Wicklow’s gold by Peadar McArdle

IN

1795, following the chance discovery of a nugget, there was a gold rush as people were drawn by the prospect of picking up instant wealth from Wicklow’s Goldmine River. Gold has always been mankind’s enduring passion, and long after the initial rush which the Government tried to crush, the belief persisted that great wealth remained undiscovered among the Wicklow hills. Charles Stewart Parnell was among those eager to support the prospectors, and with independence, nationalists were convinced that Ireland was about to rediscover its source of ancient gold.

In his entertaining and highly informative book, Peadar McArdle, former Director of the Geological Survey of Ireland, describes how the frenzy has never really died down, and to this day, panners dream that one day they might strike it rich.

Gold Frenzy is available from the Science Spin website, Dubray’s, Kenny’, Hanna’s, the GSI store and from other sselected bookshops.

Hardback €20 IBSN 0 906002 08 7

Albertine Kennedy Publishing, Cloonlara, Swinford, County Mayo

Order on line from

sciencespin.com

for post-free delivery Ireland, UK and EU

A selection of centres and organisations involved with innovation Create Ireland

Runs a training programme for people setting up digital media companies. Run by IADT and the Digital Hub with Enterprise Ireland support.

Frederic Herrera create@ladt.ie www.createireland.ie

Applied Technology Enhancement Centres

There are thirteen of these centres, designed to provide common ground between applied researchers and local industries. The AREs are supported by Enterprise Ireland and are based in the institutes of technology.

Programme Manger, Paddy Byrne Enterprise Ireland, Waterford.

051 333531 paddy.byrne@enterpriseireland.com

ArcLabs Research and Innovation Centre Providing new and early-stage enterprises with access to R&D resources and business development support.

Manager Tom Corcoran Waterford Institute of Technology, West Campus, Carriganore, Waterford.

051 302975 info@arclabs.ie www.arclabs.ie

Bio-incubation Centre Facilitating development of applications from medical research.

St James’ Hospital, Dublin 8

BioBusiness Ltd

An association for promoting life sciences and health technology and facilitating networking for collaboration and business development.

Project Manager Dr Declan Bogan The Innovation Centre, Northern Ireland Science Park, Queen’s Road, Island, Belfast

BT3 9DT +44 (0) 7808776196 declan@biobusinessni.org www.biobusinessni.org

Business Partner Programme

This is a programme run by Enterprise Ireland matching investors and entrepreneurs with emerging technologies that are considered ripe for commercial development. Match up events have been held to showcase inventions.

Enterprise Ireland. www.enterprise-ireland.com

Carlow Campus Innovation Centre

Assisting knowledge based companies to develop by providing incubation space and access to research expertise.

Enterprise Development Manager Brian Ogilvie ERIC, Carlow Institute of Technology, Carlow.

059 9175223 brian.ogilvie@itcarlow.ie www.itcarlow.ie/enterprise/ campus-innovation.htm

CoLab

Providing support and space for new firms. A programme for start-ups is run in association with IT Sligo.

Patsy Donaghy Letterkenny Institute of Technology, Port Road, Letterkenny, Co Donegal.

074 9186703 colab@lyit.ie wws.lyit.ie

Commercialisation Office, NUIM

Director of Commercialisation John Scanlan National University of Ireland Maynooth, Auxillia Building, Maynooth, Co Kildare.

01 7086017 john.scanlan@nuim.ie

Community Enterprise Centres

DIT Hothouse

There are over a hundred of these across the country. In June the Government announced that business development managers are to be appointed to 37 of these. Operating under Enterprise ireland, the managers will be responsible for promoting business development locally.

Tom Hayes Enterprise Ireland.

The technology transfer centre at Dublin Institute of Technology with responsibility for commercialisation of research.

Working with a number of companies to provide expertise and technology, and assists knowledge-intensive start ups.

Bernadette O’Reilly Aungier Street, Dublin 2.

01 4027179 Email: hothouse@dit.ie www.dit.ie/hothouse

Community of Innovation Researchers, AIIP-COR

Dublin Business Innovation Centre

Competence Centres

Electronics Production and Innovation Centre, EpiCentre

All Island initiative bringing academics and postgrade students involved in innovation together.

Chair Dr Nicola Hewitt-Dundas Queen’s University Belfast nm.hewitt@qub.ac.uk

A joint initiative of IDA and EI to establish high-level centres of expertise in applied research.

The centres are based in third level colleges and are run in collaboration with industry. See separate list for the existing and planned competence centres.

Enterprise Ireland www.enterprise-ireland.com

Convergence Council

A group drawn from IBEC, IDA, EI, Shannon Development, Forfás and Office of Chief Scientific Office, to foster convergence between sectors.

Chair, Sharon Higgins.

IBEC, 84-86 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2.

Cork Electronics Industry Association, CEIA

The association was established in 1984 to nurture growth of the electronics industry in the Cork region. Membership includes local firms and multnationals.

Irish Science Handbook 2012

51

Established in 1988 to support business start-ups.

Communications Debbie Chapman debbiechapman@dbic.ie www.dbic.ie

Providing local industries with access to specialised equipment and expertise. The centre works in partnership with the University of Ulster, Institute of Technology Letterkenny, and North West Regional College.

School of Computing and Intelligent systems, University of Ulster, Magee, Northland Road, Derry. BT487JL Northern Ireland 028 7137 5153ß info@epicentreireland.com

Enterprise and Research Incubation Centre, ERIC

Assisting knowledge based companies to develop by providing incubation space and access to research expertise.

Manager, Brian Ogilvie Institute of Technology Carlow, Carlow.

059 9175223 brian.oglivie@carlow.ie www.itcarlow.ie/enterpriseplatform-programme

INNOVATION

INNOVATION

Malachy McElroy Industry House, Rossa Avenue, Bishopstown, Cork.

087 2252857 info@ceia.ie wwwceia.ie

INNOVATION

The Focas Research Institute, DIT, (www.focas.dit.ie) was established under the Higher Education Authority Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions, Cycle 1 (1999-2001), co-funded by the EU. The facility addresses the common needs of research activities in Science and Engineering. The venture is founded on established expertise within the Institute and aims to consolidate and develop this expertise, while nurturing developing research activities within the DIT. Thus it promotes interdisciplinary collaborations within the Institute and with other national and international bodies, and provides a support service for national industry.

Focas now houses an unrivalled suite of instrumentation for spectroscopic (UV to far IR) characterisation and imaging (Raman, FTIR) and optical (Confocal fluorescence), scanning probe (AFM, conductive AFM) and electron microscopy (SEM, WDX, EDX, variable pressure/cryo SEM, TEM).

Focas contributes strongly to the development of self-sustaining research teams in a number of strategic areas, such as Bio and Nano technologies. Recent notable research outputs include novel technologies for cervical cancer screening (www.dit.ie/hothouse/ newsevents/newsarchive/news2011/ditresearcherwinsonetowatch/) and antibacterial surface coatings (http://www.dit.ie/hothouse/ newsevents/latestnews/dittechnologystarsateuinnovationexpo/).

It furthermore underpins postgraduate research as well as undergraduate project work and undergraduate and postgraduate course curriculum development.

The Focas Research Institute is a one-stop-shop for characterisation of materials and processes and operates an open access policy with expert technical and scientific support.

Label free sub-cellular imaging of The 3200m2 facility, to the rear of the DIT Kevin nanoparticles in single cells using Street site in the heart of Dublin, provides state of Raman microspectroscopy. the art core laboratory support in microscopy and spectroscopy for a range of research groups and activities. The facilities were consolidated under PRTLI Cycle 4 (2007For further details on accessing the 2013), co-funded by the EU Regional Development Fund, through expertise and facilities contact the Integrated NanoScience Platform for Ireland (www.inspirenano. focas@dit.ie ie) and the National Biophotonics and Imaging Platform, Ireland, (www.nbipireland.ie) and are incorporated as a pilot site in the Web: www.focas.dit.ie EuroBioImaging programme (www.eurobioimaging.eu).

Focas Institute

The Institute provides a common, core facility and equipment for research activities in science and engineering. It has received further significant funding under PRTLI Cycle 4 as part of the multi-institutional National Biophotonics and Imaging Platform, Ireland (NBIPI) and the Integrated NanoSciences Platform for Ireland (INSPIRE) and has established significant links with key researchers in universities and research centres across Europe.

Head Prof Hugh J Byrne Dublin Institute of Technology, Camden Row, Dublin 8.

01 4027900 hugh.byrne@dit.ie www.focas.dit.ie

Food Business Incubation Centre

Food Technology Centre

Gateway UCC

Food Product Development Centre

Providing the food industry with training, product development and sensory test facilities Michael Hosey St Angela’s College, Lough Gill, Sligo.

071 9150734 info@thefoodtechnologycentre.ie www.thefoodtechnologycentre.ie

Innovation and incubation centre to support development of knowledge-based companies and providing links between UCC researchers and industry.

Manager Myriam Cronin UCC, Office of Technology transfer, University College Cork.

021 4205885 myriam.cronin@ucc.ie http://gateway.ucc.ie

FUSE

Geoscience Ireland

Eight food processing units available for industry.

Peter Simpson Loughry Campus, Cookstown, Northern Ireland. www.loughrycollege.info/ftd/ core/food126.htm

The centre develops food products and uses a team of food technologists, chefs and technologists to provide support to industry.

Mary Dineen DIT Cathal Brugha Street, Dublin 1.

01 8146080 fpdc@dit.ie www.fpdc.dit.ie

The FUSE Initiative is a two year initiative that was started

by EI but is run and driven by entrepreneurs from throughout the South East region. It was started in January 2011 and to date has 170 members, many very significant employers from the region. www.enterprise-ireland.com

Irish Science Handbook 2012

52

A consortium of mineral exploration, water resource and environmental consultancy services with extensive experience at home and abroad. Geoscience Ireland works in collaboration with the Geological Survey of Ireland and Enterprise Ireland.

Director Koen Verbruggen GSI Haddington Road, Dublin 4.

01 6782864 koen.verbruggen@gsi.ie www.gsi.ie/geoscienceireland

Managed by Dublin Business Innovation Centre, a base is provided for more than 70 start-up companies. Over the past eleven years the centre has support 491 companies with advice and venture funding.

Taylor’s Lane, Dublin 8.

01 4100600 info@gec.ie

Hartnett Enterprise Acceleration Centre

Providing resources, training and mentoring for business start-ups. Incubation centre based at Limerick Institute of Technology Business Liaison Gillian Barry 086 7959269 Gillian.barry@lit.ie www.hartnettcentre.ie

IGNITE TTO

Supporting knowledge transfer and commercialisation at NUI Galway.

Business Development Manager Fiona Neary Research and Innovation Centre, NUI Galway 091 492400 fiona.neary@nuigalway.ie

Incubation Centre

Incubation Centre Manager Patsy Donaghy Letterkenny Institute of Technology Co Donegal.

074 9186703 colab@lyit.ie www.co-lab.ie

Industrial Liaison Office

Commercialisation Specialist Ronan Coleman Cork Institute of Technology Bishopstown Campus, Cork.

021 4326017 ronan.coleman@cit.ie

Innovation Centre

Northern Ireland Science Park, Queen’s Road, Queen’s Island, Belfast BT3 9DT Northern Ireland 07808 776196 Innovation in Business Centre, Commercial Services Manager John Kennedy

GMIT Westport Road, Castlebar, Co Mayo.

091 7422824 john.kennedy@gmit.ie

Innovation Centre, NUI Maynooth Run by the Commercialisation Office of NUI Maynooth to commercialise research results and develop links to industry.

Director John Scanlan John Hume Building, NUI Maynooth, Co Kildare.

01 7086017 john.scanlan@nuium.ie

InterTradeIreland

Supporting SMEs across the border for all island trade. A partnership between Enterprise Ireland and Invest NI based in Newry with a staff of 40 under a 12 member council.

The Old Gasworks Business Park, Kilmorey Street, Newry, Co Down. BT342DE. Northern Ireland 02830834155 info@intertradeireland.com www.intertradeireland.com

Invent Centre DCU

GMIT Castlebar, Co Mayo.

090 43198 maria.staunton@gmit.ie

Established 2001 to foster knowledge based enterprise and forge links to business and industry. In addition to licensing technologies Invent facilitates new start-up technology companies. Projects match research expertise at DCU to international market opportunities, taking advantage of state supports.

Enterprise Development Maria Johnston Dublin City University, Dublin 9.

01 7007597 maria.johnston@invent.dcu.ie www.dcu.ie/invent

Innovation Voucher Scheme

Invest Northern Ireland

Innovation in Business Centre, IIBC GMIT has two innovation centres, Galway and Castlebar.

The centres provide a supporting environment for knowledge-based starts ups.

George McCourt GMIT, Dublin Road, Galway.

091 742822 george.mccourt@gmit.ie

Run by Enterprise Ireland to assist companies engage with R&D

Innovation Wexford

A non-profit job and business creation body. The name adopted by the Wexford Community Development Association Society to focus on sustainable employment and enterprise development.

CEO Brendan Ennis 053 9141711 info@innovationwexford.com www.innovationwexford.com

International Smart Ocean Graduate Enterprise Initiative, ISGEI

Involves collaboration of IRCSET, the Marine Institute and five Irish universities to support research projects. In 2011 €2m was made available to ISGEI to provide funds for 28 research posts.

Funds innovation, promotes industrial development, and attracts inward investment.

Operates as part of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment and has seven regional offices in Northern Ireland.

Bedford Square, Belfast BT2 7ES. 02890698000 (048 from ROI) eo@investni.com www.investni.com/bio

Irish Innovation Centre

Silicon Valley based centre providing support for Irish IT start-ups. The Irish Technology Leadership Group is a partner in the Irish Innovation Centre.

John Cassidy 189 W, Santa Clara Street, San Jose, CA 95113.

Tel: +1 4083807200 john.cassidy@irishic.com www.irishtechcap.com

Irish Science Handbook 2012

53

Irish International Business Network

A international network of people in business with Dublin, NI, London and US chapters. http://www.iibn.com/

IT Sligo Innovation Centre

Providing help and support for start-ups and assisting established businesses to expand. The centre houses more than 20 new firms involved in such areas as softeware, chemicals, biotechnology and e-learning.

Janette Gillen Instute of Technology Sligo Ash Lane, Sligo.

071 9155222 innovation@itsligo.ie www.itsligo.ie/innovation

Kilkenny Research and Innovation Centre

A joint initiative between Waterford Institute of Technology, Institute of Technology Carlow and Kilkenny local authorities to provide incubation space for start-ups.

Killarney Technology Innovation Centre

Purpose built enterprise incubation centre.

Development Manager George Nash KTI Centre, Deerpark, Killarney, Co Kerry.

064 876841822 kticentre@eircom.net www.killarney-innovation.com

LEAP

An enterprise support centre at Limerick Institute of Technology for graduates who want to start knowledge-based businesses.

Graham Royce Limerick Institute of Technology, Moylish Park, Limerick.

061 490152 leap@lit.ie www.leap.ie

INNOVATION

Guinness Enterprise Centre, GEC

Learning and Innovation Centre, LINC

INNOVATION

Providing start-up companies with space and support. Training programmes for industry and facilities for local businesses.

Enterprise Manager Claire MacNamee Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown, Co Dublin.

01 8851502 Claire.macnamdee@itb.ie www.thelinc.ie

Learning Innovation and Knowledge Research Centre, LinK

In each of our three core strands, individuals and teams are engaged in a variety of crossdisciplinary research projects that reflect current national and international concerns with issues such as innovation in SMEs, commercialization of third level IP, digital participation and education, as perceived in reports such as “Tomorrow’s Skills: Towards a National Skills Strategy, 2007, Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation, 2006 and various reports by International bodies, as well as with issues of existing and forthcoming interest to the national and international research community.

DCU Business School, Dublin City University, Dublin 9.

01 7008895 edel.conway@dcu.ie

M50 Enterprise

Providing training support for entrepreneurs. The programme involves a partnership between four higher education institutions.

Nicola Mountford Synergy Centre, Institute of Technology Tallaght, Tallaght, Dublin 24.

01 4042221 Nicola.mountford@ittdublin.ie www.m50-enterprise.ie

Media Cube, The

Digital media incubation centre at the Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology.

Provides an environment for growth and development of

media firms.

Institute of Art, Design and Technology. Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.

01 2394750 nnghuala.neill@iadt.ie wwwmediacube.ie

Midlands Innovation and Research Centre, MIRC

Providing incubation facilities and an enterprise programme for enterpreneurs.

Manager Michael Lonergan Institute of Technology Athlone, Dublin Road, Athlone, Co Westmeath.

090 6471882 mionergan@ait.it www.mirc.ie

NCI Business Incubation Centre

Linking college expertise to industry and providing support for new business start ups.

Commercial Manager Bertie Kelly National College of Ireland, Mayor Street, Dublin 1.

01 4498704

New Frontiers Entrepreneur Development Programme

Providing training support for entrepreneurs. The programme is targeted at people who are in the early stages of setting up a technology-based or knowledge-intensive business.

Manager Nick Mernagh Synergy Centre, Institute of Technology Tallaght. Tallaght, Dublin 24.

01 4042221 nick.mernagh@ittdublin.ie www.synergycentre.ie

Nexus Innovation Centre

Linking college expertise to industry and providing support for new business start ups.

Manager Andrea Deverell University of Limerick, Tierney Building, Limerick.

061 518370 nexusinnovation@ul.ie www.nexusinnovation.ie

Northern Ireland Science Park

40,000 st ft science park in Belfast 24 incubation units and facilities providing an environment for spin-outs and business growth.

CEO Norman Apsley Queen’s Road, Queen’s Island, Belfast BT3 9DT 028 9073 7800 info@nisp.co.uk www.nisp.co.uk

NovaUCD

The Innovation and Technology Transfer Centre is responsible for the commercialisation of intellectual property arising from UCD research programmes and for the development of co-operation with industry and business.

NovaUCD as a purpose-built centre also nurtures high-tech and knowledge-intensive enterprises.

Michéal Whelan Belfield Innovation Park, UCD, Dublin 4.

01 7163712 miceal.whelan@ucd.ie www.ucd.ie/nova

NUI Galway Business Innovation Centre

24 incubation units and facilities providing an environment for spin-outs and business growth.

Technology Transfer Office, Science, Engineering and Technology Building, NUI Galway.

091 492147 www.nuigalway.ie/tto

Office of Innovation

Translating intellectual property into market products and services through fostering spinouts, licensing, consultancy and collaboration in developing projects.

Director of Innovation Tim Brundle University of Ulster Room 26A20 Jordanstown Campus, Shore Road, Newtownabbey. BT37 0QB Northern Ireland 02890366700 t.brundle@ulster.ac.uk

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Office of Research Technology transfer for commercial developmentd

Manager Breda Lynch Athlone Institute of Technology Co Westmeath.

090 6483041 blynch@ait.ie

RCSI Technology Transfer Office

Established in January 2008 to assist the College’s research community in the identification, capture and commercialisation of intellectual property.

Gearoid Tuohy 121 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2.

01 4022362 gearoidtuohy@rcsi.ie www.rcsi.ie.technologytransfer

Regional Development Centre Providing space, technology transfer, mentoring and support programmes for start-up companies.

Manager, Garrett Duffey Dundalk Institute of Technology, Dundalk, Co Louth.

042 9370400 garrett.duffey@dkit.ie www.rdc.ie

Rubicon Centre

Business incubation centre at Cork Institute of Technology, housing about 50 startup companies. Providing space at two locations and management support. CIT Campus, Bishopstown, Cork, and Westwide Centre, Model Farm Road, Cork.

Peter Finnegan CIT Campus, Bishopstown, Cork.

021 4928916 p.finnegan@rubiconcentre.ie www.rubiconcentre.ie

Spirit of Enterprise Forum

A group of agencies and other bodies involved in promotion of development in the South East region. The Forum meets ever quarter and has established an annual enterprise week during which advice is provided to enterpreneurs and firms in the region. www.spiritofenterprise.ie

A programme of support for science and technology enterpreneurs run under the Northern Ireland NISP programme. and aimed at projects with significant earning potential.

Programme Manager Joanne Jennings 108-112 Royal Avenue, Belfast BT1 1DL 028 90315111

Startup Ireland

An Enterprise Ireland initiative aimed at getting overseas enterpreneurs to set up companies in Ireland. A €10m fund is available to those establishing high potential exporting companies, provided they come up with matching finance..

Manager Lorcan O’Sullivan Enterprise Ireland www.startinireland.com

Synergy Centre

Innovation centre with focus on high technology and knowledge intensive start ups. Fostering industry-academia links.

Synergy Centre Manager Nick Mernagh Institute of Technology Tallaght, Tallaght, Dublin 24.

01 4042221 nick.mernagh@ittdublin.ie www.synergycentre.ie

Teagasc Oak Park

Technology Transfer of food and agricultural research results.

Director of Research Frank O’Mara Carlow, Co Carlow.

059 9170200 frank.omara@teagasc.ie

Technology Innovation Development Award, TIDA Providing funds to enable SFI supported applied research to move forwards into commercialisation. This year €6.5 million in funding was allocated to 58 research projects. About a fifth of the awards went to TCD. Science Foundation Ireland, Wilton Tce, Dublin 2.

Technology Transfer Offices

Ten offices dedicated to technology transfer have been established with the support of Enterprise Ireland at ten Higher Education Institutes. The TTO officers can be contacted through the university and IT innovation centres.

Technology Exploitation Networks Peter O’Fegan Enterprise Ireland Galway.

091 735921

Tom Crean Centre

Providing space and support for business development and industry-academic collaboration.

Kathrina Purtill Institute of Technology, Tralee, Co Kerry.

066 7191990 info@creancentre.com www.creancentre.com

Trinity College Dublin

Associate Director, Research and Innovation James Callaghan O’Reilly Institute, Dublin 2.

01 8961427 jcallag@tcd.ie

Trinity Entrepreneural Society

College society for students with ambitions to go into business.

Box 4 Regent House, Trinity College Dublin. Dublin 2. entrepren@csc.tcd.ie www.trinityentrepreneurial.com

Trinity Technology and Enterprise Campus Providing 16,000 m2 of space for small and medium sized enterprises with 36 units around the Tower building housing 26 craft tenants.

Padraig O’Shea Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2.

01 6775655 padraig.oshea@tcd.ie www.tcd.ie

Tyndall Incubation Centre

Start-up companies based on Tyndall technologies are offered admin and management support.

021 4904241 enquiry@tyndall.ie

Have you any idea of what’s going on inside your brain?

Research scientist and writer, Dr Veronica Miller introduces us to our remarkable brain, literally taking the cap off and explaining in fascinating detail how it works. Why are we so emotional, what happens when things go wrong, and can we become more intelligent? Veronica’s highy informative and entertaining text tells us just about everything we would like to know about the brain, including lots about the latest Irish research.

The book, a matching volume for Colour and Rock Around Ireland, is due out soon. Look out for details on the Science Spin site www.sciencespin.com Albertine Kennedy Publishing Irish Science Handbook 2012

55

INNOVATION

Springboard

TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER OFFICERS

The TTO officers specialise in licencing out research and transferring academic knowledge into industry.

INNOVATION

Commercialisation Office, NUIM

Director of Commercialisation John Scanlan National University of Ireland Maynooth, Auxillia Building, Maynooth, Co Kildare.

01 7086017 john.scanlan@nuim.ie www.commercialisation.nuim.ie

Hothouse, DIT

CEO Hothouse Tom Flanagan Dublin Institute of Technology, Aungier Street, Dublin 2.

01 4027028 tom.flanagan@dit.ie www.dit.ie/hothouse

Incubation Campus, IT Carlow Enterprise Developent Officer Brian Ogilvie Institute of Technology Carlow, Kilkenny Road, Carlow.

059 9175223 brian.ogilvie@carlow.ie

Industrial Liaison Office, Letterkenny IT Industrial Services Manager Padraig Gallagher Letterkenny Institute of Technology Port Road, Letterkenny, Co Donegal.

074 9186062 padraig.gallagher@lyit.ie

Industrial Liaison Office, Cork Institute of Technology Commercialisation Specialist Ronan Coleman Cork Institute of Technology Bishopstown Campus, Cork.

021 4326017 ronan.coleman@cit.ie

Innovation in Business Centre, GMIT

Technology Transfer Office, NUI Galway

Nova UCD

TT Manager Ciaran O’Beirne University College Dublin, Belfield. Dublin 4.

01 7163713 ciaran.obeirne@ucd.ie www.ucd.ie/nova

Business Development Manager Fiona Neary NUI Galway, University Road, Galway.

091 492400 fiona.neary@nuigalway.ie www.nuigalway.ie/tto

Office of Research, Athlone IT

Trinity College Dublin

Head of Technology Transfer Niall McEvoy Ballinode, Sligo.

071 9155385 mcevoy.niall@itsligo.ie

Programme Manager Breda Lynch Athlone Institute of Technology Co Westmeath.

090 6483041 blynch@ait.ie

Associate Director, Research and Innovation James Callaghan O’Reilly Institute, Dublin 2.

01 8961427 jcallag@tcd.ie www.tcd.ie/research_innovation/technology

Institute of Technology IT Tallaght

Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland

Industrial Liaison Manager Pat O’Donnell Tallaght, Dublin 24.

01 4042864 patrick.odonnell@ittdublin.ie

Associate Director Gearoid Tuohy 121 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2.

01 4022362 gearoidtuohy@rcsi.ie www.rcsi.ie

University College Cork

Institute of Technology, IT Tralee

Teagasc Oak Park

Invent, DCU

Technology Transfer Office, Waterford IT

Commercial Services Manager John Kennedy GMIT Westport Road, Castlebar, Co Mayo.

091 7422824 john.kennedy@gmit.ie

Institute of Technology Sligo

Head of Development Jerry Clifford Tralee, Co Kerry.

066 7145637 jerry.clifford@staff.ittralee.ie

CEO Invent Richard Stokes Dublin City University, Glasnevin, Dublin 9.

01 7006188 richard.stokes@invent.dcu.ie

IT Blanchardstown

Industrial Liaison Officer Assumpta Harvey Blanchardstown, Dublin 15.

01 8851186 assumpta.harvey@itb.ie

Director of Research Frank O’Mara Carlow, Co Carlow.

059 9170200 frank.omara@teagasc.ie

Industrial Service Manager Kathryn Kiely Room 2.10 Walton IT Building, Waterford Institute of Technology, Cork Road Campus, Waterford.

051 302034 kkiely@wit.ie www2.wit.ie/Research/IndustryServicesampTechnologyTransfer/

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Director, Technology Transfer Brendan T Cremen Western Gateway, Cork.

021 4205881 b.cremen@ucc.ie http://techtransfer.ucc.ie

University of Limerick Director, Technology Transfer Paul Dillon Foundation Building, Limerick.

061 202611 paul.dillon@ul.ie www2.ul.ie/web/WWW/ Services/Research/Technology_Transfer_Office

Our Mission is to support science-based innovation in the agri-food sector and wider bioeconomy so as to underpin profitability, competitiveness and sustainability.

TEAGASC THE IRISH AGRICULTURE AND FOOD DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY Teagasc is the leading public sector organisation in the fields of agriculture and food research in Ireland. It was established under the Agriculture (Research, Training and Advice) Act 1988 with responsibility for meeting the knowledge and technology needs of the entire food chain and the authority to integrate research, advice and education services to deliver the innovation support necessary to add value to Ireland’s agri-food sector.

Teagasc is a major provider of education for the overall land-based sector and the food sector. We provide specialised and customised training to the agri-service companies as required. We are a registered FETAC training provider and work in partnership with many other education stakeholders, including the universities and Institutes of Technology, to deliver quality-driven, applied education and training programmes.

Our annual research portfolio comprises some 300 research projects carried out by 500 scientific and technical staff in our research centres. We collaborate extensively with Irish universities. Our post-graduate fellowship programme, which supports more than 100 MSc and PhD students annually, enhances this collaboration.

We participate extensively in EU Framework Programmes and have bilateral agreements with research organisations in Europe, the USA and New Zealand.

Our education programmes are provided through a network of colleges and regional education centres with full-time, part-time and distance learning courses offered as appropriate. Life-long learning is now an essential requirement in the farming sector, and our advisory and education services are committed to expanding our role in this area.

The challenge for our research is to provide leadership to the agrifood industry and rural communities by generating new knowledge to underpin competitiveness and sustainability. The main focus of our research is on the rapid delivery of results with potential for economic and social impact. We have also strengthened our capacity in key areas of fundamental research, specifically by making significant investment in the biosciences.

The Teagasc Food Programme is developing the base of expertise and information in generic technologies needed to assist the Irish food industry to achieve consistent quality and guaranteed safety, allied to product and process innovations. The Programme covers the full spectrum of the innovatory process, ranging from market studies through to strategic research to technology development services and training programmes. Teagasc is recognised as a leading player in the functional foods sector and works closely with the enterprise-development agencies and university partners in serving as an attractor for high technology foreign direct investment. Moorepark Technology Ltd. (MTL), which is an innovative food pilot plant jointly owned by Teagasc and Irish food companies, is a key link in the technology transfer chain.

Our Knowledge Transfer Programme supports innovation by farmers in the management of their businesses and provides access to the technologies they can apply to improve their competitiveness. The knowledge transfer advisory programme is delivered by advisers throughout Ireland, who have contact with some 80,000 farmers and rural dwellers each year. Approximately 45,000 avail of our intensive farm consultancy service.

The advisory service is targeted at intensive dairy, drystock, and tillage farmers and is mainly developmental in nature, but is significantly influenced by public policy schemes and the provision of public goods and services. The best technologies and the latest research is transferred to farmers using a variety of methods, including discussion groups, individual consultations, farm management newsletters, the education and training programme and through a large number of public events.

The Teagasc model of innovation support recognises the importance of integrating the critical functions of research, knowledge transfer (advisory) and knowledge absorption (education) in order to ensure impact for its stakeholders. Indeed, Teagasc is unique in European terms in having these three elements embedded within a single organisation. No one element is sufficient of itself to ensure that knowledge capital translates into a form of knowledge that is usable for the benefit of stakeholders. The model also emphasises that stakeholders are key participants in an increasingly open system of innovation.

Contacts: Chairman; Dr. Noel Cawley Senior management: National Director: Prof. Gerry Boyle; gerry.boyle@teagasc.ie Director of Research : Dr. Frank O Mara; frank.omara@teagasc.ie Director of Knowledge Transfer : Dr. Tom Kelly; tom.kelly@ teagasc.ie Chief Operations Officer: Tom Doherty; tom.doherty@teagasc.ie Teagasc delivers six programmes: Animal and Grassland Programme; Pat.dillon@teagasc.ie Crops, Environment and Land Use Programme; Paddy. browne@teagasc.ie Rural Economy and Development Programme; Cathal. odonoghue@teagasc.ie Food Programme; Paul.ross@teagasc.ie Education Programme; Paddy.browne@teagasc.ie Advisory Programme; Dermot.mccarthy@teagasc.ie Head Office Oak Park, Carlow Tel: (059) 917 0200, Fax: (059) 918 2097 Website: www.teagasc.ie

Leading the Developm

Applied Research Enhancement Centres, AREs The Applied Research Enhancement Centres were established by Enterprise Ireland to enable firms to undertake research and development. The centres, based at the institutes of technology, are focused on applied research for industry.

INNOVATION

Technologies for Embedded Computing, TEC

Wireless Sensor Applied Research Centre, WISAR Lab

Applied research in networked embedded systems.

Cork Institute of Technology. www.tec-centre.ie

Research on wireless sensor networks for medical monitoring and data collecting.

Letterkenny Institute of Technology. www.wisar.org

TSSG Innovation and Commercialisation Centre, TICC

Centre for Affective Solutions for Ambient Living Awareness

Researching the next generation of telecom and Internet services.

Waterford Institute of Technology. www.tssg.org

Ion Chennel Biotechnology Centre, ICBC

Combining expertise in physiology, chemistry, molecular biology and other disciplines for life science developments.

Dundalk Institute of Technology www.icbc.ie

Micro Sensors for Clinical Analysis, MICRA

Shannon Applied Biotechnology Centre

Working on seamless delivery over mobile, fixed line and networks.

Athlone Institute of Technology. www.ait.ie/sri

Pharmaceutical and Molecular Biotechnology Research Centre, PMBRC Working on processing technology, biotechnology and separation science.

Waterford Institute of Technology www.pmbrc.org

Enabling the elderly and ill to have an independent life through use of smart devices.

Dundalk Institute of Technology. www.casala.ie

Seamless Use Through Network Abstraction Technologies, SUNAT

Limerick Institute of Technology.

Tralee Institute of Technology. www.shannonabc.com

Biosensor technologies for detection of biologically active substances.

Institute of Technology, Tallagh. www.micra.ie

Developing products from natural biosources. The centre operates from Limerick IT and Tralee IT.

South Eastern Applied Materials, SEAM

Working on materials engineering solutions for pharmaceutical, microelectronic and other industries.

Waterford Institute of Technology. www.seam.ie

Wireless Sensor Applied Research

Centre for Advanced Photonics and Process Analysis, CAPPA Working on photonics and optics for novel devices and applications such as medical diagnostics and process monitoring.

Cork Institute of Technology. www.cappa.ie

Centre for Affective Solutions for Ambient Living Awareness, CASALA Ion Channel Biotechnology Centre

Seamless Use through Network Abstraction Technologies, SUNAT

Centre for Research in Engineering Surface Technology, CREST

Medical Engineering Design and Innovation Centre, MEDIC

Micro Sensors for Clinical Analysis, MICRA

Research on medical device innovation.

Cork Institute of Technology. www.medic.ie

Centre for Research in Engineering Surface Technology, CREST

Shannon Applied Biotechnology Centre Shannon Applied Biotechnology Centre Centre for Applied Photonics and Process Control, CAPPA Technologies for Embedded Computing, TEC

South Eastern Applied Material Research Centre, SEAM

Research on surface coatings and product development for a range of industries.

Dublin Institute of Technology. www.crestdid.com

Pharmaceutical and Molecular Biotechnology Research Centre, PMBRC TSSG Innovation and Commercialisation Centre, TICC

Medical Engineering Design and Innovation Centre, MEDIC

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The Institutes of Technology have a long track record of delivering research, development, innovation and enterprise solutions to industry, ranging from multi-national companies to locally-based SMEs. With significant expertise built up around internationally recognised research centres, all aligned with national priority areas, we have a platform to deliver real change and impact for key sectors of the Irish economy. Our work to stimulate innovation across enterprises also includes Incubation Units available across all Institutes, the New Frontiers programme which supports new start-ups, and 13 Applied Research Enhancement (ARE) centres which provide specialised focused RDI support directly to industry.

For further details about our expertise and the services available please see www.ioti.ie/RDI or contact IOTI Office for Research Development and Innovation on (01) 708 2953

www.ioti.ie/RDI

Technology Centres These are industry-led centres based in universities and funded by Enterprise

Manufacturing Research

Consortium of manufacturers collaborating on research and innovation. Research covers such areas as predictive maintenance, skill development and manufacturing cycle time reduction. Collaborating with the colleges, but independently based in Leixlip, Co Kildare. http://www.icmr.ie

Ireland and the IDA during their first five years of operation. The centres were established to give industry better access to applied research expertise and resources. The centres undertake market-focused R&D for industry.

Biorefining and Bioenergy

The focus is on exploitation of biomass resources. Biomass growth in Ireland is high, and the aim of researchers is to develop energy and materials from this resource.

The Centre is co-hosted by the National University of Ireland Galway, University of Limerick, and University College Dublin and there are links to Trinity College Dublin. http://www.ccbb.ie

IT Innovation

Co-founded by NUIM and Intel. The primary focus is on creating a gold standard for IT management. The Centre now has over 75 collaborating members. http://ivi.nuim.ie

Applied Nanotechnology

Collaborative Centre for Applied Nanotechnology, CCAN. Giving companies access to technical expertise in nanotechnology. Co-hosted by Tyndall National Institute and CRANN. TCD. http://www.ccan.ie

Composite Materials

Giving industrial partners access to materials and composites research. Partners from aerospace, energy, construction and other sectors share access to test facilities and expertise at University of Limerick and University College Dublin. http://www.ul.ie/icomp

Energy Efficiency

12E2 Research Centre. Concerned with energy efficiency in industry processes and buildings. As with Manufacturing Research, this centre is independently based in Leixlip, Co Kildare. http://www.i2e2.ie

Microelectronics

Giving industry access to research in microelectronics and facilities for product development. Co-hosted by Tyndall National Institute and University of Limerick. [http://www.mcci.ie

Food for Health Ireland

Developing ‘functional foods’ with enhanced nutritional qualities. The main focus is on milk as the source of nutrients.

Collaboration between UCC, UCD, Teagasc, UL and a number of food producers. http://www.fhi.ie

Irish Science Handbook 2012

International Energy Research Centre, IERC

Applied research on integrated sustainable energy systems. Hosted by Tyndall National Institute. http://www.ierc.ie

Centre for Learning Innovation Established in June this year and based at Trinity College Dublin.

Four more centres are to be formed;

Financial Services, Cloud Computing Data Analytics, Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

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INNOVATION

Institutes of Technology Ireland

Research at NUI Galway A Spirit of DiScovery AnD Delivery A

and Dr. Bernard Mahon of NUI Maynooth, pursues the central goal of t NUI Galway our research is inspired by our desire to enrich society. understanding and learning to manipulate regulatory mechanisms Through our diverse and integrated research programmes we seek of the immune system. By studying how the immune system reacts to learn from our past and to better understand the present so that we upon exposure to stem cells the REMEDI Immunology Group seeks may contribute to better, smarter futures for all. to unravel part of the mystery of our own development. This research At NUI Galway we draw greatly upon our rich natural hinterland on the reveals that stem cells from the bone marrow respond to signals west coast of Ireland, and this unique local context inspires a global that usually increase immune responses by producing an array of perspective for all of our research. molecules that boost immune regulation instead. The application of In looking to address the challenges and needs of today’s growing this knowledge has the power to change the lives of millions suffering society, both at home and abroad, our research advances lead to life from chronic diseases that are becoming more changing discoveries and to policies that will prevalent in modern society. For example the shape the future of tomorrow. loss of vision through disease or damage to Our research community is both vibrant the cornea affects hundreds of thousands of and dynamic and we have attracted academics, people but sight can be restored by corneal researchers, entrepreneurs and students from transplantation. Unfortunately, more than half across the globe and this richness in our own of these transplants fail as a result of immune research culture positions us well to reach out system activation. Recent research by the and influence the lives of people from all aspects REMEDI Immunology Group has shown that of society. Through our spirit of discovery and gene therapy and stem cell therapy hold great delivery we embrace new and creative ways of promise for saving sight by improving the thinking. survival of corneal transplants.

NUI Galway aims to be firmly embedded The Group is also examining how the immune among the top rank of research universities. We Recent investment has led to greatly system responds to unhealthy lifestyle and make meaningful contributions internationally, enhanced facilities and infrastructure across contributes to its medical complications. nationally, and to our region in the west of Ireland, our thematic areas on our campus in the For instance, while the progress made by following a prioritised a set of research themes. heart of Galway city. Featured above is the Westernised societies has prolonged life and These five integrated research priorities have new Engineering Building opened in 2012. eradicated some devastating diseases it has evolved over our long history in research and in also produced a new pandemic of obesity these areas we have, and continually strive, to and metabolic disease. Remarkably, unhealthy diet and obesity have make positive and lasting societal impacts: been found to activate elements of the immune system which drive 1.

Biomedical Science and Engineering complications including diabetes and heart disease. Patient-centered 2.

Informatics, Physical and Computational Sciences research at REMEDI is closely examining how specialized immune cells 3.

Environment, Marine and Energy of the blood are activated during unhealthy obesity to help us better 4.

Applied Social Sciences and Public Policy understand and manage the dangers of our plentiful society.

5.

Humanities in Context ‘‘In Smart Cities essential services are instrumented, interconnected To demonstrate some of the exciting initiatives on-going in the and intelligent.’’

University we present here a small sample of activities and to find out Dr. Mike Hartnett on the building of Smarter Cities. more and follow our recent advances please visit us at www.nuigalway.

The United Nations estimate that more than two thirds of the world’s ie/our- research population will live in urban areas by 2030. This represents almost a five-fold increase since 1900. For many this embodies the ‘triumph of ‘’The immune system is remarkably powerful and flexible in the city’ but it brings with it a major set of challenges and difficulties protecting us from infection but this protective system can also for urban planners and those living in these cities. Among these new confound new innovations in treating disease.” societal challenges is the continual struggle to manage key services Professor Matthew Griffin describing the human immune system. operating in isolation, as there is often a lack of co-ordination across Without a functioning immune system to recognize and destroy essential utilities such as housing, transportation, energy, water, waste harmful microbes, human life would be impossible. The immune system or public safety. Thankfully, the insights of some cutting edge research has evolved to be triggered by the presence of “foreign” molecular is resulting in a quiet revolution in urban planning and management patterns but this powerful protective force comes with the potential as the possibilities of environmental sensors, high speed-networks, for great harm and requires a complex and sophisticated system of co-ordinated transportation, smart buildings and intelligent software regulation. When this regulation breaks down or when we challenge facilitate the evolution of our traditional metropolis into the smart city. the body with medical devices, transplants In these emerging Smart Cities these essential and cell therapies, the immune system may services are instrumented, interconnected and be the primary cause for disease or may foil intelligent. These services exist in a continuum our attempts at treating disease. However, of interacting systems-of-systems, such as each of us developed as a “transplant” in the transport, energy and watery provision. This body of another human but, rather than being instrumented and interconnected system destroyed, were accepted by our mother’s presents its own challenges along many immune system. This exception to the normal dimensions – and in and in particular the rules of nature may be explained by special challenge of interoperability, and coping with interactions between developing tissues and extreme volume demands and variability. the immune system.

The Smart City has an intelligent fabric and Research carried out by Immunology can provide a unifying platform from which to Group of the Regenerative Medicine Institute support integrated city operations, providing Flow cell from a flow cytometer, one of the its citizens with accessible, transparent and (REMEDI), led by Prof. Matthew Griffin, Prof.

Rod Ceredig and Dr. Thomas Ritter at NUI Galway key instrument Professor Griffin and his accountable information and service sharing colleagues use in their immunology research.

Institute and his colleagues are creating new innovative between the public services and the city dwellers ways to bring this information together into an they serve. This advanced fabric provides enhanced accessible web of knowledge. capabilities around collaboration, sharing, mobility, We now have hundreds of millions of pages of multi-lingual translation, cyber security and privacy. information available to us on the web on every To compete in the evolving economic climates, cities possible aspect of society. This is also one of the web’s will need to better apply advanced information greatest drawbacks; we have to read through all of this technology, analytics and systems thinking to develop as the information is not interlinked or related to each a more citizen friendly approach to services. By doing other. We have to interlink it in our minds. so they can better attract, create, enable and retain In effect DERI are creating a digital model theri citizens’ skills, knowledge and creativity. of something we all possess, a brain. In terms of NUI Galway is research active in many aspects of information processing the brain doesn’t simply collect the smart cities domain. For example, Dr Michael facts. It sorts and filters information, and links certain Hartnett, College of Engineering & Informatics and facts and knowledge together that we can draw upon Ryan Institute, together with his colleague Dr Stephen Nash, are involved in research in many aspects of Dr Michael Hartnett with the them as we need.

In a similar way DERI is using semantic web hydroinformatics. Recently, they have developed a recently deployed radar system technology which provides the framework to link model capable of simulating combinations of river and in Galway Bay which is now coastal flooding in urban areas using ultra-high spatial streaming large amounts of information in a way that allows us to retrieve it and link it more efficiently. This opens up many exciting resolution. The model results can be visualised over real-time oceanographic data possibilities for all in society. For example if you and Google Earth maps to identify individual streets that to servers at NUI Galway your friends wanted to find bands that were playing become flooded. Research is on-going to develop this in your area playing on specific dates, you would into an operating forecasting system for cities such as have to do a lot of work to sift through the information available. The Cork and Dublin. semantic web technology uses a much more sophisticated and refined Among the other researchers at the University advancing the system of linked information so it can offer a tailored response to your theme of Smart Cities is Dr Jim Duggan, head of the System Dynamics specific query. Another exciting application for this technology is that Research Group. He and his team specialise in policy modelling to scientists have been able to find answers to questions that they haven’t support public health planning and responses. Some of the outcomes will be computation modelling software that can simulate the outbreak been able to answer to date. One way that this technology will be applied is in the area of cancer research. Here there have been millions of epidemics and evaluate the impact of public health responses. of publications in specialised areas of research but the knowledge This research will be integrated with key smart city environmental is largely inaccessible at a global scale. Professor Decker and his and sensor data, and so provide public health officials with real time colleagues have brought all of this information into a central facility decision support capability. so that researchers can ask questions and have more direct access to linked answers. ‘’Changing the web of documents into a web of knowledge.’’

This technology can clearly be expanded into all fields of research Professor Stefan Decker on the semantic web technology. from biology to climate change and ultimately support us in all aspects In less than 20 years the worldwide web has utterly of our daily lives. revolutionised the way we access and manage The linked data cloud being information. However in this digital age, we face a new developed by Professor Stefan challenge – how to efficiently and intelligently use the Decker and his colleagues at vast amount of data available to us. Professor Stefan DERI. Decker, Director of the Digital Enterprise Research

Government departments • Taoiseach • Finance • Agriculture, Food and the Marine • Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht • Communications, Energy and Natural Resources • Defense • Education and Skills • Foreign Affairs and Trade

• Health • Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation • Environment, Community and Local Government • Justice Equality and Law Reform • Public Expenditure and Reform • Social Protection • Transport, Tourism and Sport

While all departments can have an involement in science, some are directly responsible for major science, innovation and research bodies. The ministers of state, also known as junior ministers, have speficic areas of responsibility within the department. While ministers usually have a limited life in power, they are advised by permanent departmental secretaries.

Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Minister Simon Coveney Minister of State, Shane McEntee A number of veterinary, pesticide, dairy science, seed testing and plant health laboratories operate under the Department.

The central laboratory is at Backweston, Celbridge, Co Kildare.

Food research is supported under the Food Institutional Research Measure, FIRM. Forestry research is supported in association with the COFORD Council. COFORD, the Council for Forest Research and Development. The Council. Council members, representing the forestry sector, is appointed by the Minister of State for Forestry.

Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Minister, Pat Rabbitte Minister of State, Fergus O’Dowd Under this Department comes broadcasting, energy, communications, geological resources and inland fisheries.

Semi-State bodies that come under the Department on energy are the Electricity Supply Board, Bord Gais Eireann, Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, Bord na Móna, and EirGrid. The Geological Survey of Ireland comes under the Department and Mineral exploration licences are issued by the Department

Department of Education and Skills

Minister, Ruairi Quinn Minister of State, Sean Sherlock Minister of State, Ciaran Cannon The Higher Education Authority, is the statutory planning and policy development body for higher research operates under the Department.

The Irish Research Council, created through the merger of IRCSET and IRCHSS is under the Department.

Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government

Minister, Phil Hogan Met Eireann comes under this Department.

The Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland is an independent public body operating under the aegis of the Department.

The Environmental Protection Agency is an independent body with an executive board appointed by the Government.

Department of Health

Minister, Dr James Reilly Minister of State, Roisin Shortall Minister of State, Kathleen Lynch Among the agencies operating under the Department are the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, the Health Research Board, and the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland.

Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

Minister, Richard Bruton Minister of State, Sean Sherlock Minister for Research and Innovation, Sean Sherlock Under this Department are the County and City Enterprise Boards, Enterprise Ireland, the Health and Safety Authority, IDA Ireland, Inter Trade Ireland, Shannon Development, Science Foundation Ireland, the National Standard Authority, and Forfás.

Department of Justice and Equality Minister, Alan Shatter Minister of State, Kathleen Lynch Minister of State, Paul Keogh Forensics Laboratory

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Dublin City University: A University at the Cutting Edge of Academic – Industry Collaborations

D

ublin City University, Ireland’s University of Enterprise, is a distinctive, innovation driven and research led third-level institution.

One of Ireland’s youngest and most dynamic universities and radical in its strategy from the outset, it has always been particularly responsive to the needs of business and industry, both in its educational programmes and in its research. It is characterised today by a focus on innovation and entrepreneurship and its ability to move quickly and to effect change.

million in research funding and is committed to continuing its vigorous contribution to the development of Ireland as a globalised knowledge society.

Due to the very significant level of research funding at DCU, the commercialisation of research plays a leading role in the university’s strategy.

DCU has an excellent track record in commercialising research and in 2001 it established Invent, a state of the art Technology Transfer Centre based on the DCU campus. Invent’s mission is to transform knowledge into commercial success and to provide the critical link between the university and the marketplace. It supports and encourages the transformation of cutting edge research into innovative and commercially exploitable products and services.

DCU’s Engineering & Research Building

DCU has a long and impressive history of collaboration with industry.

The university leads two major academic-industrial collaborations, The Biomedical Diagnostics Institute (www.bdi.ie) and the Centre for Next Generation Localisation (www.cngl.ie), and is a partner in a third, Clarity: The Centre for Sensor Web Technologies (www.clarity-centre. org). DCU has also been awarded three national Strategic Research Clusters in the fields of Molecular Therapeutics for Cancer, Separation Science and Plasma Technology for Nano manufacturing.

These Centres for Science, Engineering and Technology (CSETs) are major academic-industry collaborative programmes which provide partner companies with the opportunity to access university researchers and research facilities. All of these collaborations have a number of industry partners from multinationals to indigenous Irish companies who help to shape the research agenda of the centre and who can benefit from the commercialisation of the technology that is subsequently developed. Membership of a CSET typically entitles the industry partner access to existing technology and IP, access to research staff and facilities, work on joint projects and early access to newly developed technology and IP. Industrial partners include many major multinational companies such as Allergan Pharmaceuticals, Analog Devices, Becton Dickinson, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Dai Nippon Printing, Disney, Dow Corning, IBM, Intel, Lam Research Corp., Microsoft and Symantec to name but a few. The CSET model was developed by Science Foundation Ireland and is a flagship for success in relation to bringing industry led research to the marketplace.

In addition to licensing technologies developed in the university and facilitating new start-up technology companies, Invent’s commercialisation strategy focusses on targeted collaborative projects with industrial partners. These projects match DCU’s research expertise to market opportunities identified by the partner companies and take advantage of significant state funding supports.

Through this approach, Invent has an established track record of success in helping companies develop new products and services targeted at the international marketplace.

DCU has been the leading Irish university for the last three years in licensing technology, due in no small measure to the industry relevance of DCU’s translational research strategy and the strong pro-business outlook of the researchers and the Invent technology transfer team. The comprehensive suite of supports available through Invent is ideal for transforming a good idea into a working business. Invent has helped many individuals to start their own business, providing purpose-built incubation space for technology based start-up companies and offering early stage and developmental business support services. Entrepreneurs and client companies also benefit from access to the sophisticated research environment at DCU, which At an academic level, DCU covers a wide range Invent DCU’s Technology Transfer includes its world-class national research centres. of disciplines from the humanities, engineering, Centre management and computing to health and the The Invent team works closely with DCU, Science natural sciences. DCU offers undergraduate and postgraduate Foundation Ireland and Enterprise Ireland to promote the successful programmes to doctoral level, through full-time and part-time commercialisation of DCU research and to encourage and establish study or research, through a range of learning formats. Through the R&D links with industry. Both the university and Invent assist establishment of a new Centre for Digital Learning, DCU is building companies to exploit research opportunities in a spirit of partnership on its strong commitment to distance education and e-learning. DCU through fully collaborative projects. was also the first university in Ireland to offer work placements for undergraduates under its INTRA programme. This has given rise to In conclusion, Dublin City University has recently been ranked among graduates who are ready to hit the ground running when they take up the world’s top 50 universities in a new league table of the world’s their positions in the workplace. young universities (less than 50 years old). DCU is the only Irish university to be featured and its inclusion in this rankings table is a DCU is also home to a number of world class research centres resounding international endorsement of DCU’s quality as a young, in pioneering interdisciplinary areas such as sensors, health and dynamic university which places a strong emphasis on excellence in life sciences, ICT, plasma science and technology and machine teaching, innovation, research and commercialisation. translation. Between 2009 and 2011, DCU has attracted over €102 http://www.dcu.ie/

SERVICES AND SUPPORTS

A selection of organisations providing essential services, supplies and supports Agricultural Research Centre, Teagasc

Testing of cereals and food products.

Laboratory Head, Dr James Burke.

Teagasc, Oak Park. Co Carlow.

059 917022 jimburke@oakpark.teagasc.ie

Agriculture, Food and Environmental Science Division

Testing and monitoring of foods and environment. Operating under the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Head of Division Dr Sydney Neill Newforge Lane, Belfast BT9 5PX 02890255349 Sydney.neill@dardni.gov.ie

Air Quality Technology Centre Sound levels, air particle measurement.

Department of Physics, NUI Galway, Galway.

091 512613 aqtc@nuigalway.ie www.macehead,nuigalway.ie

SUPPORTS

Analytical Services and Environmental Projects Unit, ASEP

Providing analytical services to industry.

Queen’s University, School of Chemistry, David Keir Building, Stranmillis Road, Belfast, BT95AG, Northern Ireland.

02890975580 t.sewell@qub.ac.uk www.ch.qub.ac.uk/facilities/ asep.html

Athlone Regional Veterinary Laboratory Testing and monitoring of pathogens, properties and residues. Operates under the Department of Agriculture and Food.

Research Officer John Fagan Coosan, Athlone, Co Westmeath.

01 906475514 john.fagan@agriculture.gov.ie

Atlantia FoodCRO

A spin out company from APC providing functional food companies with clinical trial validation service.

Business Development Barry Skillington Western Gateway University College Cork 086 8181543 barry@atlantiafoodcro.com

ATTLAS, Access to Third Level Analytical Services

Information about analytical services available to industry from Higher Education Institutes in Ireland is available from a website. The site is hosted by the Solid State Pharmaceutical Cluster at the Uliversity of Limerick.

061 233754 attlas@ul.ie

Belfast Public Analyst’s Laboratory

Operating as an authorised laboratory and carrying out tests on food, radiation, contaminants and tracing geographical origins.

Public Analyst Ron Ennion Eurofins Laboratories (NI) Ltd., 4th Floor, 16 Donegall Square South, Belfast, Northern Ireland BT15JJ 02890321691 ronennion@eurofins.com www.eurofins.co.uk

Beta Layout

Prototyping service for institutes and industry. Prototypes are produced in a variety of materials from design.

Beta Layout, Shannon Free Zone, Co Clare.

061 701170 info@beta-layout.com www.beta-layout.com

Bioserv Ltd

Mechanical, chemical and biological testing.

Dr Paul Tomkins.

Athlone Institute of Technology, Athlone, Co Westmeath.

090 6424544 ptomkins@ait.ie ait.ie/bioserv

Bord Iascaigh Mhara Microbiological testing.

Dr Carol Rafferty PO Box 12, Croften Road, Dunlaoghaire, Co Dublin.

01 2144110 rafferty@bim.ie www.bim.ie

Carl Stuart Ltd

Calibration of environmental test instrumentation.

Tallaght Business Park, Dublin 24.

John O’Sullivan 01 4523432 info@carlstuart.com

Central Veterinary Research Laboratory

Testing and monitoring of pathogens, properties and residues. Operating under the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

John Ferris Young’s Cross, Celbridge, Co Kildare.

01 6072869 john.ferris@agriculture.gov.ie

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Centre for Surface and Interface Analysis, CSIA Conducts contract R&D and provides surface analysis on contract.

Dr Liam McDonn ell Cork Institute of Technology liam.mcdonnell@cit.ie

City Analysts Ltd

Operating two analytical labs, one in Dublin and one in Limerick. Providing chemical and microbiological analysis and maintaining links with academia.

Pigeon House Road, Ringsend, Dublin 4. info@cityanalysts.ie

Cork Public Analyst’s Laboratory

Food, water and effluent analysis.

Dr Fred Davidson HSE, Southern Area, St Finbarr’s Hospital, Cork 021 4923245 fred.davidson@hse.ie

Feedingstuff Microscopy Laboratory

One of the test laboratories operated under the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

01 6157509 feedingstuffmicroscopy@ agriculture.gov.ie

Flow Management

Calibration of fuel dispensing pumps and additive systems.

6 Turnpike Business Park, Ballymount, Dublin 22.

Contact: Ned Hogan 01 4564789 ned@flow-management.ie

Forensic Science Laboratory

Conducts forensic tests in support of crime detection and law enforement. The facilities are not available to the general public, but are there to support police, customs and other state agencies.

Director Dr Sheila Willis Phoenix Park, Dublin 8 01 6662910 info@fsl.gov.ie www.forensicscience.ie

Prototypes Made Easy The two most precious resources of any design are time and money. Designers spend valuable time sourcing parts and chasing suppliers during the prototyping stage. Beta LAYOUT offers the unique proposition of all prototyping under one roof with fast turnaround at a reasonable cost.

Product Development Pyramid Fastest most cost effective prototype Unique to Beta LAYOUT Ltd Front panel manufacture 3 - 8 day turnaround Costs from €70

Completed Prototype for Demonstration 11 - 18 day turnaround Costs from €300 PCB Assembly 10 days turnaround Costs from €150

PCB manufacture 1 - 8 day turnaround Costs from €48

3 D Prototyping 8 day turnaround Costs from €30

Over 25,000 researchers and designers worldwide use Beta Layout Prototyping services such as — CERN, Tyndall Institute, Metropolitan Police London, Cavendish Lab, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, TCD, WIT, Tallaght IT, UC Santa Cruz, UC Berkeley, University of Manchester, Harvard University

Our Prototype Portfolio includes: Prototype PCBs (including Aluminium) Prototype PCB Assembly DESIGNED BY YOU Prototype Front Panels Prototype 3 D Models Each product or service can be priced and ordered online. The online quote system is easy to use and will generate a quote immediately

International Research Centre for Experimental Physics, IRCEP

Providing research students with state-of-the art facilities to develop new technologies.

Queen’s University Belfast. http://www.ircep.qub.ac.uk/

Irish Centre for High End Computing

Provides high speed computer support for higher education and research institutes.

J Desplat 7th Floor, Trinity Technology and Enterprise Campus, Grand Canal Quay, Dublin 2.

01 5241608 info@ichec.ie www.ichec.ie

Lab Unlimited

Supplier of laboratory instrumentation, service and validation.

Michael Anderson Tallaght Business Park Whitestown, Dublin 24 info@labunlimited.com www.labunlimited.com

www.beta-layout.com

Microbiology Department

Analysis of drinking water for indutry and public.

Gerry Dowd Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2.

01 8961197

Nano Imaging and Materials Analysis Centre, NIMAC

Providing scanning and transmission electron microscopy to academia and industry.

Dr Ian Reid School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4.

01 7161724 ian.reid@ucd.ie www.ucd.ie/nimac

Nanovation Laboratories

Providing the resources for nano scale developments.

University College Dublin Belfield Dublin 4.

01 7161781 adrienne.coleton@ucd.ie

Tel: + 353 61 701170

National Salmonella, Shigella and Listeria Reference Laboratory, NSSLRL Testing and surveillance of infectious micro-organisms.

University Hospital Galway.

021 544628

National Virus Reference Laboratory

Has been incorporated, with Medical Microbiology, into the Centre for Research into Infectious Diseases, CRID, at UCD. The Virus Reference Laboratory carries out over 500,000 tests on viruses every year.

Director Prof William Hall University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4.

01 7164401 nvrl@uce.ie www.uce.ie/nvrl

Next Generation Networks Test Centre Giving technology providers access to test, trial and validation ffacilities before market launch.

Waterford Institute of

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Technology 051 306142 info@ngntestcentre.com

P J Boner & Co Ltd.

Supply and calibration of temperature, humidity, pH, conductivity,flow, weighing and other instrumentation.

Managing Director Patrick M Boner 35 Western Parkway Business Centre, Ballymount Drive, Dublin 12.

01 4505050 patrickm@pjboner.com www.pjboner.com

Particular Science

Founded in 1989 to provide industry with support in characterisation of materials.

Managing Director Sean Quilty 2 Birch House, Rosement House, Rose mount Business Park, Ballycoolin Road, Dublin 11.

01 8205395 info@particular.ie www.particular.ie

PEMA Limited

PEMA provides a closed loop solution for test, measurement, communications, automation

SUPPORTS

info@beta-layout.com

and education instrumentation.

Peter Dooley PEMA House, Dromiskin, Dundalk, Co Louth.

042 6821200 info@pema.ie www.pema.ie

Plant Health Laboratory

Established in 2007 and operating under the Department of Agriculture Food and Marine.

01 6157519 planthealthlab@agriculture. gov.ie

Programme for Experimental Atmosphere and Climate, Péac

Public Health Laboratory, HSE DML

National verocytoxin E coli diagnostic and molecular typing service for public health.

Microbiological testing and analysis of human clinical sam;es, food, water and enteric pathogens. Official designated testing laboratory under EC Official Control of Foodstuffs regulations 2012.

Consultant Microbiologist and Director Dr Eleanor McNamara Cherry Orchard Hospital, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10.

01 6206175 eleanor.mcnamara@hse.ie

Rototherm Ltd.

Facility for study of plants in controlled climate, enabling researchers to model past or predicted climates.

UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science, Belfield, Dublin 4.

Supply, installation, calibration and repair of thermometers, pressure gauges, data loggers and humidy meters.

Temperature mapping for processing industries.

Maria Kenaney Unit C2 Clonlara Avenue, Baldonnell Business Park, Naas Road, Dublin 22.

01 4660260 sales@rototherm.ie www.rototherm.com

Shannon Aquatic Toxicity Laboratory

Eco-toxicological testing, marine and freshwater surveys — biological, water sampling, sediment sampling.

Robert Hernan Enterprise Ireland Shannon Town Centre, Shannon, Co Clare.

061 718300 robert.hernan@enterpriseireland.com

Test and Trial Ireland

Providing access to radio spectrum to conduct tests and trials in communications.

Commission for Communications Regulations in Ireland Block DEF Abbey Court, Irish Life Centtre, Lower Abbey Street, Dublin 1.

01 8049700 info@testandtrial.ie www.testandtrial.ie

US-Ireland R&D Partnership

Launched in 2006 to promote collaborative research projects.

Seven partnerships have been established with joint funding.

InterTradeIreland provides administrative support.

Dr Bernadette McGahon 028 30834100

Vilicom Limited

Measurement of radion frequency emissions Sean Keating 14 Joyce Way, Park West, Dublin 12.

01 4358431 info@vilicom.com www.vilicom.com

The Centre for Research in Engineering Surface Technology The Centre for Research in Engineering Surface Technology (CREST) is a DIT designated research centre based in the Focas Research Institute that successfully provides the link between research and product generation. As the only dedicated surface coatings laboratory in Ireland, it serves the SMART economy by translating scientific knowledge from the bench-top to the market. The CREST model relies on an expert and professional consultancy service to front-face its commercial surface coating activity and engages with up to one hundred companies in any one year with over 600 industrial engagements to date. CREST works with a wide range of companies from SMEs to multinationals with an expertise in surface treatment and material characterisation that comply with the requirements of international standards (ISO, BS, EN and ASTM). Capabilities range from technical inspection, specification, fit-forpurpose validation, corrosion & hygiene control to the development of novel surface coating solutions for diverse industries. Analysis areas include: accelerated exposure (durability/weathering), physical analysis (hardness, impact, adhesion, scratch), paint application, dispersion and cure. Other facilities include microscopy

(FESEM, AFM), spectroscopy (UV-Vis, FTIR, Raman, GC MS), material characterisation (XRD, DSC , TGA) and a plasma treatment system.

In addition to its consultancy service, CREST engages in collaborative innovative projects with a range of industries in Ireland and throughout Europe, successfully securing funding from agencies including Enterprise Ireland (EI) and the EU Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). To date, CREST has secured over €6M funding with over €1m directly from industry since 2003. EI’s Innovation Partnership Scheme is an example of a funding opportunity available for Irish companies with a commitment to develop an innovative technology. It offers up to 80% of the research costs allowing a company to engage in R&D through a third level institute, while having control of the project scope. Ownership of intellectual property is negotiated at the outset under the direction of DIT’s technology transfer office, Hothouse. In 2011, CREST engaged with 10 companies through Innovation Partnerships and accounted for 10% of the national total of all third level commercial licenses and assignments to industry.

Contact: Dr. Yvonne Cadogan t: +353(0)1 4027945, e: crest@dit.ie w: www.crestdit.com

SciFest - Inspiring and Promoting Excellence in STEM Education The three levels of SciFest participation

What is SciFest?

SciFest is a series of oneday science fairs open to all second-level students.

SciFest science fairs take place throughout the year at local (SciFest@ School), regional (SciFest@ College) and national level (SciFest@Intel).

1. SciFest@School Second-level schools host their own in-house SciFest science fair. Support for the event is provided by SciFest along with resources and BKMs on the SciFest website.

4290 second-level students exhibited 1864 projects in SciFest 2012 Aim of SciFest

The aim of SciFest is to encourage a love of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) through active, collaborative, inquiry-based learning, and to provide a forum for second-level students at local/regional level to present and display their scientific investigations.

Why participate in SciFest?

Participation in SciFest encourages students to: l develop an interest in, and enthusiasm for, STEM l learn while pursuing an aspect of the subject in which they have a particular interest l develop the skills sets that are required to address future global concerns of food, water and energy security, to create wealth to sustain growth and to provide better health services and better infrastructure l grow their STEM skills and abilities by exhibiting in a small student-friendly environment Scifest also: l provides resources for teachers and students (e.g. Science by Inquiry Transition Year Module) which may be downloaded from the SciFest website l is a good preparation for Coursework B in the Junior Certificate science examination, or a SciFest investigation itself (once it meets the specified criteria) can actually be submitted as a Coursework B investigation l is open to all second-level students and there is no entry fee; SciFest science fairs are all locally based affording the participants a sense of community and a feeling of ownership

2. SciFest@College Fourteen ITs and the University of Ulster, Magee Campus, Derry host one-day SciFest science fairs which are open to all second-level students. Each fair includes a project exhibition and competition, a science talk, hands-on activities in the IT laboratories, careers advice and a prize-giving ceremony.

3. SciFest@Intel The Intel Best Project Award winners at each SciFest@College event are invited to exhibit at a SciFest science fair for finalists held in Intel in October. The projects are evaluated by an expert panel of judges from academia, enterprise and government. The top project winners receive an all-expenses paid trip along with their teacher to represent Ireland at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) which is held annually in May in the USA. Ruairi O’Neill and Eoghan Flynn, Blackwater Community School, Lismore, Co. Waterford, were overall winners of SciFest@Intel 2011. Their project, entitled ‘Polyfuel: A Novel Solution to Fuel Shortages and Disposal of ELPs’ was awarded second place in the Environmental Management Category ($1500) of the Intel ISEF in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, May 2012

The SciFest Project Partners

SciFest is jointly funded by Intel Ireland and the Discover Science and Engineering Programme as project partners. There are also a number of industry sponsors including Abbott, BT, PharmaChemical Ireland, Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), along with sponsors from ‘SciFest is a premier science fair in Ireland, and academia, NCE-MSTL (National Centre for being involved with it over the last 5 years has Excellence in Mathematics and Science been one of the most rewarding experiences Teaching and Learning), and ESERO Ireland of my career. SciFest has given my students the (European Space Education Resource opportunity to practise good science at a local, Office). SciFest@College science fairs are national and international level and to meet and engage with the best young scientists from hosted by the Institutes of Technology and around the world! SciFest really embraces the the University of Ulster, Magee Campus. belief that Science is for all and all students are encouraged to think big because with the right Log on to www.scifest.ie idea, the right mentorship, and the right support For further information please contact; from people like those at their local IT/SciFest/ Sheila Porter, SciFest Project Manager Intel, their drive to think big can change the world.

Email: sheilax.m.porter@intel.com Thank you to all at SciFest, it’s been amazing.’

Ph: +353 1 6068949 David King, Blackwater Community School, Lismore, Co. Waterford SciFest@WIT 2011 , SciFest@Intel 2011 and SciFest@Intel ISEF 2012

SCIENCE EDUCATION

A selection of centres and organisations involved in education Anyone 4 Science

Bringing curriculum related science to schools, organising tours, camps, parties and workshops. The aim is to provide a stimulating environment where children discover that learning is fun.

Ashford, Co Wicklow.

Christine Cambell 0404 40563 087 674908 anyone4science@eircom.net www.anyone4science.com

BioInnovate Ireland

EDUCATION

Providing a fellowship programme on medical device innovation. Based at NUI Galway and run in partnership with UL, DCU, RCSI and UCC. Clodagh Barry 091 494212 clodagh.barry@nuigalway.ie www.bioinnovate.ie

BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition Thousands of school students enter projects in this annual competition, one of the most successful of its kind in the world. Over the years many of the award winners have gone on to become distinguished scientists. The next exhibition will be at the RDS from 9th to 12th January 2013.

Freephone 1800 924362 or from NI 0800 9171297

CALMAST

Established in 2003 to promote science and engineering through educational activities, publications and events.

Based at Waterford Institute of Technology.

Shiela Donegan, Eoin Gill Waterford Institute of Technology, Waterford. calmast@wit.ie www.calmast.ie

Centre for the Advancement of Science Teachng, CASTeL

Multidisciplinary research team involving scientists, mathematicians and educationalists from DCU and St Patrick’s College. The focus is on science and mathematics.

Director Dr Eilish McLoughlin Dublin City University, Dublin 9.

01 7005862 eilish.mcloughlin@dcu.ie www.castel.ie

City of Dublin Vocational Education Committee, CDVEC

CDVEC is the local education authority for Dublin. CDVEC has 22 schools and colleges offering second level, further education and adult education programmes and services.

Courses are also given through more than a hundred centres throughout Dublin.

Town Hall, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.

01 6680614 info@cdvec.ie www.cdvec.ie

Development Education and Research Network, DERN

Cluster of people involved in education and outreach at NUI Galway working to enhance sharing of knowledge.

National Univdersity of Ireland Galway Galway.

091 493490 clionadh.0keeffe@nuigalway.ie

Discover Science and Engineering

Discover Science & Engineering (DSE), managed by Science Foundation Ireland, aims to increase interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) among students, teachers and members

of the public. Programmes promoting STEM subjects include My Science Career, Discover Primary Science and Maths, Science Week, Greenwave, and Discover Sensors.

Science Foundation Ireland, Wilton Tce, Dublin 2.

01 6073184 info@science.ie www.discover-science.ie

Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies

The Institute runs an outreach programme to demonstrate seismology in action for schools Tom Blake 10 Burlington Road, Dublin 4 01 6140100

ENFO

The former environmental information centre at Andrew’s Street in Dublin is now an online service hosted by the Library Board. providing a range of content resources. www.enfo.ie

Galway Science and Technology Festival

This two week Festival culminates with a family day exhibition at NUIGalway, which attracted c.24,000 people in 2011. This free festival aims to nurture an interest in science and technology from a young age and encourage students to choose STEM subjects at third level.

Marketing and Administration Anne Casserly 086 8033709 galwaysciencefestival@gmail.com www.galwayscience.ie

Irish Agricultural Science Teachers’ Association, IASTA

An organisation for teachers of agricultural science providing resources and support for members.

Veronica Walsh

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Athlone Education Centre.

Athlone, Co Westmeath. proiasta@gmail.ie www.iasta.ie

Irish Science Teachers’ Association An association of over 1,000 science teachers in Ireland.

Vice Chair Mary Mullaghy mmullaghy@eircom.net www.ista.ie

Public Awareness and Understanding of Science

Public lectures by distinguished scientists and a selection of video presentations on the web site.

Prof William Reville Faculty of Science, University College Cork.

021 4904127 w.reville@ucc.ie

Regenerative Medicine Institute

An annual debating science science issues competition encourages school students to examine cultural and ethical issues in biomedical science.

NUI Galway 091 495166 info@remedi.ie www.remedi.ie

Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, RCSI

Founded in 1784 to train surgeons, the college provides education for healthcare professionals and is the largest medical school in Ireland. RCSI is also an active centre for basic and clinical research.

Communicvations Manager Niamh Burdett 123 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2.

01 4022218 communications@rcsi.ie www.rcsi.ie

Science Foundation Ireland

Through the Speakers for Schools programme, SFI funded researchers are encouraged to visit schools to take about their

Science on Stage

A European-wide initiative encouraging teachers to present science in an engaging way.

Hundeds of teachers from around Europe, including Ireland, submit entries for the Science on Stage Festival. The next one will be in Slubice, Germany, in April 2012.

Chair Dr Eilish McLoughlin CASTeL School of Physical Sciences, Dublin City University, Glasnevin, Dublin 9. irelandsos@gmail.com

Scoilnet

A portal run by the National Centre for Technology in Education at DCU for the Department of Education and Skills to provide a range of digital resources for use in learning and in the classroom.

Department of Education and Skills www.scoilnet.ie

SciFest

School students enter science projects for display at one-day science fairs held at different third level colleges. The competition, with prizes for winning entries, has grown rapidly since the launch at IT Tallaght in 2007.

National Coordinator Shiela Porter IR2-1-T22, Intel Ireland, Leixlip, Co Kildare.

01 60689 sheilax.m.porter@intel.com

Fun, Hands-on, Educational, Science, Engineering & Maths School Visits, Camps, Workshops, After School Clubs, Parties www.anyone4science.com info@anyone4science.com 0404-40564 087-6749608 Supported by The Royal Society of Chemistry

Sentinus

An organisation promoting science, technology, engineering and mathematics in Northern Ireland schools.

School pupils learn about career possibilities through collaboration with industries 19 Ballinderry Road, Libsurn, Northern Ireland. BT28 2SA 028 92627755 info@sentinus.co.uk wsentinus.co.uk

St Vincent’s Fairview

Hidden away in an area with lots of historical associations, St Vincent’s Hospital in Fairview has an fascinating history.

Aidan Collins tells how so many colourful figures, such as the Sham Squire, Grose the antiquarian, and James Joyce all have close connections to St Vincents, and the hospital itself began with a scandal, so shameful that for years the truth was suppressed.

Available, paperback €25 or hardback €35 Postfree from www.sciencespin.com

Albertine Kennedy Publishing

W5

STEPS

A programme run by Engineers Ireland in partnership with Discover Science and Engineering to encourage young people to explore science, engineering and mathematics.

Engineers Ireland 22 Clyde Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.

01 6651340 info@steps.ie www.steps.ie

The Exemption

Interactive exhibits, demonstrations, and other science activities Spread over four large areas centre. A team of W5 demonstrators deliver work on outreach for schools.

The Odyssy, 2 Queen’s Quay, Belfast. BT3 9QQ 028 90467700 www.w5online.co.uk

An amazing story of survival through some of the darkest years of Europe’s recent history. Vera Hajnal tells of how invasion soon shattered an idyllic childhood. Growing up in a secure and loving family, going to school and sometimes being allowed help her father, a doctor, Vera’s first shock came when, accompanying her grandmother to the railway station, she was stopped by men wearing armbands who asked: “Are you Jewish?”

Vera describes how she survived the years that followed, and amazingly, her account has no trace of bitterness and throughout it all she never lost faith in the underlying goodness of people. Her own survival, as people were being literally rounded up and shot by paramilitary thugs, was remarkable in that on being contronted on the street she happened to be carrying a piece of paper exempting her father from military service.

Hardback €25 Post free from www.sciencespin.com

Irish Science Handbook 2012

69

EDUCATION

work and careers.

Wilton House. Dublin 2.

01 6073201 info@sfi.ie www.sfi.ie

CSETS

Centres for Science Engineering and Technology Cork Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre, UCC Galway Digital Enterprise Research Institute, NUI Galway Dublin Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructure and Nanodevices, TCD Centre for Telecommunications Research, TCD Biomedical Diagnostics Institute, DCU Next Generation Localisation, DCU Systems Biology Ireland, UCD Clarity, UCD

Strategic Research Clusters Cork Efficient Embedded Digital Signal Processing for Mobile Digital Health, UCC Information and Communication Technology for Sustainable and Optimised Building Operation, UCC Photonics, Tyndall Functional Oxides and Related Materials for Electronics, Tyndall Limerick Solid State Pharmaceuticals Cluster, UL

Galway Network of Excellence for Functional Biomaterials, NUI Galway Alimentary Glycoscience Research Cluster, NUI Galway Regenerative Medicine Institute, NUI Galway Maynooth Strategic Research in Advanced Geotechnologies, NUIM Waterford Federated Autonomic Management of End-to-end Communication Services

Dublin Reproductive Biology Research Cluster, UCD Advanced Biomimetics for Solar Energy Conversion, UCD BioNanointeract, UCD Irish Drug Delivery Research Network, UCD Clique, UCD Financial Mathematics Computation Cluster, UCD Immunology Research Centre, TCD Irish Separation Science Cluster, DCU Molecular Therapeutics for Cancer Ireland, DCU Precision, DCU

UNIVERSITY OF ULSTER

Limerick Irish Software Engineering Research Centre, UL

LETTERKENNY IT

QUEEN’S BELFAST

SLIGO IT GMIT CASTLEBAR

DUNDALK IT

ATHLONE IT NUI GALWAY GMIT NUI MAYNOOTH UNIVERSITY OF LIMERICK LIMERICK IT

TRALEE IT

TCD, UCD, DCU, DIT, RCSI, IT Blanchardstown, IT Tallaght RCSI

CARLOW IT

WATERFORD IT UCC TYNDALL CORK IT

Distribution of universities, insitutes of technology, CSETS and Strategic Research Clusters

Experimental Physics and Astronomy Research at NUI Maynooth The Planck satellite on its way to its orbit around the second Lagrange point of the Sun-Earth system. Planck’s main objective is to measure the fluctuations of the cosmic microwave background with unprecedented accuracy.

Image credit: ESA – D. Ducros.

W

e are an active department with friendly staff in Ireland’s university town Maynooth, and provide an informal and welcoming atmosphere to our students. Our four year undergraduate degrees follow a broad and exciting curriculum, including a comprehensive range of courses and laboratories in experimental physics, astrophysics, and physics education. Research groups in the department are active in experimental fluid dynamics, molecular and cluster physics, upper atmospheric physics, farinfrared astronomy, cosmic microwave background cosmology, terahertz optics and biomedical imaging. We collaborate with many research groups abroad. The department has participated in many successful international space missions such as Giotto, Rosetta, Mars Express, the Herschel Space Observatory, and the Planck satellite.

The following paragraphs give brief synopses of each of our research areas.

Astrophysics and cosmology

astronomy, security, and medicine. We also work on the design and development of terahertz imaging systems and resonant beam combining for non-invasive biomedical imaging.

Fluid dynamics

The existence of a maximum in the density profile of water near 4˚C has a strong influence on convection and heat transfer through water and aqueous solutions at low temperatures. Changes in convection are used to detect and track this density anomaly in solutions as a function of solute nature and concentration. Unexpected behaviour has been noted in certain solutions which cannot be explained using existing models of water. In separate studies, the existence of the nonlinear density function in water and solutions has been used to develop and study a form of thermal rectifier.

Molecular physics

Astronomical observations made at far-infrared wavelengths allow us to study conditions in the early universe and answer questions about the formation and evolution of planets, stars, and galaxies.

Our department specialises in optical receiver design for farinfrared telescopes, including the Herschel Space Observatory (HIFI instrument) and the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA). We are also involved in the design and verification of instruments used in projects to observe the cosmic microwave background, including the QUaD and Qubic projects located in Antarctica, and the Planck space satellite.

Fragmentation of molecules and clusters caused by collisions with electrons are of interest in biophysics, atmospheric physics and many other fields. Clusters are aggregates of a few to many atoms or molecules, and have properties intermediate to the individual atom or molecule and material in the solid state. Current research focuses on fragmentation of Adenine and Thymine molecules by electron impact, which is of relevance for the understanding of radiation damage in biological organisms on the molecular scale.

The group is affiliated with the Nano-IBCT network funded by the EU (Nanoscale insights into Ion Beam Cancer Therapy).

Atmospheric physics

Terahertz optics and computing Development of new quasi-optical devices and strategies is important for new generations of specialised space telescopes and atmospheric monitoring satellites, observing at terahertz frequencies (farinfrared wavelengths). At NUI Maynooth we have developed design and analysis software tools for undertaking this work, including MODAL for modeling quasi-optical propagation in long wavelength optical systems, and SCATTER that has allowed us to model microwave structures such as horn antennas, waveguides and detector cavities.

High performance computing is used for the design and modelling of optics in the terahertz band, which has applications in

Horns of the high-frequency instrument for the Planck satellite. The terahertz group at NUI Maynooth was involved with the design of these horns. Image credit: ESA & TK Instruments.

Gravity (buoyancy) waves involve vertical displacements of air parcels along slanted paths and they are found everywhere in the atmosphere. Quantifying the influence of gravity waves is essential for simulations of climate change scenarios. Part of the challenge is that these waves extend over a very broad range in time (minutes to hours) and space (tens to thousands of kilometres).

A scanning radiometer has been operated at NUI Maynooth since August 2010 to measure the short-period end of the gravity wave spectrum by observing infrared emissions originating at 87 km altitude. Measurements to date have allowed us to assemble a climatology of gravity waves at our latitude.

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AT NUI GALWAY — A SNAPSHOT A Pulsar’s tail

The Centre for Astronomy brings together all the astronomy research and teaching in NUI Galway. The Centre was launched in January 2007. Members of the Centre carry out research in Astronomy, Astronomical Instrumentation and Computational Astrophysics. Our research topics include: Applied Imaging, Clusters and Exoplanets, Gamma-ray Astronomy, High Speed Stokes Polarimetry, Pulsars, Star Formation & Astrochemistry, Ultracool Stars and Virtual Observatories.

As an example of the work being carried out by the Centre, NUI Galway astronomer Dr Andrew Shearer, working with colleagues in Italy, the UK and US, has discovered an unexpected X-ray bright tail coming from a pulsar - rapidly rotating neutron stars formed at the end of a massive star’s life. The tail was discovered by combining optical observations taken with the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope and NASA’s Chandra X-Ray observatory. The pulsar, known as PSR J0357+32, about half a million years old and is located 1,600 light years from Earth with a tail of over four light years across. The image shows a combined optical and X-ray image of the region around the pulsar.

The chemists speak

Dr Leigh Jones is a Lecturer at the School of Chemistry, NUI Galway and works in the field of Inorganic Chemistry with special interest in coordination chemistry and molecular magnetism. Mr Seán Meally is a final year PhD student working with Dr Jones. Seán`s work focuses on the design and synthesis of paramagnetic pseudo metallocalix[6]arene complexes capable of acting as solid state hosts to numerous guests such as solvent molecules, counter anions and organic radicals When I was eighteen I wanted to be…

Seán: a chemistry researcher (it’s true!); Leigh: in a job I loved.

Thankfully it happened!

The thing I would like to see more of in chemistry is…

Seán: more hands-on practical chemistry especially in the leaving certificate course. Chemistry demonstrations outside those on the syllabus are essential to get students enthusiastic about chemistry.

My secret / not-so-secret talent is…

PULSAR

UNRELATED OBJECTS LYING OUTSIDE OF THE GALAXY

A combined optical and X-ray image of the region around the pulsar PSR J0357+32 Why are pulsar studies important?

Pulsars represent physics at its most extreme - they have have the highest density of normal matter (any denser and a black hole would form), they have the highest known magnetic fields (a thousand billion times stronger than the earth’s magnetic field), around pulsars the most energetic plasma exists and their surface gravity is over a hundred billion times greater than the Earth’s. As such, understanding the properties of pulsars gives us an insight into stellar evolution as well as improving our understanding of fundamental physics.

Seán: reciting the entire Periodic Table from memory in less than 45 seconds.

The most important thing I have learned during my PhD is…

Seán: patience and perseverance. Sometimes it can take weeks (even months!) for a single crystal of a new compound to grow. This is especially true now that I am writing up the dreaded PhD thesis!

Photo: Seán (L) and Leigh

Understanding Parkinson’s disease

Originally a native of Carna in Connemara, Dr. Eilís Dowd spent twelve years pursuing her education and research interests abroad before returning to Ireland in 2005 to take up a Lectureship in Pharmacology at NUI, Galway. She completed her PhD at Edinburgh University in 1999 and this was followed by periods of postdoctoral research at Cambridge University, McGill University (Montreal) and Cardiff University. Dr. Dowd’s decision to establish her research team at NUI Galway was based on the University’s international reputation for excellence in Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology research, as well as on the establishment of research centres in Regenerative Medicine and Functional Biomaterials at the University. The co-existence of these research activities at NUI, Galway provided a thriving environment in which Dr. Dowd could pursue her research interests, namely, the development and validation of novel

Leigh: that having an imagination is a very strong tool in synthetic research and that doing something against convention can lead to very interesting and important results.

A good work day begins with…

Leigh: a strong coffee while reading an email declaring that a paper has been accepted.

I then go on to solve an interesting crystal structure or alternatively I am shown a beautiful structure by one of my PhD students!

I chose chemistry as a career because…

Seán: it was the one subject, along with Physics, that I was ever any good at in school. It was my chemistry teacher (and his seemingly endless repertoire of knowledge) that convinced me that chemistry was the true path.

Leigh: exactly the same reason as Seán`s! My teacher was such an inspiration that I deliberately went on to study Chemistry at the department she once frequented!

The best motto I have ever heard is…

Seán: “Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today”-Benjamin Franklin.

Exploring canyons in the Atlantic

Dr. Eilís Dowd (front centre) and her research team. Front from left: Ms. Deidre Hoban, Dr. Eilís Dowd, Ms. Kiah McCabe.

Back from left: Ms. Carol Naughton, Dr. Teresa Moloney, Mr. Brendan Gaughan, Mr. Ben Newland. pharmacological, cell and gene therapies for the neurodegenerative disorder, Parkinson’s disease. Current therapies for this condition are severely limited as they only provide relief from disease symptoms but they can do nothing to prevent disease progression. Therefore, Dr. Dowd’s research is focused on alternative approaches that offer the possibility of slowing the course of the disease or even curing it.

Models of evolution shed light on how antibodies can neutralize HIV

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) continues to kill large numbers of people in parts of the developing world and there is still no cure or effective vaccine. When people become infected with HIV they make antibodies that can neutralize the virus. The problem is that the virus evolves rapidly to escape these antibodies. In fact, because the virus evolves so rapidly, the antibodies made by one person are ineffective against the virus from someone else. This makes it really hard to develop a vaccine. Fortunately, in some people, the situation is a little bit different. Antibodies from these individuals can neutralize viruses from across the HIV pandemic. These broadly neutralizing antibodies are the kind we would like an HIV vaccine to elicit, and their existence has given new hope that the development of an effective HIV vaccine is possible.

How do these broadly neutralizing antibodies work? One possibility is that they target parts of viral proteins that

Since 2010, the School of Natural Sciences has been leading multidisciplinary cruises aboard RV Celtic Explorer to the canyon systems on Ireland’s Atlantic margin.

These cruises support the Ireland-wide biodiscovery programme by providing specimens of deep-sea fauna from 400m depth down to 3,000m depth. They also seek to understand poorly known canyon ecosystems. Dr Louise Allcock, a zoologist at NUI Galway and chief scientist on the three cruises to date, explains the many facets of the research.

“We use the Irish deep-water ROV (remotely-operated vehicle) Holland I to explore the walls of the canyon systems throughout their lengths. Not only can the ROV record high definition video and still images, but we use its robotic arms and suction pump to collect animals from the floor and walls of the canyon. We freeze many of the specimens we collect for subsequent screening in the lab for bioactive compounds - a process which is headed-up by Margaret Rea (pictured), a post-doctoral researcher in the School of Natural Sciences. A small team of taxonomists identifies and records all the samples for the biodiscovery lab.

Dr Louise Allcock (right) and Dr Margaret Rea onboard the RV Celtic Explorer to survey the Whittard Canyon System using the Marine Institute’s Holland 1 ROV to explore depths of 3000m. Photo by Andrew Downes, copyright Marine Institute.

Identification is a major challenge in these relatively unexplored ecosystems and we are discovering and describing new species and new community assemblages. We are also using molecular biology as a tool in understanding the evolution of these unique ecosystems. In addition, we have a team of hydrographers led by Dr Martin White and Dr Robin Raine who are exploring the dynamics of sedimentation and nutrient input throughout the canyon system.”

Structure of the HIV envelope glycoprotein.

The surface is coloured according to the probability of being within a predicted antibody epitope (from blue, least likely, to red, most likely).

cannot change without disrupting their function.

Antibodies work by binding, not to the whole virus, but rather to specific parts of proteins, called epitopes. Attention thus turns to the question of which epitopes are targeted by broadly neutralizing antibodies.

Researchers at NUI Galway are working as part of a large international collaboration to find these epitopes. Miguel Lacerda recently completed a PhD in Bioinformatics at the School of Mathematics, Statistics and Applied Mathematics, NUI Galway, though which he developed a probabilistic model of how the DNA sequence corresponding to HIV epitopes evolves. He applied this model to a large panel of viruses to find parts of the viral proteins where the changes in the

neutralization sensitivity of the viruses tracks the changes in the sequence of the virus. Collaborators in Johannesburg then performed mutagenesis experiments to show that these regions really are targeted by these antibodies – mutating these sites in antibody-sensitive viruses rendered them resistant. The software developed at NUI Galway for this project will shortly be hosted at the HIV database of the Los Alamos National Laboratories in the US, for use by other researchers as part of ongoing efforts to develop an effective HIV vaccine.

Why

choose the Faculty of

Engineering, Mathematics & Science at Trinity College Dublin?

UG courses include:

• The Faculty is part of the oldest University in Ireland

• The University Library is one of the largest and best stocked in Europe

• Nanoscience – Physics and Chemistry of Advanced Materials

• You can avail of our world class research facilities and laboratories

• Geography & Political Sciences

• You will be part of a unique student body with over 15,500 students from over 90 different countries

• Earth Sciences

• There are aver 100 societies and 50 sports clubs for students to join

What can you study?

The Faculty has excellent undergraduate and postgraduate programmes including: • 4 year honours degrees • Taught Postgraduate programmes • Masters programmes • PhDs

Students are offered a variety of options from across 8 Schools:

Biochemistry & Immunology Chemistry Computer Science & Statistics Engineering Genetics & Microbiology Natural Sciences Mathematics Physics

• Human Health & Disease

• BA (Mod)Computer Science

The Faculty accommodates a wide range of research interests including:

• BAI Engineering

Science in TCD

Looking for excellent training in Science with maximum flexibility & choice? See our Science course (TR 071) which offers no less than 17 specialist areas.

Bioengineering Bioinformatics Energy Immunology Nanoscience Neuroscience The Environment Transport

www.tcd.ie/Science

Why not see what we can offer YOU by visiting us at:

www.ems.tcd.ie

T2039 STEM hp SCIENCE SPIN Issue 50 Page 17 The Colleges

UNIVERSITIES

The main difference between the ITs and the universities are in size and level of courses on offer. While there is considerable overlap, particularly in research, ITs are, in general smaller than the universities, and there is more emphasis on applied skills.

INSTITUTES OF TECHNOLOGY Athlone Institute of Technology www.ait.ie

Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown

Letterkenny Institute of Technology www.lyit.ie

www.lit.ie

Institute of Technology Carlow

Institute of Technology Tallaght

www.itcarlow.ie

www.it-tallaght.ie

Cork Institute of Technology

Institute of Technology Tralee

www.cit.ie

www.ittralee.ie

Dundalk Institute of Technology

Waterford Institute of Technology

www.dkit.ie

University College Dublin www.ucd.ie

University College Cork www.ucc.ie

University of Limerick www.ul.ie

www.wit.ie

University of Ulster www.ulster.ac.uk

Dunlaoghaire Institute of Technology www.dliadt.ie

Galway May Institute of Technology www.gmit.ie

Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, RCSI www.rcsi.ie

Irish Science Handbook 2012

National University of Ireland Galway www.nuigslway.ie

Trinity College Dublin www.tcd.ie

Institute of Technology Sligo

www.itsligo.ie

www.dcu.ie

National University of Ireland Maynooth www.nuim.ie

Limerick Institute of Technology

www.itb.ie

Dublin City University

74

Queen’s Belfast www.qub.ac.uk

IT Carlow’s School of Science

FoCUS For LIFe

Opportunities for students at IT Carlow are going from strength to strength with new courses and facilities, as well as academic and business partnerships continuing to develop. This year saw the opening of the new Student Services Centre, designed to enhance students’ experience and well being while studying at IT Carlow. The construction of a new Research, Development and Innovation Centre begins this summer. The consistent drive for improvement in facilities and academic standards provides a strong platform for IT Carlow’s progression towards a multi-campus Technological University of the South East.

students wishing to pursue postgraduate studies may be particularly interested in EnviroCORE where ITC scientists are involved in strategic applied research on the utilisation of bacteria and biomolecular technology for the bioremediation of polluted sites, biofuel production and enhanced plant growth promotion.

CARLOW & WEXFORD

SCIENCE & COMPUTING

The Ubiquity of Technology

From Computing Summer Camps for children to Games Development for the active retired, the Department of Computing and Networking is at the forefront of technological advancement and integration.

IT Carlow was the first Third Level Institute Department of Science and in the country to offer honours degree courses in Games Development and Software Health Engineering. The Department is dedicated to providing the latest IT Carlow’s Department ofCarlow’s Science andSchool Health (DSH) ranks as one of Honours & Ordinary Degrees, Higher Certificates IT of Science offers theory and practice to students preparing to work in an industry that IT Carlow’s School of Science offers Honours & Ordinary Degrees, Higher Certificates the most expansive and innovative in the country. With industry and is famed for its rapid evolution. This year, the innovation of two of the as well as MSc & PhD by research in the following areas: research bodies increasingly looking for a wide range of specialised as well as MSc & PhD by research in the following areas: IT Carlow Games Development students has lead to their recognition skills, the department is committed to providing a flexible suite of across the technological world. Carl Lange, courses from level 6-10. Students have aged 20, and Ciarán McCann, aged 21 set up · • Analytical, Forensic and Environmental unparalleled access to academic staff, all of Analytical & Environmental Science their own technology based blog www.flax. whom are active in research or curriculum Science ie with a main focus on the HTML 5 engine development. All courses have an applied, they are developing. San Francisco based • Computer Games Development practical and career orientated core. · Computer Games Development gaming company, Game Closure, searched the technology community to find the best Biotechnology & Molecular · • Biotechnology people toand workMolecular with them on their HTML 5 Science for Life games. Game Closure’s search lead them to The DSH has provided science programmes Environmental Research Environmental Science IT Carlow’s brightest gaming students. They for almost 40 years and has a strong invited both students to take an all expenses distinction for Chemistry and Biology · Sports Rehabilitation and Athletic paid trip to San Francisco to work based courses. In line with the rising • Therapy Computer Systems Management with Game Closure staff for three weeks. Game Closure is demand for bio and environmental science featured on the world renowned technology expertise, the department offers honours · • Computer Systems Management Biosciences with Bioforensics or blog “techcrunch”. degrees in Biosciences with Bioforensics or Biopharmaceuticals (CW108), while the · Biosciences, Bioforensics and Biopharmaceuticals reputation of the honours degree Environmental Science (CW168) The Business of Sport Biopharmaceuticals course continues to grow in both academic and industry circles.

IT Carlow’s Sports and Physiology courses have a heritage of more Level 6 and 7 courses in Analytical and Forensic and Science Teagasc, the Agriculture Food (CW107), Development Authority, science based innovation in the agri-food sector and and • Pharmacy Sports & Exercise Rehabilitation thansupports 20·years.

Honours degree programmes in Sport Science Technician Studies Biosciences (CW117), Pharmacy Technician Studies (CW116), the wider bioeconomy to underpin profiApplied tability, competitiveness and sustainability.

Sport Rehabilitation and Athletic Therapy Biology or Applied Chemistry (CW116) are remain in verydelivers high demand as does the Development Through Research (food and agriculture) and Knowledge Transfer· (education and advisory) Teagasc six programmes: • Software Pharmacy Technician Studies also available.

Higher Certificate in Physiology and Health the launch pad a Advisory range of allied andforMens Animal and graduates Crops, Environment Rural Economy · Rehabilitative Food Science, Science Education IT Carlow is dedicated to providing health professional careers.

Sport and • Software Development Grassland and Land Use and Development Programme Programme Programme Health Research with the right skills for life in the workplace.

Exercise degree programmes are delivered Programme Programme Programme All final year DSH students undertake in association with the GAA, Leinster Rugby a commercially orientated project to and the FAI. Coaching, fitness, player For more information t: 059 9170597, develop project management skills, teamTeagasc Goals: For more information t: 059 9170597, development and club administration are ■ Improve the competitiveness of agriculture, food and the e: wider bioeconomy and individual research work as well as info@itcarlow.ie or log onto e: info@itcarlow.ie or log onto combined with a broad based business or presentation skills. Final year students also■ Support sustainable farming and the environment communications curriculum relevant to the ■ Encourage diversification of the rural economy and enhance the quality of life in rural areas take part in a work placement module, giving development of the sport.

■ Enhance organisational capability and deliver value for money them the opportunity to apply their learning to a real life context.

Leading the Development of Ireland’s Farming and Food Industry

www.itcarlow.ie www.itcarlow.ie

www.teagasc.ie

IT Carlow’s Centres of Research and Enterprise (COREs) extend across BioEnvironmental Technologies (EnviroCORE), Industrial Design and Product Innovation (DesignCORE), Interactive Applications Software & Networks (GameCORE) and Green Energy (GeoCORE). Science

For further information, contact: Dr David ryan, Head of Department of Science and Health, IT Carlow T: 353 (0)59 9175506, e: david.ryan@itcarlow.ie

SCIENTIFIC DESTINATIONS A selection of centres of scientific interest open to the public and well worth a visit.

Aillwee Cave

DESTINATIONS

An extensive cave, first discovered in 1940 and since 1970 a great deal of work has been done to open up passageways.

Ballyvaughan, Co Clare.

065 7077036 barbara@aillweecave.ie www.aillweecave.ie

Arigna Experience

The history of coal mining at Arigna from the 1700s to 1990 is on display and there is an underground tour of workings.

Arigna, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Roscommon.

071 9646466 tours@arignaminingexperience.ie www.arignaminingexperience.ie

Armagh Planetarium

The Planetarium is part of an international research institute promoting the rich heritage of astronomy and related sciences.

About 30 astronomers study stellar astrophysics, the Sun, Solar System astronomy and its relationship to Earth. There is an active education programme and the grounds are open to visitors every day.

College Hill, Armagh, Co Armagh. BT619DB. Education Support: Tracy McConnell info@armaghplanet.com www.armaghplanet.com

Ballycopeland Windmill

Restored windmill in east Down with miller’s house and audiovisual display.

Windmill Road, Millisle, Co Down. www.doeni.gov.uk/niea/ places_to_visit_home/historicmonuments/ballycopeland.htm

Birr Castle Demesne

Travel back in time with the Earls of Rosse, when Birr Castle was a hub of scientific discovery and innovation. Ireland’s Historic

Science Centre reveals the wonders of early photography, engineering, astronomy and botany. Meander through beautifully landscaped and natural parkland with an exotic worldwide plant collection nestled around 120 acres of Award Winning Gardens.

Birr, Co Offaly.

053 5791 20336 mail@birrcastle.com www.birrcastle,com

Blennerville Windmill

The largest working windmill in Ireland. The mill has been completely restored and there is a visitor centre with an exhibition on Blennerville’s history as an important port and departure point for emigrants.

Blennerville, Co Kerry.

086 7121064 blenmill@eircom.net

Clonmacnoise and West Offaly Railway

A narrow-gauge railway, formerly used to transport peat, takes a 45 minute journey through bogland.

Blackwater Works, Shannonbridge, Athlone, Co Westmeath.

090 9674450 bograil@bnm.ie

Belfast Botanic Gardens

Established in 1828, the ornate palm house, with its large collection of temperate and tropical plants, is one of the outstanding features.

College Park, Botanic Avenue, Belfast BT7 1LP. +44 28 90314762 botanicgardens@belfastcity. gov.uk www.belfastcity.gov.uk/ parksandopenspaces

Burren Centre

An exhibition and audio-visual presentation describing the

flora, fauna, history and geology of Burren. Café and craft shop.

The Square, Kilfernora, Co Clare.

065 7088030 info@theburrencentre.ie www.theburrencentre.ie

Burren Outdoor Education Centre

Centre for outdoor activities, summer camps, field studies and ecology courses.

Turlough, Bell Harbour, Co Clare.

065 7078066 burreoc@eircom.net w.burrenoec.com

Bushmills Distillery

Licenced to distill whiskey since 1608. One hour tours of the distillery 2 Distillery Road, Co Antrim.

BT578XH Northern Ireland +44 28 20731521 visitors.bushmills@diageo.com www.bushmills.com

Castle Ward Corn and Saw Mill

Part of the extensive 332 ha Castleward Estate, a National Trust property, overlooking Strangford Lough. The waterpowered mill is occasionall operated, and is open to visitors.

Strangford, Co Down. castleward@nationaltrust.org.uk www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ castle-ward

Castlecomber Discovery Park

An exceptional multimedia account of coal mining in the area incorporating live interviews with former miners.

The centre is surrounded by woodland nature trails. There is a craft centre and café.

The Estate Yrd, Castlecomber, Co Kilkenny.

General Manager Sandra McGrath 056 440707 info@discoverypark.ie www.discoverypark.ie

Irish Science Handbook 2012

76

Céide Fields

The oldest known field systems in the world are preserved beneath the natural blanlet bog.

The multi-award winning Visitor Centre, beside a 110m high cliff, provides exhibits, film, tearoom and guided walking tours with chance to discover a hidden Neolithic wall.

Ballycastle, Co Mayo.

096 43325 ceidefields@opw.ie www.heritageireland.ie

CIT Blackrock Castle Observatory

CIT BCO promotes science, engineering and technology in Ireland as a centre of excellence in scientific research, education and outreach. Through innovative workshops and partnership, science education is brought to life for students of all ages, the general public and teachers through the provision of crucial and on-going science education.

Cork.

Outreach, Frances McCarthy 021 4357917 info@bco.ie www.bco.ie

Cliffs of Moher Visitor Centre Interpretive centre for visitors who want to explore these world famous cliffs. The centre’s building, set into the landscape and covered with a grass hillside, was constructed to cater for close to a million visitors a year.

Co Clare.

Education Officer Cormac McGinley 065 7086141 info@cliffsofmoher.ie www.cliffsofmoher.ie

Copper Coast Geopark

An area of geological interest stretching along 25 km of the Waterford coast. The geopark incorporates a 19th century copper mining heritage, and geological features include ancient volcanic deposits, and boulder clays left by retreating glaciers. As a European Geopark, the Copper Coast is recognised

Corlea Trackway Centre

An eighteen metre stretch of oak roadway, from one of the extensive tracks that crossed bogland more than 2,000 years ago, has been preserved at the centre. The trackways, skillfully made and maintained, had survived under a covering of peat.

Kenagh, Co Longford.

043 3322386 ctrackwayvisitorcentre@opw.ie

Crag Cave

One hour tours underground and a two-floor ‘house of fun’.

The cave extends for over 3km.

Following exploration by cavers in the 1980s, 350 metres of the cave was opened up for visitors.

Castleisland, Co Kerry.

066 7141244 groups@cragcave.com www.cragcave.com

Crawford Observatory Dating from 1880 and recently restored. The only observatory on an Irish university campus.

University College Cork, Cork.

Access, contact UCC Visitors’s Centre, North Wing, Main Quad.

UCC. 021 4901876 visitorscentre@ucc.ie

Dingle Oceanworld

An aquarium with sharks, piranhas, and native marine and freshwater species. Over 1,000 species on display and featuring a see through underwater tunnel.

The Wood, Dingle, Co Kerry.

066 9152111 marabeo@iol.ie www.dingle.oceanworld.ie

Dublin Zoo

A wide variety of animals including apes, tigers and rhinos are among the 600 species to

be seen in the 28 ha zoo located the Phoenix Park.

Phoenix Park, Dublin 8.

01 4748900 info@dublinzoo www.dublinzoo.ie

Dunsink Observatory

Dating from 1783, the Dunsink Observatory is one of the oldest scientific institutions in Ireland.

Among who worked there was William Rowan Hamilton, whose discovery of quaternions transformed mathematics. The Observatory is operated by the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies and during winter months there are public open days.

Dunsink Lane, Castleknock, Dublin 15.

01 8387959

Marble Arch

Ceide Fields

Arigna

Dunmore Cave

Underground chambers with calcite formations. Guided tours lasting one hour.

Castlecomber Road, Co Kilkenny.

056 7767726 Email: dunmorecaves@opw.ie

Knockcroghery GALWAY Aran Islands

Newgrange DUBLIN

Kilbeggan

Aillwee Cave

Birr Castle

Dunmore Cave

BURREN Castlecomer Crag Cave

Kennedy Arboretum

Blennerville Dingle Ross Island Killarney

CORK

Foxford Woollen Mill

Dating from 1720 and restored in 1996. The Mill Cottage has an agricultural museum.

Elphin, Co Roscommon.

Exploris Aquarium

Galway Atlantaquaria

Zoo established in 1983 by the Zoological Society of Ireland and University College Cork.

Animals and arboretum in a parkland setting.

Carrightwohill, Co Cork.

021 4812678 info@fotawildlife.ie www.fotawildlife.ie

Exploris Castleward

Elphin

Elphin Windmill

Fota Wildlife Park

Armagh Planerium

Museum Country Life

Mill shop and audio-visual display on how the mill was established to alleviate poverty by making use of local resources.

Foxford, Co Mayo.

094 9256104 sales@foxfordwoollenmills.ie www.foxfordwoollenmills.com

Aquarium situated by the marine nature reserve of Strangford Lough. Most of the marine species found in northern Irish waters are included, and there is as seal sanctuary.

The Ropewalk, Castle Street, Portaferry, Northern Ireland.

BT22 1NZ Education Officer Andy O’Neill info@exploris.org.uk

BELFAST Ballycopeland Windmill

Glenveagh

Presenting a comprehemsive view of the underwater world.

Displays closely match the natural environment and in a huge see-through ‘splash tank’ sea bass and other Atlantic species can be viewed swimming through the waves.

There is also a four metre deep ocean tank where over 200 animals can be viewed from open side, or from above.

Seafront Prominade, Salthill, Galway.

091 585100 info@nationalaquarium.ie www.nationalaquarium.ie

Geology Museum

Dating from 1777 the museum houses 80,000 specimens including many Silurian and Carboniferous fossils from Ireland.

Museum Building, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2.

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Wexford Wildlife

Copper Coast

Curator: Dr Patrick Wyse Jackson.

01 6711199 wysjcknp@tcd.ie

Giant’s Causeway

Spectular sight of interlocking basalt columns formed 50 to 60 million years ago as a volcanic eruption. The Causeway is a World Heritage site.

Co Antrim.

Manager Alexandra Mehaffy 028 20731855 www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ giantscausway

Glenveagh National Park Education centre with activities on wildflowers, boglands and environment.

Co Donegal.

Visitor Service Superviser Trés Connaghan 074 9137689 glenveagh-education@environ.ie www.glenveaghnationalpark.ie

Guinness Storehouse

Seven floors of industrial heritage on display and a viewing platform overlooking the city.

St James’s Gate, Dublin 8.

01 4084800 guinness-storehouse@guinness. com wwsw.guinness-storehouse.com

DESTINATIONS

as an area of exceptional geological interest. Self-guided walking guide cards are available at the restored church in Bunmahon.

Bunmahon, Co Waterford.

051 292828 info@coppercoastgeopark.com www.coppercoastgeopark.com

Bushmills Giant’s Causeway

Jameson Distillery

Guided tours through the distillery to see how whiskey was distilled.

Bow Street, Smithfield, Dublin 7.

01 8072355 www.whiskeytours.ie

and can be viewed in a forty minute tour.

Lower Main Street, Kilbeggan, Co Westmeath.

057 933 info@locksdistillerymuseum.ie www.lockesdistillerymuseum.ie

Jamerson Experience

Marble Arch Caves

DESTINATIONS

The old Cork Distilleries Company operated here for 150 years before staff moved over to the Midleton Distillery. The old distillery with water wheel and steam engines has been preserved, and there are guided tours ending with a sample of the Irish whiskey.

Distillery Walk, Midleton, Co Cork.

General Manager Ignacio Peregrina 021 4613594 bookings@omd.ie www.tours.jamesonwhiskey.com

Kennedy Arboretum

Thousands of tree and shrub species from around the temperate regions of the world growing in 252 hectares on the southern slopes of Slievecoiltia.

There is a visitor centre.

New Ross, Co Wexford.

051 388171 jfkarboretum@opw.ie

Knockcrogkery Clay Pipe Museum

Small museum based on the former local industry in which about 100 people were engaged in making clay pipes.

Knockcrogkery, Co Roscommon.

Lifetime Lab

Heritage and education centre, located in Cork’s old Victorian waterworks. Promoting science, maths, heritage and sustainability through workshops and other events.

Old Waterworks Lee Road, Cork.

Mervyn Horgan 021 4901500 lifetimelab@corkcity.ie www.lifetimelab@corksity.ie

Locke’s Distillery

A pot still distillery, first licenced in 1757, with steam engine and water wheel. Most of the original distillery remains intact

Extensive limestone cave with an underground river. The caves and an extensive area extending from Fermanagh into Cavan is an internationally recognised Geopark.

Marlbank, Florencecourt, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh.

Northern Ireland BT92 1EW Manager: Richard Watson +44 28 663455 infomarblearchcavesgeopark.com www.marblearchcaves.net

Marshe’s Library

Founded in 1701, the library, beside St Patrick’s Cathedral, houses more than 25,000 books and manuscripts including works of scientific interest.

St Patrick’s Close, Dublin 8.

National Botanic Gardens

Large collection of plants, including over 300 endangered species and 6 that are already extinct in the wild. The National Herbarium is housed in the Gardens and there is an education centre for visitors.

Glasnevin, Dublin 9.

Director Matthew Jebb 01 8040300 botanicgardens@opw.ie www.botanicgardens.ie

National Museum — Archaeology More than a million archaeological objects from Ireland and abroad.

Kildare Street, Dublin 2.

01 6777444 marketing@museum.ie www.museum.ie

National Museum — Country Life Material representing Irish traditional life and customs.

Turlough, Co Mayo.

094 9031773

National Museum — Natural History

The Natural History section has a large collection of animals and geological specimens, including a 20 metre fin whale skeleton, ice age giant deer known as Irish Elk, and a historic ‘museum of a museum’ particularly popular with children.

Merrion Square, Dublin 2.

01 6777444 marketing@museum.ie www.museum.ie

National Sealife Centre Part of an international group of aquariums, with more than 90 marine species on display.

Bray, Co Wicklow.

01 2866939 www.sealife.ie

National Stud

Includes a horse museum, a Japanese garden, and a stud farm where many of the fnest racehorses are born and raised.

Tully, Co Kildare.

045 521617 reservations@instourism.net

Newgrange

The large mound is one of a number of constructions built over 5,000 years ago in the Boyne Valley. One of the remarkable feature of Newgrange is the precise alignment of its inner passage which allows the winter solstice Sunlight to illuminate a chamber, marking the beginning of a new year. Tours of Newgrange and Knowth begin at the Brú na Bóinne visitor centre, near Donore, Co Meath.

041 9880300 brunaboinne@opw.ie

North Bull Island

Set among the extensive sand dunes of Dublin’s Bull Island, educational programmes for schools are run from an interpretive centre. The five km long island began to form when the Bull Wall was built to facilitate shipping and is now an important wildlife sanctury.

Interpretative Centre, North Bull Dublin 3.

01 2225278

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Patterson’s Spade Mill

Traditional spade making powered by a water-mill.

Working demonstrations are given of the traditional manufacturing process.

Templepatrick, Antrim. pattersons@nationaltrust.org.uk

Petersburg Outdoor Education Centre

Base for outdoor activities and centre for exploring the geology of the Joyce Country by Lough Mask.

094 9546416 info@petersburg,ie www.petersburg.ie

Phoenix Park

Visitor centre at Ashtown Castle with displays on history and wildlife of Phoenix Park.

Ashtown Castle, Phoenix Park, Dublin 8.

01 6770095 phoenixparkvisitorcentre@opw.ie www.phoenixpark.ie/ visitorcentre

Ross Island, Killarney

By the lakes and surrounded by oak woods, remains of ancient Bronze Age mining for copper.

A walking trail with informative panels about the mines.

Killarney National Park, Co Kerry.

Science Gallery

Science Gallery at Trinity College Dublin is a dynamic and vibrant cultural space at the interface between the university and the city, developing exhibition and events at the boundary between science, emerging technology, art and design. Through themes ranging from music and the body to the future of water, Science Gallery helps ignite a passion for science, technology and innovation.

Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2.

Programme Manager Lynn Scarff 01 8964091 info@sciencegallery.com www.sciencegallery.com

Two restored windmills and a watermill with millrace and associated wetlands.

Skerries, Co Dublin.

Manager Ray Hunt 01 8495213 info@skerriesmills.ie

Steam Museum

Collection of steam driven machinery, a working beam engine, and inventors’ models on display in a Victorian gothic building. Located in a walled garden.

Lodge Park, Straffan, Co Kildare.

01 6273155 www.steam-museum.com

Tullamore Dew Heritage Centre

Tour of distilling works, and display of Tullamore area history.

Bury Quay, Tullamore, Co Offaly.

057 9325015 info@tullamore-dew.org www.tullamoredew.org

Ulster Folk and Transport Museum

Outdoor folk museum and transport collection including a displays about the Titanic Cultra, Holywood, Northern Ireland BT18 OEU +44 2890428428

Ulster Museum

Extensive collections on archaeology, fossils and minerals, plant life and animals.

Botanic Avenue, Belfast, Northern Ireland BT95AB 084 5608000 www.nmni.com/um

W5

Permanent exhibitions, workshops and events about science in a large centre by the Lagan in Belfast. Who, why, what and when.

W5 at Odyssey, 2 Queen’s Quay, Belfast. Northern Ireland BT3 9QQ +44 28 90467700 www.w5online.co.uk

Wexford Wildlife Researve

An extensive area of wetlands providing a safe haven for an abundance of wildfowl. The reserve is managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service together with Bird Watch Ireland.

North Slob, Ardcavan, Co Wexford.

053 9123406 www.wexfordwildfowlreserve.ie

WWT Castle Espie Wetland Centre

Wildlife centre run by The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, the conservation organisation for wetlands and wildlife aross the world. The nine wetland visitor centres are supported by WWT members.

78 Ballydrain Road, Comber, Co Down. Northern Ireland BT23 6EA +44 2891 874146 maeve.curran@wwt.org.uk www.wwt.org.uk/castleespie

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Above, life sized figure of a early cave explorer at Marble Arch in Fermanagh.

The Copper Coast, one of Ireland’s Geoparks.

DESTINATIONS

Skerries, wind mill

REAL IRELAND The joint Marine Institute and Geological Survey of Ireland project to chart Ireland’s extensive marine territory has completely transformed out view of the sea. Deep sea mapping has been followed by charting of coastal waters.

In producing this chart for schools, the Marine Institute dubbed it “the Real Map of Ireland”

Depth metres 0 -500 -1,000 -1,500 -2,000 -2,500 -3,000 -3,500 -4,000 -4.500 -5,000 -5,500

Exclusive Economic Zones

ALBANIA ALGRIA BELGIUM BULGARIA CROATIA DENMARK EGYPT

ESTONIA FINLAND FRANCE GERMANY GREECE ICELAND IRELAND

ITALY LATVIA LIBYA LITHUANIA MALTA MOROCCO NETHERLANDS

NORWAY POLAND PORTUGAL RUSSIA SERBIA SPAIN SWEDEN

TUNISIA TURKEY UK

SCIENCE SPIN

Ireland’s science, nature and discovery magazine 6 issues a year covering science at home and abroad In newsagents throughout Ireland, and on subscription Subscribe on line from our website. €30 post included Ireland, UK and EU

www.sciencespin.com

Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) is the national foundation for excellence in scientific research. SFI invests in academic researchers and research teams who are most likely to generate new knowledge, leading edge technologies, and competitive enterprises.

To find out more about the research SFI supports in Ireland view:

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