Pictured at the Honorary Conferring (l-r): President Browne, Margaret Atwood,
Seán O’Rourke, Seán Campbell and Professor Gio Wiederhold.
OLL SCÉAL A
Nuachtlitir Foirne | Staff Newsletter | Samhradh 2011
University Honours Four Outstanding Individuals
Four outstanding individuals have been conferred
with honorary degrees from NUI Galway. Those
honoured on 24 June were Margaret Atwood, Seán
O’Rourke, Professor Gio Wiederhold and Seán
Campbell. Speaking at the conferring ceremony,
NUI Galway President, Dr James J. Browne said:
“NUI Galway is fortunate to be associated with
many outstanding honorary graduates throughout
its history and those being honoured this year are a
very distinguished group. Each has made an
exceptional and distinctive contribution to the
diverse fields of literature, youth affairs, journalism
and computer science. NUI Galway is proud to
honour them.”
Margaret Atwood was conferred with a Degree of
Doctor of Literature (honoris causa). The Canadian
author has published more than forty books of
fiction, poetry, and critical essays. Margaret has a
strong connection with the West of Ireland and has
contributed poetry to a collection edited by Des
Lally in 2008 entitled Captivating Brightness:
Ballynahinch. Profits from the book were donated
to Cancer Care West. Margaret Atwood lives in
Toronto with writer Graeme Gibson.
Seán O’Rourke was conferred with a Degree of
Doctor of Laws (honoris causa). A native of
Portlaoise, Seán completed a BA in English, History
and Legal Science at NUI Galway in 1977. He was
awarded the 2006 NUI Galway Alumni AIB Award
for Literature, Communications and the Arts, and is
the founding chairperson of the Alumni
Association’s Dublin Club.
Professor Gio Wiederhold was conferred with a
Degree of Doctor of Science (honoris causa). Gio
Wiederhold is a Professor Emeritus of Computer
Science, Electrical Engineering, and Medicine at
Stanford University, teaching part-time. During his
career he has pioneered the combination of
Database and Knowledge Bases. His research
contributions are fundamental for the Semantic
Web, the main focus of the Digital Enterprise
Research Institute, (DERI) one of NUI Galway’s
flagship research institutes.
Seán Campbell was conferred with a Degree of
Doctor of Laws (honoris causa). Seán Campbell is
Chief Executive Officer of Foróige, Ireland’s leading
youth organisation and he has worked for the it for
over 25 years. One of Seán’s most notable
achievements is bringing the Big Brother Big Sister
youth mentoring programme to Ireland. Seán was a
driving force in the development of Foróige’s
relationship with the Child and Family Research
Centre at NUI Galway which, among other things,
led to Foróige’s partner status in the UNESCO
Chair in Children, Youth and Civic Engagement.
The graduands join the ranks of previous honorary
conferees, which include Nelson Mandela, Hilary
Clinton, Christy O Connor Snr and Christy O
Connor Jnr, Enya, Sean Purcell, the late Merv
Griffin, Anjelica Huston and Fionnuala Flanagan.
Inside this Issue: Page 3 Prostate Cancer Institute Opened
Page 5 Student & Staff Awards Page 7 Focal ón Uachtarán... and more!
OLL SCÉAL A
Príomhfheidhmeannach nua ar Acadamh
na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge Ceaptha
Focal ón
Eagarthóir
Is cinnte go raibh neart ar siúl anseo san Ollscoil le
cúpla mí anuas. Thug an tUachtarán Máire Mhic
Ghiolla Íosa cuairt ar an Ollscoil chun an Institiúid um
Ailse Phróstatach a oscailt, agus tháinig Airí nuacheaptha chomh fada leis an Ollscoil chun léargas a
fháil ar an taighde agus ar an obair atá ar bun sna
hinstitiúidí éagsúla ar fud na hOllscoile. Chomh maith
leis sin, dea-scéala ba ea na comhpháirtíochtaí
straitéiseacha a fógraíodh, ar fianaise iad go bhfuil an
Ollscoil ag comhlíonadh an ghealltanais a thug sí go
bhfreastalódh sí ar riachtanais oideachais, shóisialta
agus gheilleagracha na mac léinn agus an phobail i
gcoitinne.
Our students and staff have scooped a record amount
of awards in the last three months alone. So much so
that this issue of Ollscéala is a bumper edition! Check
out all our achievements on pages 8, 9, 10 and 24.
Is é Dónall Ó Braonáin, Leascheannaire ar Raidió na Gaeltachta,
atá ceaptha mar Phríomhfheidhmeannach ar Acadamh na
hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge. Bhain Dónall bunchéim agus
scoláireachtaí iarchéime sa Ghaeilge agus sa Laidin i gColáiste na
hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath, mar ar bhain sé MA sa Ghaeilge
freisin. I ndiaidh cúrsaí oiliúna iarchéime sa teangeolaíocht, san
fhileolaíocht agus sa phailéagrafaíocht, chaith sé tamall blianta ag
léachtóireacht i Roinn na Nua-Ghaeilge, UCD, agus ag obair ar
thograí foilsitheoireachta acadúla in Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann:
Foclóir na Nua-Ghaeilge (FNG) agus an Foclóir Náisiúnta
Beathaisnéise (DIB). Fostaíodh mar iriseoir le RTÉ é sa bhliain
1999. D’oibrigh sé mar thuairisceoir agus fo-eagarthóir teilifíse
agus raidió le Nuacht RTÉ/TG4 agus mar Chlár Reachtaire le
Raidió na Gaeltachta. Bhí sé ar dhuine den mheitheal a chuireadh Nuachtiris i láthair ar RTÉ Raidió a
hAon agus is comhfhreagraí rialta de chuid BBC Radio nan Gàidheal é. Ceapadh ina Leascheannaire é ar
Raidió na Gaeltachta ar Lá Fhéile Bríde 2006.
Lecturer sits on editorial board
of top environmental journal
Dr .Chaosheng Zhang, Head of the newly established Geographic Information System (GIS) Centre
at the Ryan Institute, has been invited to sit on the editorial board of the top environmental journal,
Science of the Total Environment. Dr Zhang teaches GIS and statistics courses at School of
Geography and Archaeology.
Honorary Clinical Fellows Appointed
The Ryan Institute will continue to hit the headlines
with its Vents & Reefs Expedition. The Institute is part
of a team that’s to sail to the mid - Atlantic to check out
a newly discovered hydrothermal vent ecosystem. The
Lead Marine Biologist is our own Patrick Collins at the
Benthic Ecology Unit and he has organised a
competition for secondary school students to name
undiscovered animals the team will be collecting.
National Geographic television will be documenting
this historic event.
The new Prostate Cancer Institute was officially
opened by President Mary McAleese in April. The
Institute, of which the President is a Patron, will focus
primarily on developing better therapies for patients
with prostate cancer. Read all about it on page 3.
Bainigí sult as agus go dtí an chéad eagrán eile, slán
tamall.
Sinéad Ní Neachtain
Ollscéala is published by
the Marketing & Communications Office,
NUI Galway.
T: 091 493361
E: Ollsceala@nuigalway.ie
2
Pictured (l to r), Irene Gibson, Programme Manager of Croí MyAction® and Michael Smith, Paramedic with
the HSE West Ambulance Service along with with Dr Gerard Flaherty, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Medicine
and Medical Education and Director of the Special Study Module programme at NUI Galway.
In recognition of their outstanding contribution to the undergraduate medical teaching programme at
NUI Galway, two allied healthcare professionals from HSE West and Croí West of Ireland Cardiac
Foundation have been appointed as Honorary Clinical Fellows at NUI Galway. Irene Gibson has been
instrumental in setting up a special study module in preventive cardiology at NUI Galway as well as cosupervising summer student research in preventive cardiology. Michael Smith organises and supervises
the very popular special study module in Pre-hospital Emergency Care, which exposes 2nd year medical
students to the challenges of immediate care in the community.
OLL SCÉAL A
President Mary McAleese Opens
Prostate Cancer Institute
Library Hosts Garda
Photographic Exhibition
President Mary McAleese officially opened the
new Prostate Cancer Institute at NUI Galway in
April. The Institute, of which the President is a
Patron, is directed by Professor Frank Sullivan,
Consultant Radiation Oncologist. The new
facility, which is primarily focused on developing
better therapies for patients with prostate cancer,
will benefit from a close association with the
extensive clinical services already offered to these
patients at Galway University Hospitals and
other regional hospitals. The Institute will also
collaborate with the wide-ranging biomedical
research programmes of the National Centre for
Biomedical Engineering Sciences (NCBES) at
NUI Galway and with a number of research
institutes in Ireland and internationally. Cancer
Biology and Developmental Therapeutics are
strategic research priorities at NUI Galway. Over
the last number of years, NUI Galway and
The James Hardiman Library was the venue for an
exhibition of 48 photographs that illustrate the early
history of An Garda Síochána, including its
precursors, The Royal Irish Constabulary and The
Dublin Metropolitan Police. This fascinating
collection of photographs was on loan from An
Garda Síochána Historical Society. There are
scenes of Gardaí on duty in Dublin and on
occasions such as the funeral of Kevin O’Higgins in
1927. There are several photographs showing the
scenes of crimes, including the discovery of a ton of
salmon in a derelict house in Blackrock in 1927.
The salmon are laid out for all to see. Photographs
of Gardaí from the Library’s Ritchie-Pickow
Collection also feature in a slide show. Dr Mary
Harris, Senior Lecturer in History at NUI Galway,
comments: “This intriguing exhibition provides
insights into police work and prompts interesting
questions about crime in early twentieth-century
Ireland.”
Galway University Hospitals have built a strong
team of internationally recognised pre-clinical,
translational, and clinical cancer scientists.
Galway University Hospitals are the major
academic-medical centre in the West of Ireland,
and one of the eight specialist cancer centres
established under the National Cancer Control
Plan. It offers the full range of prostate cancer
diagnostics and treatments, and is one of the
country’s leading centres for treatment of this
form of cancer. Initial funding for the Institute
has been provided by Galway University
Foundation. This has enabled the appointment
of Dr Sharon Glynn as Director of Laboratory
Research. Early work at the Institute will involve
the collection and bioprocurement of prostate
tissue, which will provide the base for its primary
and collaborative research programme.
NUI Galway Gives Students a Chance to Name Sea Creature
This summer, as part of the Vents & Reefs
(VENTuRE) expedition, marine scientists from
NUI Galway and University College Cork
(UCC), are part of a team heading out to the
mid-Atlantic to check out a newly discovered
hydrothermal vent ecosystem. There, on the
mid-Atlantic ridge, at a depth of almost 3000
metres, the Marine Institute’s Holland I ROV
(Remotely Operated Vehicle) will be sending
images of a whole new world to scientists at the
surface. This pristine ecosystem is such an
exciting discovery that National Geographic
Television will be there to film the whole
experience. Patrick Collins, a researcher with the
Benthic Ecology Unit at NUI Galway’s Ryan
Institute, is the lead Marine Biologist with the
Vents & Reefs campaign, and has organised a
very exciting competition for second-level
students in Ireland to name these, as yet,
undiscovered creatures.
3
OLL SCÉAL A
NUI Galway Acquires Rare Archive
of Writer Thomas Kilroy
Highest Academic
Honour for NUI Galway
Experts
President Browne, Dr Lionel Pilkington and Thomas Kilroy viewing the archive.
From the Ireland of the 1960s arose a generation
of writers that created a cultural revival, which
compares with, and perhaps exceeds, the ‘Irish
Renaissance’ of the early 1900s. This second
flowering has contributed to Ireland’s reputation
as a uniquely creative nation. The papers of those
that did most to forge that reputation are in
public archives, - except, until now, those of
Thomas Kilroy. To mark the acquisition of that
treasure trove of papers by the James Hardiman
Library, a public interview with Thomas Kilroy
himself took place on campus in March. Thomas
Kilroy is world-renowned as a novelist and
dramatist. His novel, The Big Chapel (1971),
received a Booker Prize nomination, and his
plays include The Death and Resurrection of Mr.
Roche (1968), Double Cross (1986), The Secret
Fall of Constance Wilde (1997) and Christ Deliver
Us! (2010). The Archive contains research notes,
drafts and scripts of his novels and plays. All
creative work is complemented by
correspondence from agents, theatre
practitioners, publishers, and the public, as well
as production material from the stage plays. It
also includes a collection of correspondence
from literary friends and associates, as well as
Thomas Kilroy’s private correspondence with
members of The Field Day Theatre Company.
There are papers relating to the Abbey Theatre,
of which he is a long-standing board member.
The Archive complements other purely literary
Archives at the Library, such as the John
McGahern and Eoghan Ó Tuairisc Collections,
as well as theatre Archives pertaining to the
Druid Theatre, the Lyric Players’ Theatre, and
Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe.
Pictured: (back, l-r) NUI Galway’s Professors Colin
O’Dowd, Peter McHugh, and Donal O’Regan; (front)
NUI Galway President, Dr James J. Browne, and
President of the Royal Irish Academy, Professor Luke
Drury.
The Royal Irish Academy (RIA) has elected three
of NUI Galway’s top academics for admission.
Professors Peter McHugh, Colin O’Dowd and
Donal O’Regan are among 23 scholars from around
Ireland joining colleagues like Ernest Walton, Erwin
Schrödinger, Seamus Heaney and Mary Robinson,
who have previously attained Membership of the
RIA through distinction in education and research.
The NUI Galway Professors work in the fields of
Biomedical Engineering, Climate Physics and
Mathematics.
NUI Galway and GMIT Sign Strategic Partnership
Rory O’Connor, GMIT Chairman, Michael
Carmody, GMIT President, Nollaig MacCongáil,
Registrar & Deputy President, NUI Galway and
Gearoid O’Conluain, NUI Galway Secretary.
4
NUI Galway and Galway-Mayo Institute of
Technology (GMIT) have announced a new
strategic partnership to serve the educational, social
and economic needs of their students and the wider
regional, national and international communities.
The agreement provides for collaborative
opportunities in teaching and learning, research,
entrepreneurship, regional development,
commercialisation, programme design, distance
education, and work-based learning. Both
institutions will work closely together in promoting
flexible learning and programme delivery, student
placements, internships, staff development and
development of adjunct research positions. Both
will also devise a joint Teaching, Learning and
Assessment strategy to provide programmes that
focus on the needs of students, the workplace and
the world of professional practice in the region,
nationally and internationally. The agreement
makes it a priority to ensure that research
programmes are of the highest quality and delivered
to best international practice. Recognising NUI
Galway as the lead institution in research, and
GMIT’s research excellence GMIT in critical areas,
both will work to develop a collaborative strategy
for research, including ensuring access for research
staff and students of each to the facilities of both.
GMIT and NUI Galway will actively develop joint
and dual research awards at Masters and Doctoral
levels.
OLL SCÉAL A
PhD Conferring
Seventy students have been conferred with a
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) by NUI Galway
President, Dr James J. Browne. All Colleges of the
University were represented, including Arts, Social
Sciences and Celtic Studies; Business, Public
Policy and Law; Engineering and Informatics;
Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences; and
Science. To view the names of those pictured,
please log onto
http://www.nuigalway.ie/graduatestudies/
1,000 Research
Papers in ARAN
International Nursing and
Midwifery Conference
ARAN (Access to Research at NUI Galway) is the
repository for research papers, which is maintained
by the James Hardiman Library. The service was
introduced in 2008 to make research publications
from the University available to all online. This
also helps increase the number of citations. ARAN
has now passed another milestone: its 1,000th
publication, Ireland, peacekeeping and policing
the ‘new world order, by Dr Ray Murphy, Irish
Centre for Human Rights, which had gone out of
print, is now online.
The third international conference, Building and
Promoting Excellence in Practice, held by the
School of Nursing and Midwifery in April, brought
together leaders in the field to share their
experiences of clinical care and research. The
conference covered issues of chronic illness,
mental health, older people, maternity care and
women’s health, as well as teaching and learning in
practice. The keynote speaker was Margarete
Sandelowski, Distinguished Professor in the
School of Nursing at the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill.
NUI Galway Hosts Lecture
on Historical Sisters
Over 270 second-level students from across
Connaught who received an A in Junior Certificate
Honours Business Studies have been presented
with Certificates of Achievement from the J.E.
Cairnes School of Business and Economics. The
presentations, in association with the Business
Studies Teachers Association of Ireland (BSTAI),
were made at a special ceremony at the University.
This is the first year NUI Galway has presented
these awards.
A new approach in the field of child and youth
research, which involves working positively with
teenagers, rather than focussing on negative
connotations, was discussed during a public
lecture at NUI Galway in March. Guest speaker
Professor Richard Lerner, said we should reject
the prevailing negative view of adolescents, which
focuses on what they lack. Professor Lerner, who is
Bergstrom Chair and Director of the Institute for
Applied Research in Youth Development at Tufts
University in the US, is a prolific researcher over
four decades and his latest book, The Good Teen,
offers a programme of Positive Youth
Development.
NUI Galway Law Graduate
Becomes Seychelles’ First
Female Judge
Pictured: (l-r): Professor Terry Smith, Dr Ray
Murphy, John Cox and Fergus Fahey
NUI Galway Awards Over
270 Junior Certificate
Students
Teenagers Need Positive
Thinking – Not Negative
Stereotyping
The Centre for Irish Studies hosted a free public
lecture entitled ‘Hanna and Her Sisters: The lives
of Hanna Sheehy Skeffington and Margaret
Sheehy Culhane Casey, as told by their
granddaughters’. A joint presentation was
delivered by NUI Galway Lecturer, Dr Micheline
Sheehy Skeffington, and Professor Dara Culhane,
Simon Fraser University, Canada.
An NUI Galway law graduate is to become the
first-ever female judge in the Seychelles. Mrs
Mathilda Twomey, who studied the LL.M. in
Public Law, has been appointed as a Justice of the
Court of Appeal by Seychelles President, James
Michel, on the recommendation of the island
nation’s Constitutional Appointments Authority.
Commenting, Marie McGonagle, Director of the
LL.M. in Public Law, said: “I am delighted at
Mathilda’s appointment. She is a very skilled
lawyer, who gave much to and gained much from
the LL.M. at NUI Gaway. I wish her every
success.”
5
OLL SCÉAL A
Event Questions
Executive Accountability
and Parliamentary
Democracy
The School of Law, in association with Mason
Hayes+Curran solicitors, has hosted a conference
entitled Executive Accountability and
Parliamentary Democracy. The conference
theme was pursued in the context of the
formation of a new Government and the
beginning of a potentially new era in Irish Politics
and Public Law. Emily O’Reilly, Ombudsman,
delivered the keynote, and there were panel
presentations by Donncha O’Connell from NUI
Galway’s School of Law, Catherine Allen, Partner
with Mason Hayes+Curran solicitors; and
political analyst and TCD lecturer, Dr Elaine
Byrne. The half-day conference was introduced
jointly by Marie McGonagle, Director of the
LLM in Public Law, and Judge Catherine
McGuinness, Adjunct Professor of Law, both of
NUI Galway.
Trailblazing
Mathematician Visits
NUI Galway
One of the world’s top mathematicians visited
NUI Galway for the 5th de Brún Workshop in
April. Professor Cheryl Praeger, from the
University of Western Australia, is in the top one
percent of the world’s highly cited
mathematicians. She has made revolutionary
contributions to Algebra, Discrete Mathematics,
and Statistics (Data Analysis). According to Dr
Dane Flannery, of the de Brún Centre for
Computational Algebra: “We were very fortunate
to host Professor Praeger and to hear about her
latest research, and her insights about
Mathematics in the wider context of modern
science and society. Her visit here also highlights
the many successes of women in Mathematics.”
Award Winning
Entrepreneurship
Educator and Practitioner
Speaks at NUI Galway
The Centre for Innovation and Structural
Change (CISC) has hosted Professor Peter Kelly
of Aalto University in Finland, who delivered this
6
year’s InterTradeIreland Innovation Lecture on
the topic of ‘Rethinking Business Models:
Creativity Inspired Innovation’. Professor Kelly’s
lecture challenged conventional wisdom about
developing a business, and provided practical
guidance on how to succeed in the recession.
Spring Open Day a Success
for Students and Families
Pictured: Rita Grant, 2nd Arts, and James Britton,
3rd Science, at the Spring Open Day at the
University in April.
This event is targeted at Leaving Certificate and
mature students who are interested in studying at
NUI Galway. Over 3,000 visitors attended the
event, which featured hands-on, interactive
Science Experience workshops and campus tours.
presentations on all aspects of health psychology,
from laboratory studies of cardiovascular health
to cognitive behavioural interventions to improve
health outcomes in clinical settings. Keynote
speakers included Professor Derek Johnston,
University of Aberdeen, Scotland; Dr Catherine
Woods, Dublin City University; and Dr Val
Morrison, Bangor University, Wales.
Wily Students Turns
€10 into €200
Students from all disciplines were given the
challenge of taking €10 and using their wits to
make as much money as possible over three days.
The SEEN €10 competition’s aim was to show
that any student could create an enterprise from
a tiny initial investment. The winner was Philip
Ryan, a Commerce student from Donnybrook,
Co Dublin, who turned a profit of €202 by selling
confectionery and soft drinks door-to-door in the
NUI Galway student villages. SEEN is the
Student Enterprise Exchange Network, the
University’s student-run and focused enterprise
support service.
Job Opportunities for
Graduates in the West
Social Marketing
Conference
The Centre for Innovation and Structural
Change (CISC) hosted the 3rd Annual Social
Marketing Conference entitled ‘Enabling
Sustainable Behaviour: The Environment,
Communities, Health & Well Being’. The
Conference brought together two worldrenowned sustainable behavioural change
experts, Dr Doug McKenzie-Mohr and Dr Craig
Lefebvre. Other practitioners and leaders in the
public and voluntary sector were also on hand to
answer questions.
Psychology Conference
The School of Psychology hosted the 8th Annual
Psychology, Health and Medicine Conference at
the University in April. The aim was to promote
high quality research at the interface of
psychology, health and medicine, and to facilitate
social and professional networks among people
working in this area. This year’s event featured
Pictured at the Graduate Recruitment &
Opportunities in the West (GROW) Fair, Professor
Chris Curtin (Vice-President for Innovation and
Performance), John Hannon (Head of Career
Development Centre), and representatives from
BioWare, a division of EA Games.
Some 15 companies, all actively recruiting thirdlevel graduates, visited in March as part of the
Graduate Recruitment and Opportunities in the
West Careers Fair (GROW). Exhibitors were
particularly keen to meet and recruit NUI
Galway graduates from a wide range of
disciplines including business, science,
engineering, languages and IT. The event was
organised jointly by the Career Development
Centre and Alumni Association.
OLL SCÉAL A
Focal ón Uachtarán
that often challenging transition from secondary
Dean of Graduate Studies, and her team for their
school to university. I know that CELT are
work with the Colleges in this area! Tá éacht
working hard on this and I would encourage all
déanta ag foireann an Staidéir Iarchéime.
staff to contribute, in whatever way they can, to
A Chairde,
making each first-year student's experience as
The Library's recent archive acquisitions will also
positive as it can be. Níl dabht faoi ná go bhfuil
support these research endeavours. Archival
With Leaving Certificate exams over, I'm delighted
táithí na chéad bhliana fíor-thábhachtach - tús
treasures such as those recently received from
to report another boost in the CAO figures for
maith leath na hoibre.
Thomas Kilroy (see Ollscéala p.4) and existing
holdings such as the McGahern, Ó Tuarisc and
applications to NUI Galway! For the third
consecutive year, first preference applications for
Following on from the first-year experience, we
Shields Family Collections, as well as theatre
our undergraduate degrees have increased
must strive to ensure that our teaching and
archives relating to Druid Theatre, Lyric Players'
significantly as the University’s popularity
learning resources offer all students the best
Theatre, Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe, will all further
continues to soar.
possible learning environment. CELT is making a
enhance NUI Galway's location as a centre for
real difference here -with the upgrade of
doctoral research in the arts and humanities.
Since March we have seen a further almost 10%
Blackboard which will be available in September;
increase in the number of students selecting NUI
the roll out of new tools to improve interaction
New Alliances
Galway as their first choice institution through the
within the classroom; and the increasing rates of
In the spirit of strategic collaboration which we've
Change of Mind and late application process. NUI
service-learning and volunteerism on campus.
developed over the last few years I'm very pleased
Galway is now in the top two universities for
Such steps will ensure that NUI Galway students
with the new partnerships which we have
growth in first preference applications through the
have a rich and positive learning experience.
announced recently with GMIT (see Ollscéala p.
Change of Mind. This is a great achievement!
4) and Galway Arts Festival. These partnerships
Research Matters!
give further expression to our commitment to
The most popular courses for students to date are
Another very gratifying development is the growth
work with the strengths and needs of our region to
in Biomedical Science; Marine Science and the
in PhD students. This year already we have
address national objectives, all the while striving
new BA CONNECT degrees, especially the
awarded over 125 PhDs at conferrings in March
for the highest international standards. Already the
Theatre and Performance, Creative Writing,
and June (see Ollscéala p. 5). We have more than
benefits of such alliances are clear and a number of
Human Rights, and Film Studies options. Science
doubled our PhD output in recent years to almost
new initiatives have emerged from our strategic
and Engineering courses have also seen a jump in
150 in the calendar year 2010. And with this year's
partnerships with University of Limerick, Georgia
popularity this year with NUI Galway out
Autumn and Winter conferrings we are poised to
Tech and Druid Theatre which are enriching our
performing the national trend in both, but
exceed this figure and are well on target to achieve
research activities as well as the teaching and
especially in Engineering where the opening of a
the goal of 200 per year by the end of 2011.
learning experience at NUI Galway.
As our research centres continue to develop and
This final edition of Ollscéala for the academic
grow, so too our PhD programmes become more
year highlights the tremendous range of activity at
Students Matter!
attractive to students from Ireland and beyond. To
NUI Galway. From world-class conferences to
This interest in and popularity for our courses is
further support this, we have set up a new PhD
research breakthroughs, from volunteerism to
very heartening. It is a tribute to all our colleagues
Scholarship programme - the Hardiman Research
public advocacy - our university is at the heart of
- academics and support staff - who have
Scholarships (see Ollscéala p.20). These fully-
national life. In challenging times we are working
developed programmes and who regularly travel
funded four-year PhD scholarships are focused on
to continuously improve what we do as a
all over Ireland to promote these course offerings
five key areas of research in which the University
community of teachers, scholars, researchers and
to prospective students.
offers leading expertise. The value of the Research
support staff. I thank you for your contribution
Scholarship is a stipend of €16,000 plus fees. This
and wish you an enjoyable summer.
new Engineering Building in July is a big draw for
CAO applicants.
Such interest by students means they must be
Scholarship programme will attract the best
rewarded by giving them the very best experience
students to NUI Galway and support their
while attending NUI Galway. We must prioritise
development as innovative individuals who will
Beir bua agus beannacht,
the 'first-year learning experience'. First-year
contribute globally to economic, cultural and
James J. Browne Ph.D.,D.Sc.,MRIA,C.Eng.
students must be given every support in making
social development. Well done to Dr Pat Morgan,
Uachtarán - President
Tá Focal ón Uachtarán le fáil ar line agus go dátheangach: www.nuigalway.ie/president/reports
7
OLL SCÉAL A
Student & Staff Awards
RTÉ’s Tommie Gorman
Presents Journalism Awards
RTÉ news correspondent Tommie Gorman has
presented awards to two graduates of the NUI
Galway MA in Journalism class of 2010. Lorraine
O’Hanlon received the fourth annual Donna
Ferguson Award for the highest mark in the
broadcasting module. The Connacht Tribune
Medal was presented to Antoinette Giblin for the
highest overall mark in the course.
Pictured (top to bottom): Winners of the
Innovation, Creativity and Enterprise (ICE)
Programme: James Kenny, Mullingar, Co
Westmeath; Patrick Flanagan, Sligo and Mark
Ruane, Sligo for their project ‘Pipe Protect’ – a
new product that uses mobile phone technology
to monitor and control pipes during freezing
weather. The ICE module, a competitive part of
the B.Comm. and the B.Sc. in Business
Information Systems, involves groups of students
presenting their innovations to mentors and
going through a number of stages of judging. The
five finalist groups compete for a prize of €6,000,
sponsored by the Chartered Institute of
Management Accountants (CIMA).
Engineering Students
Win Prestigious Transport
Awards
Six NUI Galway students are among the winners
of the transport industry’s national Student Idea of
the Year Awards. The awards are presented
8
annually to the originators of innovative ideas that
could make a real contribution to an aspect of
transport in Ireland. The students, from the
College of Engineering and Informatics, were
presented with their awards by RTÉ's Duncan
Stewart. Olgierd Gosztowtt from Poland, Peter
Istenes from Riverside, Galway, and Paul Jacobsen
from Castlegar, Co Galway, won the Safety
Category. The prize in the Marine Category was
awarded to Cathal McCormack from Oranmore,
Co Galway, Jason McDonagh from Moyola Park,
Galway, and Kieran McDonnell, from Mullingar,
Co Westmeath. This is the 15th year in which
NUI Galway students have scooped CILT awards,
reflecting the University’s strong reputation in
engineering education.
Marine Category: Pictured at the presentation of the
Student Idea of the Year Awards, Marine Category,
were (l-r): Seamus Cleere, Award Sponsor from
HazChem Training Ltd.; Monica Murphy, Eastern
Section Chairperson of CILT; Mary Dempsey of the
College of Engineering and Informatics at NUI
Galway; NUI Galway students Jason McDonagh,
Cathal McCormack, and Kieran McDonnell; and
RTÉ's Duncan Stewart.
New NUI Galway Societies
Bursaries Announced
The winners of the newly launched UCG Spirit of
78/80 Socs Bursary have announced at a special
ceremony. The Societies Office, in conjunction
with the Graduates of 1978 – 1980, have awarded
bursaries, each worth €1,000, in six different
categories. Funds for five are provided by NUI
Galway graduates from the class of 1978 – 1980,
with the Societies Office funding the sixth. The
recipients are:
Soloist Category:
Isaac Burke, Castlebar, Co Mayo;
Groups Category: Orna Ní Bhroin, Foxrock,
Dublin and Diarmuid Scahill, Coolough Road,
Galway;
Performance Category: Dave Rock, Kinvara, Co
Galway; Civic Engagement/Charity Volunteering:
Julie D'lima, Tirellan Heights, Galway;
Audience Choice: Adam Guinane, Limerick City;
Borja Catellan-Valladolid, Spain; Joe Junker,
Ballymore Eustace, Co Kildare, James Frawley,
Mervue, Galway; and Meaghan LaGrandeur,
Ottawa, Canada;
Judges Choice: joint winners: Aron Hegarty,
Inniscaragh, Co Cork and Teresa Brennan,
Barrow House, Co Laois.
Winners of 2011 Sports
Awards Announced
The NUI Galway 2011 Sports Awards, presented
at a special ceremony in the Ardilaun Hotel,
celebrate the broad diversity of success on and off
the field that is the strength of sport at the
University. This year’s recipients are - Archery:
Aisling Finn, Ballimacourty, Clarinbridge, Co
Galway; Boxing: John Ridge, Rusheenamanagh,
Carna, Co Galway; Darts: Stiofán De Lundres Ó
Dálaigh, Dangerville, Tuam, Co Galway; Ladies
Gaelic Football: Eilish Ward, Ballybrillaghan,
Mountcharles, Co Donegal; Men’s Gaelic
Football: Ciaran McDonald, Newtown, Aherlow,
Co Tipperary; Camogie: Michaela Morkan,
Shinrone, Birr, Co Offaly; Handball: Diarmaid
Nash, Tobarnagoth, Scarrif, Co Clare; Hockey:
Aoife Smyth, Upper Salthill, Galway; Judo: Fiona
Keating, Lower Salthill, Galway; Mountaineering:
Joan Mulloy, The Quay, Westport, Co Mayo;
Women’s Rugby: Heather Cary, Toronto,
Canada; Ladies Soccer: Nuala Marshall, London,
Ontario, Canada; Men’s Soccer: Evan Preston
Kelly, Dr Mannix Road, Galway; Team Award:
Men’s Senior Basketball Team 2010 – 2011;
Team Award: Men’s Senior Rowing 2010 – 2011;
Most Improved Club: Women’s Rugby 2010 2011; Club Captains Award: Dee O’Dwyer,
Athletics Club; Special Achievement Award:
Nithin Bindal, Cricket Club; Participation Award:
Fun Run Committee, Athletics Club;
Recreational Award: Futsal - Men on Bikes;
Alumni Leadership Award: Boxing Club.
OLL SCÉAL A
Students win HSA Third
Level ‘Safety in Design’
National Competition
A team of students from NUI Galway has won a
Health and Safety Authority-run competition
aimed at undergraduates from constructionrelated degree programmes in third-level
institutions. The winning team was made up by
Kevin Carney, Frenchpark, Co Roscommon,
Grant Deeney, Ballaghaderreen, Co Roscommon,
and Shane McHale, Ballina, Co Mayo. The NUI
Galway three worked together giving expert advice
on remedial repairs, traffic management and longterm maintenance of a bridge that suffered
structural damage as result of a strike.
NUI Galway
Societies Awards
The NUI Galway Societies Awards have taken
place on campus with 17 awards presented at a
gala event. These awards celebrate the
contribution which over 100 societies make to
the University and wider community. The
coveted Best Society of the Year award went to
the Drama Society for the professionalism and
creativity they brought to their numerous and
varied events during the year. Most Improved
Society went to the GiG (Gay in Galway) Soc for
their determination and effort to improve and
expand the society. Best New Society went to the
Comic Book Society, which exploded on to the
societies scene this year with colourful and
original events. Best Society Individual went to
Drama Society’s Neasa O’Callaghan, whose hard
work and dedication during the Irish Student
Drama Awards was exemplary. Neasa is also
auditor of Classics Soc and an active member of
Lit & Deb. Best Fresher went to Ronan
Gallagher, who was venue manager of the Bank
of Ireland theatre during the ISDA Festival and
who has been involved in lighting for many
Dramsoc productions. Best Event went to the
ISDA festival, organised by the Drama Society.
International Award for
Graduate Student
NUI Galway PhD student, David Byrne, has
been awarded second place for his poster
presentation at the Institute of Structural
Engineers Young Researchers Conference, held
in London. The conference, now in its 13th year,
provides a platform for research students to
present their work and exchange ideas with peers
and industry leaders. David, from Wicklow town,
was presented with the award for his poster, ‘The
analysis of shear transfer in void formed flat slabs,
including in-situ measurements from a building’.
His entry was shortlisted from over 60 abstracts
submitted from PhD students in the UK and
Ireland, and was judged by a panel of Institute
members.
School of Medicine Team
Wins Jack Flanagan Medal
The Dublin Ageing Research Networksponsored 2011 Jack Flanagan Intervarsity
Competition has been won by the NUI Galway
School of Medicine team of Larissa Higgins, Tara
McDonnell, Tara Tarmey and Teresa O’Dowd.
The winners receive the Jack Flanagan Medal in
Gerontology and a cash bursary. The
competition is named after Ireland’s first doctor
to specialise in modern-day geriatric medicine. It
began as an intervarsity competition between the
penultimate year students of Dublin medical
schools and has expanded to include Galway and
Cork. The event challenges teams on their
knowledge of medicine and psychiatric
programmes and how they interrelate with an
ageing population.
Student Awarded
Prestigious
International Prize
A doctoral fellow at the Centre for Innovation
and Structural Change (CISC), Ciara Fitzgerald,
has been presented with second prize in the
Association of University Technology Managers
(AUTM) Graduate Student Literature Review
Prize. Ciara’s studies at NUI Galway are funded
under the Programme for Research in Third
Level Institutions (PRTLI 4) as part of the Irish
Social Sciences Platform. She is researching
strategic planning and formulation practices in
Irish Technology Transfer Offices and her prizewinning paper focuses on Legitimacy, Mission
and Management: Key Challenges for
Technology Transfer Offices. The criteria for this
global competition include topic saliency to
AUTM members, richness of discussion for
application to practice, and strength of
conceptual framework in organising the review.
As a prize winner, Ciara attended the AUTM
Annual Meeting in Las Vegas, where she received
her plaque and presented her work.
Pictured: Ciara Fitzgerald, CISC, NUI Galway
receiving her prize from Ashley Stevens, immediate
Past President of the Association of University
Technology Managers (AUTM), in Las Vegas.
Pictured (l to r): Larissa Higgins, Tara McDonnell,
Professor Martin O’Donnell (Director, HRB
Clinical Research Facility), Tara Tarmey, Teresa
O’Dowd and Professor Fidelma Dunne (Head of
Medical School)
9
OLL SCÉAL A
Comic Book Society
Scoops National Award
Co Galway; Robert McGrath, Loughrea, Co
Galway; Urszula Donigiewicz, Carigtwohill, Co
Sligo, Darren Kilmartin, Rosses Point, Co Sligo;
and Alan Jacobsen, Castlegar, Co Galway.
Research Council
Fellowships
The NUI Galway Comic Book Society won the
Best New Society Award at the Board of Irish
College Societies (BICS) Awards ceremony in
May. BICS provides a national forum for societies
across Ireland's Universities, Colleges and
Institutes of Education to promote their interests
and work towards best practice. The National
Awards are the highlight of the BICS year.
D.Eng Award
NUI has awarded the D.Eng to Professor Ger
Hurley, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, for
his published work. This higher doctorate is the
highest qualification that can be awarded by the
NUI and is given to scholars who have published a
substantial body of ground-breaking and
influential work and have achieved outstanding
distinction internationally in their field.
Fifteen Summer
Scholarships
Fifteen NUI Galway School of Medicine research
students have been awarded Summer Student
Scholarships by the Health Research Board
(HRB). The aim is to encourage an interest in
health research and to give students an
opportunity to become familiar with the research
process, techniques and methodologies through
conducting a summer project. The students will be
supervised by academic and clinical staff at NUI
Galway and Galway University Hospitals.
The 15 recipients are: Cliona Small,
Knocknacarra, Galway; Maria Duignan, Boyle, Co
Roscommon; Catherine Crowe, Ballaghaderreen,
Co Roscommon; Máirtín Ó Maoláin, Dangan,
Galway; Sorcha Kearney Wolnik, Shantalla,
Galway; Fiachra O Deasmhunaigh, Bishoptown,
Co Cork; Sarah Cormican, Oranmore, Co
Galway; Domhnall O’Connor, Tullamore, Co
Offaly; Tariq Esmail, Burlington, Canada;
Dympna O’Dwyer, Mullagh, Co Clare; Mark
Gurney, Grange, Co Sligo; Kate Dinneen, Barna,
10
Six NUI Galway researchers have been awarded
Fellowships by the Irish Research Council for
Science, Engineering and Technology (IRCSET).
Over €3.3 million is being made available under
the Empower scheme to support 37 people who
will carry out a research and professional
development programme over the next two years.
The NUI Galway recipients include Dr Fiona
Brennan, Dr Olivier LeRoux, Biology; Dr Rory
Coffey, Dr James Murphy, Earth/Environmental
Sciences; Dr Alexander Rahm, Mathematics; and
Dr Micheal Scanlon, Chemistry. Congratulating
the six, Vice-President for Research, Professor
Terry Smith, said; “The IRCSET Empower
scheme gives our researchers the opportunity to
build and broaden their research and professional
skills at an early stage.”
£190,000 for breast cancer
research at NUI Galway
A three-year research project by Dr Afshin Samali
has been awarded £190,000 by the Breast Cancer
Campaign charity to look specifically at finding
new ways of overcoming breast cancer treatment
resistance. Most patients receive anti-hormone
treatments, such as tamoxifen, to prevent breast
cancer coming back, but over time onethird of
people develop resistance to them. Dr Samali
believes that when two molecules called HSP72
and IRE-_ join together, they produce other
molecules that prevent breast cancer cells being
destroyed by these treatments.
Graduate Develops Top
Apple Mac App
NUI Galway graduate Vinny Coyne’s Eirtext app
has reached number one in the Mac App store. It
also features in the top 10 apps in the store for
social networking. Eirtext enables users to avail of
free and cheap web-based text messaging through
iMac, iBook, iPhone and iPod Touch. Vinny, who
graduated with a B.E. in Electronic and Computer
Engineering in 2006, has developed a number of
iPhone apps. Eirtext was previously number one in
the free apps download chart in the App Store.
Researchers Awarded
Funding for Irish
Biomedical Research
Projects
Two NUI Galway researchers, Professor Abhay
Pandit of the Network of Excellence for
Functional Biomaterials (NFB) and Professor
Rhodri Ceredig of the Regenerative Medicine
Institute (REMEDI) are among five awardees
funded under an innovative new research
programme funded by the Johnson & Johnson
Corporate Office of Science and Technology
(COSAT) and Science Foundation Ireland (SFI).
The research projects, all biomedical, were
launched by the Minister for Research and
Innovation, Mr Sean Sherlock TD. Professor
Pandit, in collaboration with Professor John
Laffey, Department of Anaesthesia, NUI Galway
will conduct a study on a novel treatment for acute
lung injury. Professor Ceredig in collaboration
with Professor Benjamin Bradley of the Institute of
Technology, Tralee will conduct a drug discovery
programme using by-products obtained from
processing of natural materials.
Digital Media Exhibition
Showcases Talent
A digital media exhibition has been held to
showcase projects from NUI Galway’s MA in
Digital Media programme. The programme was
shortlisted for the ‘gradireland postgraduate
course of the year’ in 2010. It attracts bright,
creative students with a strong sense of identity
and individuality from a variety of undergraduate
disciplines. In recent years, a number of projects
have gone on to win national Digital Media
awards. The exhibition was part of the NUI
Galway Arts in Action 2010-2011 initiative, which
aims to cultivate awareness of the creative arts
across campus.
OLL SCÉAL A
Cruthaíonn Mic Léinn Modhanna
Digiteacha Teagaisc don Todhchaí
Seoladh tionscnamh nua in Ollscoil na hÉireann, Gaillimh, a thugann deis do mhúinteoirí áiseanna
digiteacha a úsáid sa seomra ranga. Chruthaigh mic léinn an Dioplóma Iarchéime san Oideachas (DIO) i
Scoil an Oideachais OÉ Gaillimh, ceachtanna idirghníomhacha ilmheánacha as Gaeilge ag baint úsáid as
Matchware Mediator. Teicneolaíocht ar leith atá anseo, urraithe ag COGG (Comhairle um Oideachas
Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta), agus beidh na háiseanna ar fáil do mhúinteoirí agus do dhaltaí ar fud na
tíre. Tugann sé seo deis do mhúinteoirí acmhainní digiteacha a úsáid ar bhealach cruthaitheach, núálach.
Research Provides
Communication
Guidelines in
Cross-Cultural GP
Consultations
An NUI Galway researcher is part of the team that
has won a prestigious award for its work on
guidelines to support communication in crosscultural general practice consultations. Dr Anne
MacFarlane, Lecturer in Primary Care, Discipline
of General Practice, School of Medicine, has led
the Health Research Board Partnership Award
with colleagues Mary O’Reilly-de Brún and Tomas
de Brún, Directors of the Centre for Participatory
Strategies (CPS), Galway and Alice O’Flynn and
Diane Nurse of the HSE Social Inclusion Unit.
This research has used innovative participatory
research methods to enable the meaningful
involvement of health service users from the
migrant community and health service providers in
the development of a guideline to support
communication in cross-cultural general practice
consultations. This research has been awarded the
Professor James McCormack medal for best
research presentation, at the Association of
University Departments of General Practice
Annual Scientific Meeting.
Professor Speaks at United Nations Expert Group
Meeting on Youth
Professor Pat Dolan has participated in the United
Nations Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on
‘Dialogue and Mutual Understanding across
Generations’ in Doha, Qatar. The purpose of the
meeting was to provide UN Member States and the
UN Secretariat with expert opinion on dialogue and
mutual understanding as it relates to generations. In
doing so, it seeks to explore the family structure as a
framework for enhancing intergenerational dialogue
between younger and older people and exploring its
impact in a broader context including community,
education and the workplace. Professor Dolan,
holds the UNESCO Chair in Children, Youth and
Civic Engagement and is Director of the Centre for
Child and Family Research at NUI Galway.
11
OLL SCÉAL A
Musical Note for
Monsignor Pádraig de
Brún Memorial Lecture
The 2011 Monsignor Pádraig de Brún Memorial
Lecture, entitled Your Inner Muse: Heart, Ears,
Mind, and Chipsets, has been delivered by the
distinguished American concert pianist and
MuseAmi CEO, Robert Taub. The lecture
addressed the relationship between music and
technology, and placed leading-edge technological
innovation within the context of musical
innovation over the ages. Robert Taub has been
acclaimed internationally as a concert pianist and
recording artist. Having achieved much in the
performing arts, Robert founded MuseAmi in
2007. He is familiar to Galway audiences as his
performances have featured frequently in the
Music for Galway concert programmes.
Irish Student Drama
Festival Comes to Galway
The next generation of theatrical talent came to
Galway for the Irish Student Drama Association
Festival in March. This is the largest event ever in
the festival’s 63-year history, with NUI Galway’s
Dramsoc hosting 45 events over 9 days. The
festival productions were a combination of the
work of emerging student writers, as well as works
by t Brian Friel, William Shakespeare, Tom
Murphy, Conor McPherson, Martin McDonagh
and Harold Pinter. The Irish Student Drama
Association (ISDA) is the umbrella organisation of
Ireland’s third-level drama societies. Featuring 25
plays from 13 colleges around the country, the
event had daily performances in the Druid
Theatre, Nun’s Island Theatre, and the Bank of
Ireland Theatre on campus.
Hidden Histories of
Women in Technology
Exhibit Opens
An exhibit entitled ‘Hidden Histories of Women
in Computing’ went on display at the University’s
Digital Enterprise Research Institute (DERI) in
May. The exhibit highlighted how, in spite of
many obstacles, women have made an enormous
contribution to advances in communications and
computer technologies. The event follows the
provision by DERI of information workshops to
second-level students on the historical role of
12
women in science and technology. The Digital
Enterprise Research Institute an internationally
renowned centre of web science research, has just
completed a season of outreach activities based
around the broader theme of ‘Digital Inclusion’.
Students Volunteer
Overseas
Pictured: Students from NUI Galway and the
University of Limerick, who travelled to South
America as part of NUI Galway’s annual overseas
volunteering programme, with NUI Galway
President Dr James J. Browne, and University of
Limerick President Professor Don Barry. The
Chaplaincy at NUI Galway has organised a
summer overseas volunteering opportunity for
students for many years. This year, the project is in
North-Western Brazil and involves work in
community development and the provision of
water and sanitation. The students are traveling
under the auspices of the Irish charity SERVE.
New Report Identifies
Importance of Life Course
Perspective to Policy
Planning
A report into the developmental welfare state has
been launched by Minister for Social Protection
Joan Burton TD, at the Royal Irish Academy in
Dublin. The report, entitled Community
Engagement in Ireland’s Developmental Welfare
State: A Study of the Life Cycle Approach, was
funded by the Irish Research Council for the
Humanities and Social Sciences, and carried out
by a team from the Irish Centre for Social
Gerontology and School of Business and
Economics at NUI Galway. The result is a highly
relevant and timely insight to current and future
policy priorities for vulnerable groups. “The idea
that ‘people matter’ in policy planning is
recognised by international organisations such as
the UN,” said lead author Dr Gemma Carney. “In
Ireland, we are fortunate to have an engaged and
resourceful community sector willing to speak up
for less fortunate groups. The test now is how we
use that resource in challenging economic times,”
she added.
2nd International Dance
Festival Launched
Pictured: President Browne officially launches
Galway's 2nd International Dance Festival in Aid
of Special Olympics. The festival was held in the
Radisson Blu Hotel in May and organised by NUI
Galway staff members Gloria Avalos, Ann
Monahan, Breda Kelleher, Micheál Newell and
Lorraine Tansey, together with Susana Campos of
the Sisters of La Retraite. All proceeds go to the
Special Olympics to help support clubs and
organisations in Connaught. Pictured are NUI
Galway staff and students (from left) Woo Yuen
Ying, 2nd year medical student, Singapore,
Yoldana Reyes, PhD student, Mexico, Reshmi
Roy, 2nd year medical student (traditional Indian
dance), Gloria Avalos, School of Medicine,
Mexico, and Abirami Manian, 1st year medical
student, (traditional Indian dance).
Photo Andrew Downes.
OLL SCÉAL A
Books and On-Line Matters
Campus Company and
Technology Publisher to
Set Up Second Office in
Silicon Valley
After just a year on the NUI Galway campus, the
New Tech Post – a daily digest of articles on
innovative and emerging technologies – has
announced it is opening a second office, in Silicon
Valley, in partnership with the Irish Innovation
Center (IIC) in San Jose. New Tech Post’s
coverage of innovative and emerging technologies
is reflected in its five main newsfeeds: Video;
Mobile; Business; Technology; and Social Media.
According to founder John Breslin, a lecturer in
electronic engineering at NUI Galway: “The main
aim of the New Tech Post is to cover emergent
technologies and share new, innovative ideas with
an audience interested in learning what future
trends to think about and how they might be
affected by them. We’re very excited to be working
with the Irish Innovation Center in San Jose on
creating a ‘news bridge’ between Galway and the
US, since they are ideally placed in Silicon Valley
and connected to the heart of the tech world.”
Botanist Publishes
New Book
Botany students and scientists have a definitive
new book that explores plant cell walls. The book,
edited by Dr Zoë Popper, lecturer in Botany and
Plant Science, School of Natural Sciences, NUI
Galway is entitled The Plant Cell Wall: Methods
and Protocols.It has been written by experts in the
field, who detail current and state-of-the-art
methods applied to investigate the many aspects of
the plant cell wall. These include its structure,
biochemical composition, and metabolism.
Students Compete with
Texans in Virtual Business
World
An online business simulation tool is allowing
NUI Galway students compete against their peers
in the University of Texas in learning about the
trials and tribulations of running a business. As
part of the Bachelor of Commerce with
Accounting degree, an interactive game called
Globalsym involves students managing a virtual
company producing and selling products, and
competing against other virtual firms in an ethereal
business world. Through collaboration with
University of Texas, the NUI Galway
undergraduates have extended the competition
beyond their classmates, to vie for supremacy over
their postgraduate US peers.
embryonic and post-embryonic development,
providing a title influenced by the new approach of
evolutionary developmental biology, ‘evo-devo’.
Law of the Sea Launched
Book Confirms
Multinationals’ Talent are
Key to Economic Recovery
A new book, Global Talent Management, by
Professor Hugh Scullion and Dr David Collings at
the J.E. Cairnes School of Business & Economics
has been launched by Jack Golden, Group HR
Director of building materials group CRH..
Commenting on the publication, Professor John
Slocum, Editor of the Journal of World Business,
said, “Professor Scullion and Dr Collings have
written the definitive book on global talent
management. Their experience and selection of
compelling articles written by renowned scholars,
create a delightful journey.”
New Book Examines
How Evolution Works
Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns (President of the High
Court), Dr Ronán Long (NUI Galway), Mr Eoin
Fannon (Office of the Attorney General),
Commodore Marke Mellett PhD (Flag Officer,
Naval Service) pictured at the launch of a new
book on the Law of the Sea by Mahon Hayes,
former Ambassador and Permanent
Representative of Ireland to the United Nations.
The book is published by the RIA with the support
of Marine Law and Ocean Policy Centre. It offers
a remarkable insight in the role of the Irish
delegation at the third United Nations Conference
on the Law of the Sea. This has been described by
former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger as
"one of the most remarkable negotiations in
diplomatic history".
Journal Throws Spotlight
on Virology Research
A new book by an NUI Galway Professor of
Zoology examines how evolution works by
changing the course of embryonic and postembryonic development. In Evolution: A
Developmental Approach, Wallace Arthur asks
questions like, what separates humans from
chimpanzees? Is it the genetics of our populations,
or our different structures and behavioural
capabilities? The book tackles themes such as
developmental repatterning, adaptation and
coadaptation, the origins of evolutionary novelties,
and evolutionary changes in the complexity of
organisms. Together, these themes explain how
evolution works by changing the course of
An article written by researchers at the Cell Cycle
Control Lab and Centre for Chromosome Biology
in the School of Natural Sciences has been
selected by the editors of the ‘Journal of Virology’
as their ‘Spotlight’ area of expertise. In their article
in the Journal, Tikhanovich et al. found a novel
class of small noncoding RNAs, which directly
inhibits human polyomavirus replication by
interfering with the duplication of the genetic
information of these viruses. Their findings
provide a new chapter in the function of these
small noncoding RNAs beyond the previous fields
of investigation such as transcription control.
Moreover, the results of Tikhanovich et al. may
help the design of novel synthetic agents for
inhibiting replication of polyomaviruses and other
viruses.
13
OLL SCÉAL A
NUI Galway Conference
Honours International
Human Rights Lawyer
In cooperation with Queen’s University Belfast
and the University of Essex, the Irish Centre for
Human Rights has hosted an international
tripartite video-conference dedicated to the life
and work of the renowned human rights lawyer,
Professor Kevin Boyle. The conference was jointly
organised by the three Universities where Kevin
spent his career. It focused on themes in human
rights with which he was most engaged. Keynote
speakers included Professor William Schabas,
Director of the Irish Centre for Human Rights at
NUI Galway, and Professor Sir Nigel Rodley,
Professor of Law and Chair of the Human Rights
Centre, University of Essex.
New Book Says
Marketing is King
In 2005, Harvard Business Review reported that of
30,000 products launched in the USA, 90 percent
failed because of poor marketing. The other 10
percent went on to become successful brands.
This stark fact introduces the new edition of the
bestselling text Creating Powerful Brands by brand
gurus Professor Leslie de Chernatony of
Università della Svizzera italiana, Lugano and
Aston Business School UK, Professor Malcolm
McDonald, Emeritus Professor at Cranfield
University and Honorary Professor at Warwick
Business School, and Dr Elaine Wallace of the J. E.
Cairnes School of Business & Economics, NUI
Galway.
NUI Galway Spin-Out
Company Featured in
SOGETI
A spin-out from DERI, Peracton, features in a new
book by SOGETI offering guidelines to successful
cloud computing. The book Seize the Cloud
introduces finance personnel to cloud based
technologies and illustrates how firms use them.
As a start-up, Peracton provides a unique insight
to the challenges and angles to address the
financial services needs of a customer company
and forthcoming market and legal requirements.
The MAARS technology used by Peracton to meet
these needs has been developed by in DERI at
NUI Galway is now offered commercially through
Peracton.
Student Named National Winner in
EU Language Competition
Casey McDonagh, a second-year student of
Spanish and French, has just returned from an
award ceremony in Brussels, where he represented
Ireland as national winner in a new competition
organised by the European Commission. Tongue
Stories is part of the celebrations of the European
Day of Languages and is designed to highlight
how speaking foreign languages can make a
difference in people's private and professional
lives. Participants were invited to tell their
favourite stories about their own experience with
foreign languages. Casey’s entry describes the
impact of studying Gabriel García Márquez’s
short story ‘Isabel viendo llover en Macondo’ in
the Spanish American Short Stories course taught
by Dr Lorraine Kelly. Casey’s story can be found
at: www.tonguestories.eu/contestant/casey-667
14
Professor Nicholas Canny
Honoured at Book Launch
Pictured at the launch of Reshaping Ireland, 15501700, Colonization and its Consequences, a new
book on the colonial paradigm in early modern
Ireland, were NUI Galway President, Dr James J.
Browne and Professor Nicholas Canny. Edited by
Brian Cuarta SJ, the book was launched by An
tOllamh Michéal Mac Craith, Roinn na Gaeilge, to
celebrate the contribution and mark the
retirement of historian Nicholas Canny, Academic
Director of the Moore Institute for Research in the
Humanities and Social Studies at NUI Galway and
President of the Royal Irish Academy.
NUI Galway
Academic Is New
Honorary Consul of
the Federal Republic
of Germany
Professor Hans-Walter Schmidt-Hannisa has been
appointed Honorary Consul of Germany to
Ireland. He succeeds the late Mr Hergett, who
passed away in 2009. Professor Schmidt-Hannisa,
who is Professor (Chair) of German at the School
of Languages, Literatures and Culture, is very
committed to foster the excellent German-Irish
cooperation in the field of education and science
and to further strengthen the traditionally strong
ties between both the German and the Irish people
in all different fields of society.
OLL SCÉAL A
Mary Carpenter’s
Contribution in India
The Global Women’s Studies Programme, in the School of
Political Science and Sociology, hosted a public lecture in
April entitled ‘Imperial feminist or transnational social
reformer? Mary Carpenter and India’, which was delivered
by Professor Clare Midgley, Research Professor in History
at Sheffield Hallam University and President of the
International Federation for Research in Women’s History.
Duais €1,000 buaite ag
Cumann Sóisialta an
Acadaimh
President Says Poor Systems
Compromising Necessary Change
within Public Sector
“Poor systems within the civil service and the public sector will further dis-empower
their leaderships and compromise the change needed to correct the public finances”,
said President Dr James J. Browne in a speech at the launch, in April, of the Leadership
in the Irish Civil Service: A 360° Review of Senior Management Capability report. The
two-year study by the University’s Centre for Innovation and Structural Change
(CISC), led by Dr Alma McCarthy, was funded by the Irish Research Council for the
Humanities and Social Sciences (IRCHSS). Speakers at the launch included Dr Maria
Maguire, OECD and Independent Consultant; Philip Kelly, Assistant Secretary
General, Department of An Taoiseach responsible for Transforming Public Services;
and Brian Cawley, Director General of the Institute of Public Administration. The
report is available online at www.nuigalway.ie/cisc
Tá duais náisiúnta €1,000 buaite ag an gCumann Sóisialta in
Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge, An Cheathrú Rua.
Tháinig an Cumann sa tríú háit i gcomórtas Ghlór na nGael
do Chumainn Ghaelacha i gColáistí tríú leibhéal na
hÉireann. Fógraíodh na torthaí beo ar chlár Rónán Mhic
Aodh Bhuí, RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, Dé Céadaoin, 5
Aibreáin 2011.
Bronntar na duaiseanna seo ar choistí mac léinn i gColáistí
tríú leibhéal, a bhfuil forbairt agus caomhnú teanga agus
cultúr na Gaeilge mar spriocanna lárnacha acu. Bhí 14
Cumann Gaelach ar an ngearrliosta agus ba mhór an t-éacht
do mhic léinn an Acadaimh an gradam seo a ghnóthú i
bhfianaise nach bhfuil ach 120 mac léinn lánaimseartha ar an
gcampas. Is iad an dá champas is mó sa tír, Coláiste na
hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath agus Coláiste na Tríonóide a
tháinig sa chéad agus sa dara háit.
Pictured: (from L-R) Dr Brian Cawley, IPA; Dr James J. Browne, President, NUI Galway;
Dr Alma McCarthy, Conference Organiser, CISC & J.E. Cairnes School of Business and
Economics, NUI Galway; Dr Maria Maguire, Independent Consultant & OECD; Mr Philip
Kelly, Department of An Taoiseach; Dr James Cunningham, Director of CISC, NUI Galway.
4th Annual Paddy Ryan Memorial Lecture
This year’s Paddy Ryan Memorial Lecture an initiative by
Galway Chamber, Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology
(GMIT) and NUI Galway, has been addressed by Mr
Matthew Elderfield, Head of Financial Regulation at the
Central Bank of Ireland, who spoke on the theme,
‘Assessing Risks – the New Model for Ireland’. President
Browne added: “NUI Galway is very proud to be associated
with The Paddy Ryan Memorial Lecture, which honours his
lifetime of public service. In a time of upheaval, this issue is
deeply relevant and meaningful for Irish public policy."
Pictured l-r: Carmel Brennan, President of Galway Chamber;
Jim Fennell, Acting President of GMIT; Dr Emer Mulligan,
Head of the J.E. Cairnes School of Business & Economics;
and Breda Ryan.
15
OLL SCÉAL A
Musical Medical Students
Hit Right Note
The folklore and philosophy of the West of
Ireland was explored by NUI Galway’s Dr Tom
Duddy in Castlebar in March. In a free public
lecture, Dr Duddy spoke about ‘From Folklore to
Philosophy: the life and work of William Larminie
of Castlebar’. The lecture was part of the
‘Humanities in the West’ series of talks, sponsored
by the School of Humanities. Other lectures
included one entitled, ‘Representing the Nation
through Sport: The National Film Institute’s
Gaelic Games Films, 1948 – 1968’, by Dr Seán
Crosson of the Huston School of Film & Digital
Media; and another by Dr Nessa Cronin of the
Centre for Irish Studies, who spoke about
‘Haunted Landscapes: Place, Space and Mobility
in 21st Century Ireland’. Throughout this series,
University lecturers visit different regional centres
(Castlebar, Roscommon and Sligo) to lecture on a
range of topics.
Music and medicine at NUI Galway have come
together once again with a performance by the
Medical Orchestra at the Arts in Action
Traditional Concert. The 25-piece orchestra
opened the concert, which was headlined by
renowned traditional musician Mairtin O’Connor
and his band. This is the second year that budding
young doctors at the School of Medicine have
been able to take a semester-long course in
performance, visual arts and literature. Grammy
Award-winner Susan McKeown also sang at the
Aula Maxima, as part of the Medicine and the Arts
module, in March.
NUI Galway’s Moore
Institute to Host
Workshop on
Modernism
As part of the research project ‘1916 and After’,
the Moore Institute and the School of Languages,
Literatures, and Cultures have held a one-day
workshop entitled The Shadows of Modernism.
The workshops, led by Margaret Higonnet
(University of Connecticut) and Mario Perniola
(University of Rome, Tor Vergata), questioned
and discussed aspects and issues of modernism
which have been neglected or are still unsought in
the context of the rapid transformation of
aesthetic and social phenomena.
16
Humanities
in the West
NUI Galway
Study Finds
Clues to Human
Intelligence
19th Annual Colloquium
of the International
Geographical Commission
on the Sustainability of
Rural Systems
The School of Geography and Archaeology hosts
the 19th Annual Colloquium of the International
Geographical Union Commission on the
Sustainability of Rural Systems, from 1 to 7 August
2011. The theme of this year’s colloquium is The
Sustainability of Rural Systems: Local and Global
Challenges and Opportunities. Dr Mary Cawley, a
member of the Commission, and colleagues in
Geography are responsible for the event. This is
the first time the Commission has met in Ireland.
Delegates from 20 countries are attending.
Research suggests that human intelligence is
controlled by the part of the brain known as the
‘cortex’, and most theories of age-related
cognitive decline focus on cortical dysfunction.
However, a new study carried out by Dr Michael
Hogan from the School of Psychology with
older Scottish adults suggests grey matter
volume in the ‘cerebellum’ at the back of the
brain predicts cognitive ability, and that keeping
those cerebellar networks active may be the key
to keeping cognitive decline at bay. The most
interesting finding from this study is that grey
matter volume in the cerebellum predicts
general intelligence. However, results differ for
men and women, with men showing a stronger
relationship between brain volume in the
cerebellum and general intelligence. It has long
been recognised that the cerebellum is involved
in sensory-motor functions, including balance
and timing of movements, but it is now believed
the cerebellum also plays an important part in
higher-level cognitive abilities.
OLL SCÉAL A
Launch of New Adult and Community Education Resource DVD
A new documentary film, Bridging the Gap, in
which leading academics in Irish higher education
discuss contemporary social and economic issues
in an engaging and accessible way, was launched
recently. Two of the NUI Galway contributors to
the film, Dr Su-Ming Khoo, School of Political
Science and Sociology, and Dr Vinodh Jaichand,
Irish Centre for Human Rights, also spoke at the
launch. The aim of the film is to ‘bridge the gap’
between higher education and adult and
community education, by making available the
knowledge, expertise and perspectives of
academics to students learning in communitybased settings. The film consists of two DVDs,
which contain a number of short programmes on
topics such as human rights, globalisation,
education, democracy, gender and racism.
NUI Galway Students
Bring Maths to Life
In June, NUI Galway’s Figure Fun hosted
MATHS: Making Awesome Things Happen in
Summer, a camp with maths in mind for
secondary school students. This course was aimed
at first-years pupilswho wish to improve their
maths skills in a fun environment. Mathematics is
undergoing many changes in post-primary. This
camp focused on providing students with a strong
foundation in number systems, geometry and
probability.
Dr Catherine Paolucci, lecturer and programme
director of the BA in Mathematics and Education,
said: “This is an exciting programme which offered
students an opportunity to reinforce their
classroom learning in an alternative setting with a
focus on real-life applications.”
Strategic Research
Agreement into Road
Safety Technology
Announced
The Connaught Automotive Research (CAR)
Group at NUI Galway has announced a strategic
research agreement with Valeo Vision Systems,
one of the world’s leading manufacturers of
automotive vision systems. The CAR Group
researches systems to help improve road safety by
allowing drivers to see blind spots around vehicles.
Pictured at the launch were Ann Lyons, Community Knowledge Initiative, NUI Galway; Dónal Walsh,
Galway City VEC; Yuvi Basanth, Roots and Reels Films; and Dr Iognáid Ó Muircheartaigh, Irish Centre for
Human Rights., NUI Galway.
The aim is to develop intelligent cars with a
greater ‘awareness’ of their environment and
ability to avoid crashes. Under the directorship of
Dr Martin Glavin and Dr Edward Jones, the CAR
Group is based in the discipline of Electrical and
Electronic Engineering. It comprises of a team of
researchers who work in close collaboration with
industry on the development of the image
processing systems.
Students Fighting Fit
for Entrepreneurship
A two-day ‘Entrepreneurship Boot Camp’ has been
held at NUI Galway, to widen and deepen the
entrepreneurial know-how and employability of
students. The camp presented a challenging and
dynamic experience with games, activities, lectures,
competitions and mentoring by academic staff,
industry practitioners, knowledge experts and
representatives of state agencies. Some 25 students,
from all disciplines, left their inhibitions at the door
and came in with an open mind. Student Paul
Curley described the camp as “a completely fresh
and life-changing experience”. The event was
organised by the Student Enterprise Exchange
Network (SEEN), NUI Galway’s student-run and
focused enterprise support service.
Brain Imaging Techniques
Topic of Meeting
NUI Galway has hosted an international meeting
entitled Combining Human Brain Imaging
Techniques. International experts reviewed the
latest advances in brain imaging techniques and
the challenges and opportunities that lie in
combining them.
The meeting was organised by Dr Michael Hogan,
NUI Galway, in collaboration with Joshua
Balsters, Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience,
Dublin; Jacinta O'Shea, Oxford University; and
Steven Jackson, Nottingham University. It is
supported by the European Science Foundation
(ESF) and the Health Research Board (HRB).
Bronnadh seic €5,000 ar
Choiste Tuismitheoirí
Scoil Chuimsitheach
Chiaráin
Bhronn mic léinn Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta
Gaeilge, An Cheathrú Rua seic €5,000 ar Choiste
Tuismitheoirí Scoil Chuimsitheach Chiaráin le
gairid. Bailíodh an t-airgead seo i rith Sheachtain
na Mac Léinn (14-17 Márta 2011) san Acadamh
ar an gCeathrú Rua. Tá feachtas bailiúchán airgid
ar bun faoi láthair ag Coiste na dTuismitheoirí
agus cabhróidh an t-airgead le háiseanna spóirt a
fheabhsú agus a fhorbairt sa scoil. Bhí mic léinn
agus foireann an Acadaimh le feiceáil thart
timpeall na Ceathrún Rua le linn Sheachtain na
Mac Léinn ag bailiú airgid, go háirithe ar an Máirt,
15 Márta mar a rinne siad brú leapa ó TG4 anoir
go dtí An Cheathrú Rua.
17
OLL SCÉAL A
Seolann láithreoir TG4 céim nua sa Ghaeilge in OÉ Gaillimh
Sheol láithreoir cáiliúil TG4, Eimear Ní
Chonaola, céim nua pháirtaimseartha sa
Ghaeilge Fheidhmeach in Ollscoil na hÉireann,
Gaillimh le gairid. Tá an chéim á tairiscint i
gcomhpháirt ag Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta
Gaeilge agus ag Roinn na Gaeilge. Is é seo an taon chlár dá leithéid in Éirinn ina bhfuil céim sa
Ghaeilge á tairiscint trí mheán na foghlama
cumaiscthe. Tá an chéim nua seo dírithe ar
fhoghlaimeoirí lánfhásta atá ag obair go
lánaimseartha agus atá ag iarraidh céim ollscoile a
bhaint amach. Bainfear leas as teicneolaíochtaí
nuálacha leis an gcéim a sheachadadh. Déanfar
an chéim a sheachadadh ar an idirlíon den chuid
is mó; agus dá réir sin beidh deis ag na mic léinn
a gclár ama staidéir féin a leagan amach agus a
chur in oiriúint dá stíl mhaireachtála. Ní bheidh
scileanna ríomhaireachta riachtanach le tabhairt
faoin gcéim mar go dtabharfar an oiliúint
ríomhaireachta chuí do na rannpháirtithe ag tús
an chúrsa.
Ocean Energy Focus of
Public Lecture
Professor Tony Lewis, Director of the Hydraulics
& Maritime Research Centre, UCC, delivered a
lecture entitled The Status of Ocean Energy
Development in Ireland, at NUI Galway in May.
Professor Lewis summarised the latest national
and international developments in ocean energy
and government strategies to meet the challenges
ahead. “Energy supply and sustainability are key
challenges for the future,” says Professor Gerry
Lyons, Dean of College of Engineering &
Informatics at NUI Galway. “While Ireland is very
heavily dependent upon energy imports, we have
unique advantages in terms of climate and location
for the development of renewable energy sources.
Professor Lewis is ideally positioned to help us all
understand the challenges and opportunities.”
Eighth International
Economics Colloquium
Held
The Eighth International Colloquium on
Economic Growth, Structural Change and
Institutions has been held in NUI Galway.
18
Organised jointly by the J.E. Cairnes School of
Business & Economics and the Department of
Economics, University of Brasília, the Colloquium
brought together a group of international scholars
from North and South America, Europe, India and
Japan to discuss the global economic crisis from
the point of view of growth, structural change and
institutions.
Experts Convene to
Explore Molecules’
Influence on Disease
International experts have gathered at NUI
Galway to further the scientific knowledge-base
surrounding microRNA profiling. MicroRNAs are
newly discovered molecules within our cells that
control the activity of genes. The European
Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO)
practical course entitled ‘MicroRNA-profiling,
from in-situ hybridization to next-generation
sequencing’ was the title of the course that took
place at the University. MicroRNA research at
NUI Galway has been a growing area since 2006,
supported in part by a Transfer of Knowledge
Grant from the EU (under Marie Curie
Framework 6). NUI Galway researchers supported
the team of international experts who came to
Galway to train a group of 22 scientists from all
over the world in the latest techniques for
investigating microRNAs, as part of the EMBO
course.
Parents and Children
Needed for Blood Pressure
Study
The Centre for Research on Occupational and Life
Stress at NUI Galway is recruiting people to take
part in their Family Research Project. This study
will examine the influence of family factors and
social networks on blood pressure, and is being
funded by the Irish Research Council for the
Social Sciences and Humanities. The team are
looking for parents, and children aged 6 to 10
years, to take part. Ann-Marie Creaven, lead
researcher, said: “Social factors are strongly
associated with blood pressure responses to stress
and are relevant to public health. There is little
specific research examining blood pressure in
children and parents. This project will show
parents and children how their blood pressure
fluctuates in response to everyday events.”
OLL SCÉAL A
Library Hosts Abandoned Mansions Photo Expo
The James Hardiman Library has hosted
photographer Tarquin Blake’s Abandoned
Mansions of Ireland exhibition. Blake’s three-year
photographic project documents the end of the
landed aristocracy and the demise of their
mansion houses. His beautiful, haunting images
of crumbling ruins, over 40 of which were on
display, convey an indefinable beauty in the decay
– in the abandonment. Accompanied by history
and folklore, they tell of troubled times and
private hardship. The exhibition also featured two
audio visual presentations.
Medical School Orchestra
The NUI Galway Medical School Orchestra has
performed at the 52nd Annual meeting of the
Corrigan Club, the cross-border association that
forges closer links between doctors North and
South. through scientific discourse and social
activities. Ahead of the recital, Dr Risteard
Mulcahy, a founding member of the Corrigan
Club, explained its origins to the medical student
musicians. The performance was a social highlight
of the two-day meeting.
Distinguished Lecture on
Inequalities,
Interculturalism and
Diversity
The Lifecourse Institute (LCI) at NUI Galway has
held its annual Honorary Public Lecture entitled
Inequality and Diversity across the Lifecourse:
Intercultural Perspectives. The main speaker,
UNESCO Chair, Professor Jagdish Gundara,
spoke about interculturalism, diversity, inequality
and how groups of children and families, older
people and people with disabilities are affected.
The lessons learnt from interculturalism in the UK
and elsewhere were considered, as was the Irish
perspective on how best to respond to the
particular challenges of the economic recession.
Professor Pat Dolan, UNESCO Chair and
Director of the LCI, commented: “We are
delighted to host such distinguished speakers and
to open up the debate to the floor on such an
important topic for many groups in Irish society.”
NUI Galway Sponsors
Inaugural U.S./Ireland
Legal Symposium
Gillian Buckley, WDC with President Browne.
NUI Galway was the main sponsor of the inaugural
U.S./Ireland Legal Symposium, which took place in
Co Mayo in May. The Symposium offered an
outstanding line-up of speakers, including Mr
Justice Peter Kelly of the Commercial Court and
Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor of the Ohio
Supreme Court. It was hosted by the Brehon Law
Society of Philadelphia and supported by the
Western Development Commission (WDC), Mayo
County Council and Temple University Beasley
School of Law in Philadelphia.
Centre for Disability Law
and Policy Hold Third
International Summer
School
The Centre for Disability Law and Policy holds its
third International Summer School in June..Cohosted with the Harvard Law School Project on
Disability, the six-day summer school equips
participants with the insights and skills to translate
the generalities of the UN Convention on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities into tangible reform for
people with disabilities. The event is directed by
Professor Gerard Quinn, Director of the Centre for
Disability Law and Policy at NUI Galway, and by
Professor Michael Stein, Professor of Law, Harvard
Law School and Executive Director, Harvard Law
School Project on Disability.
Data Analysis Focus of
Economics Conference
The J.E. Cairnes School of Business & Economics
hosts a three-day intensive course entitled Topics
in Microeconometrics in June. The keynote
speaker is William Greene, Toyota Motor Corp
Professor of Economics, Stern School of Business,
New York University. . The aim of the conference
is to provide intensive instruction on frontier
techniques in econometrics used in the analysis of
cross section and panel data.
Pictured receiving the Hewlett-Packard Prize (MSc,
Information Systems Management, J.E. Cairnes
School of Business & Economics), at the University’s
Awards Day in February, is Kevin Hynes, Senior
Technical Officer at the CELT/Audio Visual
Department. Also pictured are Dean Willie Golden,
President Browne and Professor Nollaig Mac
Congáil.
19
OLL SCÉAL A
Students Produce Leaflet on
High Altitude Illness
30 PhD Scholarships in Five
Research Areas Announced
Thirty fully-funded PhD Hardiman Research
Scholarships have been announced. The four-year
scholarships are focused on five areas of research in
which NUI Galway offers world-leading expertise:
Biomedical Science and Engineering; Informatics,
Physical, and Computational Sciences;
Environment, Marine, and Energy; Applied Social
Sciences and Public Policy; and Humanities in
Context. These scholarships offer opportunities for
suitably qualified people to pursue a structured
postgraduate degree by research. Structured PhD
programmes, while retaining the focus on advancing
knowledge through original research, also provide
professional development modules in subjectspecific and transferable skills.
Gender and Child Welfare
Network Hold First Irish
Conference
Pictured at the launch of the high altitude illness leaflet, at the NUI Galway climbing wall, are the 2nd year
medical students who produced it (left-right): Christina Melon, Oakville, Ontario, Canada; Simon
Gordon, Sligo; Kate Dinneen, Barna, Galway; Dermot Nolan, Broadford, Co Clare; David Flynn,
Ballymote, Co Sligo; Hale Loofbourrow, Juneau, Alaska; and (climbing) Shannon Kelly, Camloops,
British Columbia, Canada. Photo by Andrew Downes.
A group of second-year medical students at
NUI Galway have collaborated in the design and
production of an information leaflet on high
altitude illness, as part of their 10-week long
special study module in high altitude medicine.
Developed in conjunction with Mountaineering
Ireland, the leaflet is aimed at trekkers,
mountaineers, guides and others who travel to
high altitude regions. It provides accessible
information on the changes that occur in the body
at altitude, as well as acclimatisation to altitude,
and recognising, managing and preventing high
altitude illness. The leaflet is available online at
www.highaltitudemedicine.ie, a website developed
especially for the study module, and at the
Mountaineering Ireland website at
www.mountaineering.ie. Copies have also been
distributed to outdoor and sports equipment
outlets in Galway City, Castlebar and Sligo.
The Gender and Child Welfare Network, an
international group of researchers and practitioners,
held its fourth interdisciplinary conference, and its
first Irish conference, at NUI Galway in June.
The network has held three previous conferences on
the relationship between gender and child welfare.
This event focused specifically on the relationship
between gender, child protection and family
support. The keynote speaker was Norah Gibbons,
Director of Advocacy with Barnardos. Organiser and
Professor with the School of Political Science and
Sociology, Bríd Featherstone, said: “I am delighted
that this event took place at NUI Galway and that
such a distinguished group of speakers from so many
countries contributed their insights on such an
important topic.”
Call for Action to Improve Safe Disposal
of Unwanted Medicines in Ireland
A new study undertaken by the Centre for Health
from Environment at the Ryan Institute, finds most
unwanted or leftover prescription medicines are
disposed of incorrectly. Disposing of medicines by
flushing down sinks and toilets, or including in
general household waste, is a common occurrence
and may result in environmental contamination.
The research was conducted by second-year
medical students, Sarah Cormican and Michelle
Furey. Of 207 people surveyed for the Public
20
Awareness Regarding the Safe Disposal of
Unwanted Medicines in Galway City study, most
had leftover medicines in their home but only onethird regularly returned them to a pharmacy.
Professor Martin Cormican, Director of the
Centre, said: “The project highlights the need to
put in place a national system for safe disposal of
unwanted medicines similar to the battery
recycling scheme. There is also a need for action to
let people know about the need for safe disposal.”
The research was conducted by second-year medical
students at NUI Galway, Sarah Cormican (left) and
Michelle Furey. Photo by Andrew Downes.
OLL SCÉAL A
NUI Galway and Leitrim County Council Announce
John McGahern Seminar
The fifth International Seminar on John
McGahern, commemorating the work of the
renowned Irish writer, takes place from 2-23 July
in Co Leitrim. Last year’s event attracted more
than 150 participants from home and abroad. This
year’s theme is McGahern and Creativity, and the
keynote is being given by Colm Tóibín, whose
novel Brooklyn made the shortlist for this year’s
International IMPAC DUBLIN Literary Award. In
addition to the public seminar, NUI Galway has
organised the fourth International Summer School
on McGahern’s work and its contexts; this will
form part of the University’s 28th International
Summer School in Irish Studies. The Summer
School is designed for experts who are interested
in the writings of John McGahern, his life and
times in 20th-century Ireland, and related areas of
creative writing. The Summer School incorporates
the International Seminar and continues at the
County Library, Ballinamore, CoLeitrim the week
after the Seminar. For further details, contact 091
495442 or visit www.nuigalway.ie/iss
Photos of Actor Arthur
Shields on Display at
NUI Galway
Clark of UCD and issues dealt with included
genetic discrimination in employment, the data
protection rights of the deceased, and selfproduced child pornography. Staff and students
from the Law School and elsewhere attended. The
day was a great success, with very positive
feedback from the audience.
People were recently able to take a trip down
theatrical memory lane at NUI Galway, as images
from the archive of the Abbey Theatre actor
Arthur Shields (1896-1970) went on show. Some
photographs from the Shields Family Archive were
put on display in the foyer of the James Hardiman
Library while many more images featured in a
computerised display. The Shields Family Archive
collection is held at the James Hardiman Library
and includes posters, programmes and playscripts.
Neuroscience Researchers
host Brain Awareness
Week Event
Neuroscience researchers at NUI Galway hosted a
public event during Brain Awareness Week in
March. The event gave people a chance to learn
about the workings of the human brain and about
neuroscience research underway in NUI Galway.
The Galway Neuroscience Group is made up of a
pool of researchers from NCBES, Pharmacology,
Anatomy, Psychology, Psychiatry, Neurology, and
Physiology.
Law, Technology and
Governance Conference
The Law School has hosted the Law, Technology
and Governance Conference, at which this year's
LL.M. class in these subjects presented their thesis
topic. The keynote speaker was Professor Robert
Photographic Exhibition
Celebrates Student
Volunteering
NUI Galway has hosted a
photographic exhibition entitled
We Volunteer! to celebrate and
recognise third-level student
volunteering across Ireland.
Colleges north and south came
together for this special initiative to
mark the European Year of
Volunteering and to recognise the
tremendous contribution student
volunteers make to the lives of
their communities. Speaking
about the exhibition, Lorraine
Tansey, Student Volunteer
Coordinator at NUI Galway, said: “If a picture is
worth a thousand words, then this expo speaks
volumes about the commitment of student
volunteers and the impact they have on their
communities.”
Prsident Commended by
IUQB Review Team
The Irish Universities Quality Board (IUQB) has
published a third report from its Institutional
Review of Irish Universities (IRIU) process, this
time focusing on NUI Galway. Dr Padraig Walsh,
IUQB Chief Executive, said: “This evidence-based
review provides independent confirmation of
NUI Galway’s commitment to quality in line with
national and European standards.” The Review
Team, composed of national and international
experts, identified areas of good practice and for
further development to assist NUI Galway in
assuring the quality of the student experience. It
commended NUI Galway’s approach for unifying
strategic planning, institutional research and
quality assurance; and commends ‘the strong
leadership of the President and Management
Team and the overall institutional structure and
processes for quality.’
HIV and the Criminal
Law: Seminar
A public seminar on the topic HIV and the
criminal law: combating stigma through science
has taken place at NUI Galway. Delivered by
Edwin J Bernard, a writer, editor and advocate in
HIV-related issues, the seminar was part of the
18th International Conference on HIV Dynamics
and Evolution, hosted by Dr Grace McCormack
and Dr Simon Travers of NUI Galway. Dr
McCormack, who is based at the School of
Zoology, School of Natural Sciences, says; “The
incidence of HIV in Ireland has increased
dramatically since 1999 and we should all be aware
of issues surrounding it. This public seminar on
criminalisation of HIV transmission is relevant to
the public, to health care professionals, and to
scientists who track the spread and evolution of
the disease.”
21
OLL SCÉAL A
European Parliament
Hosts FP7 ‘DERREG’
Policy Seminar
NUI Galway Marks 150th
Anniversary of Creation
of Italy
The European Parliament was the venue for a
policy seminar in March that discussed the
progress and findings of the EU DERREG Project
(Developing Europe’s Rural Regions in the Era of
Globalization). Funded under the FP7 SocioEconomic Science and Humanities theme, the
DERREG project consortium involves 9 partner
institutions from 8 EU countries. NUI Galway is
represented by Dr John McDonagh (NUI Galway
team leader), Dr Maura Farrell and Dr Marie
Mahon, from the School of Geography and
Archaeology. DERREG aims to develop a better
understanding of how globalization impacts on
rural regions in Europe, and how rural businesses,
residents and public authorities engage with
globalization. The objective is to produce an
interpretative model that will enable regional
development actors to better anticipate and
respond to the key challenges for rural regions
arising from globalization. The project is also
compiling a database of good practice examples
that will be publicly accessible.
NUI Galway has marked the 150th anniversary of
the creation of Italy with an interdisciplinary oneday workshop focused on specific themes of
debate. Italy became, for the first time in her
history, a unified nation in 1861.
George Hook
Launches Living Scenes
Intergenerational
Art Module
Pictured at the launch of the NUI Galway Living
Scenes Intergenerational Art Module in Millstreet
Community School, Co Cork are (l-r): Derry
Morley, Deputy Principal, Millstreet Community
School; Newstalk’s George Hook, who launched
the programme; John Magee, School-based
Programme Co-ordinator; Dr Mary Surlis,
Director of Living Scenes, NUI Galway; Pat
Pigott, Principal, Millstreet Community School;
and Dr Séamus Mac Mathúna, former NUI
Galway Secretary. Living Scenes is an
intergenerational programme of learning involving
Transition Year students and local retired adults,
which is funded by NUI Galway.
22
The one-day workshop, entitled Debating the
Italian Nation – Historical and Cultural
Perspectives. brought staff from the disciplines of
History and Italian at NUI Galway together with
overseas scholars to discuss the significance of the
idea of the nation for contemporary Italian history,
society, and culture.
Student Engagement
Focus of Ninth Galway
Symposium on
Higher Education
The 9th Galway Symposium on Higher Education
took place at the University in June. Organised
jointly by the Centre for Excellence in Learning and
Teaching (CELT) and NAIRTL, this year’s event
also coincided with NAIRTL’s annual conference.
The title of this year’s symposium was Engaging
Minds. Active learning, participation and
collaboration in Higher Education. It focused on
aspects of student engagement in the learning
process. Dr Iain Mac Labhrainn, Director of CELT
said: “The theme of engagement touches on the
very heart of what a ‘higher’ education should be
about. It’s about engaging the mind, experimenting
with new ideas, critically engaging with the world
around us, laying the foundations upon which to
build a better future, nurturing individual creativity
and collective responsibility, and hopefully about
having some fun along the way.”
Symposium on Gender,
Nation, Text
The Gender, Discourse, Identities group, one of
the thematic research clusters arising from the
NUI Galway-UL Gender ARC (Gender, Culture
and the Knowledge Society Advanced Research
Consortium), has held a symposium on the theme
of Gender, Nation, Text in the Moore Institute.
Drawing on a range of cultural texts, approached
from a variety of theoretical perspectives,
participants examined interconnections between
representations of gender and representations of
nation. Papers covered topics as diverse as
German myths of maternity, the symbolic
investment of femicides in Mexico and women
and politics in early twentieth-century Ireland;
they also explored links between masculinity and
nationhood in nineteenth-century French texts, in
the work of Robert McLiam Wilson and in the
reception of Joe Heaney.
31st Conference on
Applied Statistics
The Statistics Group within the School of
Mathematics, Statistics and Applied Mathematics,
in conjunction with the newly established HRB
Clinical Research Facility NUI Galway, has hosted
the 31st Conference on Applied Statistics. This
Conference is the Irish Statistical Association’s
forum for discussion of statistical and related
issues for Irish and International statisticians with
an emphasis on both theoretical research and
practical applications in all areas of statistics.
Pictured: (l to r): Thomas Louis, John Newell
(Organiser), Ray Ryan (Head of School), Murray
Aitkin, Cathal Seoighe, Paul Eilers, John Hinde
(Organiser).
Ryan Institute Hold
Open Day
The Ryan Institute for Environmental, Marine and
Energy Research has hosted its annual Research
Open Day. Short talks addressed subjects of
national and global importance, such as the
economics of marine energy and novel treatments
of greenhouse gases. A ‘meet and greet’ session
and poster display highlighting ongoing research
by some of the Institute’s 300+ researchers in
areas such as Energy, Biodiversity and Human
Health also took place.
OLL SCÉAL A
Minister for Research and Innovation
Delivers Keynote at DERI Open Day
Over 250 academics and industrialists attended
the DERI Open Day in April for briefings,
presentations and demonstrations on the
Institute’s research, applied research and
commercialisation activities. Also presenting were
DERI’s industrial partners and funders. Minister
for Research and Innovation, Seán Sherlock T.D.
delivered the keynote, saying: “You have national
and international audiences that are eager to listen
once their attention has been captured. This
showcase demonstrates clearly the high quality
research underway at DERI and NUI Galway.” He
added that DERI’s impressive track record
provided the Government with “considerable
hope and indeed some expectation that science
will be pivotal to our economic recovery”. The
Minister referred to the pledge in the Programme
for Government to promote and support
investment in technology research, development
and commercialisation in line with an overall
Digital Ireland strategy. Professor Stefan Decker,
Director of DERI, said: “Our research emphasises
the innovation potential in the Irish ICT sector.
Realising this innovation potential by contributing
to a national and holistic Digital Ireland strategy is
firmly on our agenda.” Michael Turley, CEO of
DERI, noted: “The Open Day was extremely
important for DERI. It enabled us to highlight
what we have achieved to date, and demonstrate
Engineering and IT
Students Highlight
Research
Pictured at the DERI Open Day were (l-r): Dr Graham Love,
Director, Policy and Communications, SFI; Dr James J.
Browne, President, NUI Galway; Minister Seán Sherlock;
and Michael Turley, CEO of DERI.
Pictured at the DERI Open Day, looking at some of the
‘artefacts’ in the Institute’s museum, were (l-r): Minister Seán
Sherlock; Dr James J. Browne, President of NUI Galway; and
Brendan Smith of DERI.
possibilities for the future with the research we are
doing here and with our collaborations partners.
All our efforts are geared to assisting in achieving
the goals of the Smart Economy.”
An Engineering and Informatics Research Day has
taken place at NUI Galway to showcase research
undertaken by students. This year, for the first
time, the annual event was run in conjunction with
the University of Limerick, as part of the Strategic
Alliance between the two Universities. Knowledge
was highlighted with a display of 174 posters
covering nine fields of engineering and informatics
research. This year’s theme was Publishing Your
Research. Some 200 students heard presentations
from industry leaders and academics on how to
present and promote research to the highest
international standards. A key element of Research
Day is a competition among students for best
posters. Every year the top 12 students are
selected by their peers to give a short presentation
of their research. The winners of this ‘shoot-out’
are then selected by a panel of senior academics in
the industry.
Professor Denis
O’Hearn presents
'Celtic Tiger: Rise
and Fall' Lecture
Professor Denis O’Hearn has delivered the
2011 Social Sciences Research Centre
(SSRC) Annual Lecture, entitled Reassessing
the Celtic Tiger: Its Rise and Fall. The SSRC
Annual Lecture, in association with the
Department of Economics, is a tradition of
the Social Sciences Research Centre (SSRC),
one of the University’s longest running
research centres, established in 1965 in what
was then UCG.
23
OLL SCÉAL A
Students Scoop €15,000 for Surfer Website
A surfing website designed by two students, which
has the potential to develop tourism in the West of
Ireland, scooped the top prize of €15,000 at the
NUI Galway Student Enterprise Awards held in
June. The creators of West Coast Surfer were
presented with their prize by Minister of State for
Small Business, John Perry TD, NUI Galway
President, Dr James J. Browne, and NUI Galway
Student’s Union President, Peter Mannion. West
Coast Surfer is the brainchild of Oisin Halpin and
Cian Brassil. Oisin is a third-year Earth & Ocean
Science student from Achill Island, Co Mayo, and
Cian a secondyear Information Technology
student from Kilcolgan, Co Galway. Their goal is
to design, build, promote, develop and manage a
premier Irish surfing website. Six teams contested
the final The competition is the initiative of the
Students’ Union, with the support of the
University and aims to foster a spirit of
entrepreneurship amongst the students.
NUI Galway Among the
Winners at Annual Doctor
Awards
NUI Galway was among the award winners at the
recent Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland
Annual Doctor Awards in Dublin. Andrew
Murphy, Professor of General Practice at NUI
Galway and his SPHERE team received both the
Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland Award for
Best General Practice Paper and the overall Royal
Academy of Medicine in Ireland Award for Best
Research Paper published by an Irish doctor in
2011. NUI Galway’s John Laffey, Professor of
Anaesthesia and his research group were also
awarded the Royal Academy of Medicine in
Ireland 2011 Prize in the Anaesthesia/Pain
category.
Lecturer awarded Journal
of International Criminal
Justice Prize 2010
Dr Shane Darcy, lecturer at the Irish Centre for
Human Rights, has been awarded the prestigious
Journal of International Criminal Justice Prize
2010. The prize is awarded annually for the best
article by a younger scholar in this leading
international journal. This year the honour was
awarded ex aequoto to Dr Shane Darcy and Johan
David Michels. Shane’s article was entitled
Prosecuting the War Crime of Collective
Punishment: Is It Time to Amend the Rome
Statute? In awarding the prize, the Board of
Editors commended the work for furthering
critical discussion of the substantive and
procedural law practiced before international
criminal courts and tribunals.
Funding Awarded
Dr Tony Royle, Management Discipline, JE
Cairnes School of Business and Public Policy, has
been awarded €10,000 under the Research
Support Fund Strategic Initiative Call 2011 to
undertake an international and comparative study
on international framework agreements and
international labour standards in multinational
corporations. The new research funded by NUI
Galway will also support Dr Royle's ongoing
research work in a larger related international
study which is being funded by the European
Commission.
Electric Guitar Project
Scoops Avaya Prize
Gearóid Moroney, a final-year student in
Electronic & Computer Engineering has been
awarded the Avaya Prize for the best final year
project in Electrical & Electronic Engineering in
Marketing & Communications Office, NUI Galway.
Tel. 091-493361 Fax: 091-494521 E-mail: Ollsceala@nuigalway.ie
the College of Engineering & Informatics. His
project involved the development of a web-based
system to allow a remote user to automatically
tune and then play an electric guitar. A native of
Ennis, Co Clare, Gearóid beat a number of other
challengers, whose projects included a mobile
phone application to allow older people monitor
and manage their nutritional intake and exercise
levels, and a novel electronic circuit used to
increase the efficiency of generators, which utilise
energy wasted by the forms of basic cookers used
in households in developing countries, to produce
electricity.
Michael Keane, Senior Manager, Avaya makes the
cheque presentation to Gearóid Moroney, winner of
the Avaya sponsored prize for best final year project
in Electrical & Electronic Engineering, NUI Galway
and Liam Kilmartin, lecturer in Electrical &
Electronic Engineering at NUI Galway on Friday.