University of Galway has awarded the inaugural Meissner Scholarship to first year Bachelor of Commerce student Hannah Clancy. This new four-year scholarship supports students from Connacht who are studying at the University through the HEAR (Higher Education Access Route) programme. The scholarship offers an annual financial award and access to ongoing support from Meissner staff, as well as the opportunity for a potential work placement with Meissner.             Hannah Clancy from Dromahair, Co Leitrim, said: “I am delighted to be the first recipient of the new Meissner Scholarship. A scholarship of this calibre will allow me to focus on my studies and receive the best possible education here at University of Galway, so that I can excel in my future career. I am grateful to the management team at Meissner and to the staff of the University’s Access Centre for providing me with this incredible opportunity.”             John O’Shea, Site Lead and Director of Operations, Meissner, said: “As a company Meissner is committed to helping better the communities in which our employees and their families live. We are proud to further expand these initiatives with the addition of this scholarship in partnership with the University of Galway. “In Hannah we are supporting a person with a clear vision of what she wishes to achieve in life to help make a positive impact in her community. In awarding this scholarship, we hope to empower Hannah to achieve her goals at the University of Galway and beyond.”             Daniel Savery, Widening Participation Officer with the University of Galway Access Centre said: “We are incredibly grateful to Meissner for their generosity in supporting our students at University of Galway. The Access Centre supports students from underrepresented backgrounds in Higher Education, ensuring that our university student body reflects the diversity we find more broadly in society. The Meissner Scholarship will help to ensure the most in need will have the financial resources to reach their full potential.” Meissner is Headquartered in Camarillo, California, with its European manufacturing facility situated in Castlebar, Co Mayo. Meissner designs and manufactures advanced microfiltration products and One-Touch® Single-Use Systems for use in critical applications across the Pharmaceutical, Bioprocessing, Biologicals, Laboratory, Microelectronics, Industrial, and Chemical industries. Ends

University of Galway has announced a new partnership as lead academic partner with Galway Science & Technology Festival, formalising and building on a successful and established collaboration which goes back 15 years. The new partnership will allow University of Galway and Galway Science & Technology Festival to co-create and build on the educational, cultural and societal objectives of the festival to ensure its ongoing development and success. The Partnership will foster the development of accessible educational outreach programmes for schools, the public and under-represented groups through collaborations with volunteer groups and local organisations. University of Galway has played a significant role in facilitating the growth and expansion of the Galway Science & Technology Festival since its inception in 1998. The University began hosting the annual Festival Exhibition Day in 2010 - the hallmark of the weekend, featuring interactive Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)-themed events and activities from companies, including the festival’s main sponsor Medtronic, professional organisations, schools, volunteer groups, Atlantic Technological University and state agencies. The event draws more than 15,000 people to campus each year. Professor Peter McHugh, Interim President of University of Galway, said: “As lead academic partner of the Galway Science & Technology Festival, we are delighted to formalise this relationship after 15 years of successful collaboration. Our ongoing commitment to the festival demonstrates University of Galway’s dedication to encouraging innovation and interest in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and how these STEM subjects apply to other areas such as medicine, business and the creative arts, among school children.  “The annual festival exhibition is very much the focal point of the festival and has been hosted by University of Galway since 2010, showcasing educational shows and workshops, and immersive interactive exhibition stands by world leading global companies, local primary and secondary schools and research centres. The festival exhibition inspires a curiosity and an interest in STEM among school children, encouraging them to consider STEM subjects in school and for their future studies and careers.” Paul Mee, Chairman of the Galway Science & Technology Festival, said: “We are thrilled to be able to strengthen our partnership with University of Galway. Our access to the University’s wonderful campus, not to mention the amazing student volunteers, is a key element for the successful future running of the festival. We look forward to many more festival days on the campus.” Founded in 1998, Galway Science & Technology Festival runs every November and is part of Taighde Éireann-Research Ireland’s National Science Week. The festival delivers over 200 free shows and workshops to 35,000 primary and secondary schools throughout Galway City and County. Its aim is to inspire young people to develop an interest in STEM subjects and to communicate the significance of these educational areas in everyday life and society, making these fields more accessible and engaging.    Anne Murray, Festival Manager of the Galway Science & Technology Festival, said: “We are absolutely delighted to formalise our long-standing relationship with the University of Galway as lead academic sponsor, who hosts the annual exhibition. This partnership builds on 15 years of successful collaboration, enabling us to deliver impactful and inspiring STEM-based events that ignite curiosity and encourage young people along with their parents to explore the limitless possibilities of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. We look forward to continuing this shared mission of inspiring future generations.” Professor Mark Healy, Vice-Dean Student Recruitment and Personal Professor of Civil Engineering, College of Science and Engineering, University of Galway, said: “We welcome this opportunity to celebrate and reaffirm in a formal way our involvement as lead academic sponsor of the festival. The festival exhibition day is a fantastic way to effectively communicate the significance of STEM in everyday life, thereby making it more accessible and engaging.” Ends.

Scientists go from science fiction to science fact to analyse scale of devastation to mangroves using satellite imagery, AI and healthcare techniques     An international research team led by University of Galway has used earth observation radar data to map oil pipeline networks covering a 9000 km2 region in the Niger Delta and pinpoint where crude oil spills have caused the most acute damage to the delicate mangrove ecosystem.   The Niger Delta hosts the second largest petroleum reserves in Africa, with the Nigerian economy heavily dependent on the industry.   But since the extraction and processing of oil started in the 1950s, the level of pollution is estimated to be equivalent to more than 13 million barrels of crude oil, causing enormous damage to the environment and posing severe health threats to the people who live in the region.   The Niger Delta is one of the most ecologically diverse regions on Earth and home to almost 30 million people from more than 40 ethnic groups. The vast majority of them depend on farming and fishing for their livelihoods and food security, as well as their cultural identity and well-being.   The study was led by researchers from the Ryan Institute at University of Galway, in collaboration with the University of Ilorin in Nigeria. It was funded through Taighde Éireann - Research Ireland’s Artificial Intelligence for Societal Good Challenge Future Innovator Prize, which was awarded to the University of Galway team in 2021.   The findings of the study were published in the journal Remote Sensing.   The researchers used earth observational data from satellites, AI technology and imaging more commonly applied to assessing cardiovascular health to anaylse the direct impact of oil pollution on the region.   The researchers determined the mortality rate of the mangrove forests over the period 2016-2024 to be 5,644 hectares a year - the equivalent of 17 Central Park Forest areas being lost per year or 28 GAA pitches every day.   The data analysis allowed the research team to highlight specific locations in the vast pipeline network which are in need of immediate intervention and restoration. It also allowed the research team to identify several new pipeline sites north of the coastal town of Bille showing evidence of significant oil spill damage that have yet to be formally reported.   The lead author of the study, Jemima O’Farrell, Ryan Institute and School of Natural Sciences, University of Galway, said: "As a recent Physics graduate, it was exciting to work at the intersection of medical imaging, earth observation and AI to develop a new way of mapping and assessing pipeline networks. Seeing our approach independently corroborate reported spill events, and even detect unreported ones, was incredibly gratifying. I hope this technology can help advocate for the affected communities and that more earth observation-derived insights will be integrated with policy and environmental protection in the near future."   The Niger Delta in Nigeria is a vast, complex, estuarine environment that hosts the largest mangrove forest on the African continent and is the world’s third-largest wetland. These forests are of enormous ecological and biodiverse significance and actively sequester substantial quantities of atmospheric carbon dioxide.   Monitoring the oil pipeline network and the vitality of the surrounding Delta across such a vast region is extremely difficult, with associated under-reporting and after-the-fact assessments being the norm. The focus in relation to pollution has been more on “total oil” loss, rather than linking the losses to ecosystem damage.    The team deployed a combination of data to analyse the impact on the mangrove, including a form of radar used to create two-dimensional images or three-dimensional reconstructions of objects using imagery recorded by the European Commission's Sentinel-1 earth observation satellites. The data was recorded every week since 2016, and, critically, the technology guarantees almost perfect viewing conditions every pass, regardless of the near-constant cloud cover.   Co-author of the study, Dr Abosede Omowumi Babatunde, Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Ilorin, Nigeria said: "The findings of our work will help affected local communities to better understand the magnitude of oil spills and have comprehensive insights into the oil-induced damage to the mangroves. This delicate ecosystem sustains their traditional farming and fishing activities. Our research will also empower them to independently hold the authorities and petroleum producers to account.   “It can also help those communities to reflect on the adverse consequences of their own actions such as pipeline vandalism, and illegal and artisanal bunkering, in terms of their own health, the environment, its resources and sustainability. This knowledge will also help local NGOs to design relevant intervention programmes that can address the impacts and mitigate rising oil spill incidents."   Dr Aaron Golden, Ryan Institute and Associate Professor of the School of Natural Sciences, University of Galway and project Principal Investigator, said: "This project demonstrates the phenomenal power of interdisciplinary research to overcome the hardest of societal challenges. Taking ideas in radiomics and cardiovascular imaging and refactoring them for an utterly different biophysical context such as the Niger Delta basically revolutionises our ability to map and fully monitor both oil pipeline integrity but also the mangrove ecosystem. We're going from science fiction to science fact here, which is incredible. We're grateful for having had the opportunity to do this work.”   Ends