Monday, 13 June 2011

Research in the area of Biomedical Engineering and Regenerative Medicine will be furthered through the launch of a structured PhD Programme in the field delivered through the NUI Galway/UL Strategic Alliance and University College Cork. The PhD in Biomedical Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (BMERM) is a collaborative programme involving partner institutions nationally and internationally, including: Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, Institute of Technology Sligo, University of Ulster, Queen s University Belfast, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA, University of Pittsburgh, USA, Duke University, USA, Rice University, USA, Mayo Clinic, USA, RWTH Aachen University, Germany, Georgia Tech Ireland, and the Irish Medical Devices Association (IMDA). The 4 year programme, funded by the HEA under the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions Cycle 5, will also involve study visits for Irish students to the world-leading research institute, Georgia Tech based in Atlanta. Director of the Programme, Professor Peter McHugh, of the NUI Galway College of Engineering and Informatics, said “The medical technology industry is one of the pillars of the Irish economy, with a tremendous potential for growth, which is dependent on having a highly educated and trained workforce and a strong research and innovation capability. Biomedical engineering and regenerative medicine are at the heart of this growth potential and this structured PhD programme is designed to produce graduates who will be the next generation of leaders in the industry and in academic research and education in the field.” Professor Tim McGloughlin, Director of Centre for Applied Biomedical Engineering Research at UL said; “This programme will enhance the professional skills of the PhD students through close interaction with the medical devices industry, further enhancing its role in the Irish economy and enabling R&D growth in this key sector.” Professor Noel Caplice, Professor of Cardiovascular Science & Consultant Cardiologist, CUH/UCC said, “This is an exciting interaction between Universities that are already co-operating on stem cell and cardiovascular thematic research. We believe this BERM interaction will only strengthen this collaboration. The PhD programme aims to become a leading international graduate education programme in the fields of biomedical engineering and regenerative medicine in which Ireland is already taking a strong international role. The overall objective is to develop graduates who will produce ground- breaking scientific results benefiting human health and contributing to economic growth. Ireland’s medical technologies sector is a significant global cluster for medical device and diagnostic products. 200 plus medtech companies are involved in the development, manufacture and marketing of a diverse range of products and services, including 100 indigenous companies. Exports of medical device and diagnostics products are valued in excess of € 7 billion annually, representing 9 per cent of Ireland’s total merchandise exports. The sector employs 25,000 people, the highest number of people working in the industry in Europe, per head of population. The Biomedical Engineering and Regenerative Medicine PhD Programme will involve significant interaction with the sector through the involvement of the Irish Medical Devices Association which represents 135 companies in the sector. Irish Medical Devices Association Director, Sharon Higgins said; “IMDA is very excited by the launch of the structured PhD Programme in Biomedical Engineering and Regenerative Medicine. The Programme, developed with close industry involvement, builds on the strengths of the highly active national and international research activities taking place in Ireland, to produce unique graduates with key skills required to further contribute to the economic growth of the medical technology sector in Ireland.” For further information please contact, Professor Peter McHugh, Director of the Structured PhD Programme in Biomedical Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (BMERM), NUI Galway College of Engineering and Informatics 091 493152 or email peter.mchugh@nuigalway.ie -Ends-

Monday, 13 June 2011

The Irish Conference of Medievalists celebrates its 25th anniversary with a conference from 24 to 26 June in the Moore Institute at NUI Galway. The conference reflects the current state of research in Medieval Studies, focusing on the history, archaeology, language and literature of medieval Ireland and Europe. This year’s speakers come from Ireland, USA, Scotland, England, France, Canada, Norway, Iceland and Morocco. The keynote speaker is Professor Alfred Smyth, an eminent historian of early Medieval Ireland and Britain, based at the University of Canterbury. There will be special plenary sessions on Irish and Norse literary connections and on the influence of Columbanus, the Irish missionary active in France and Northern Italy c. 590 to 615. NUI Galway’s Dr Pádraic Moran said, “The return of the 25th Irish Conference of Medievalists to NUI Galway presents an occasion to reflect on 25 years of scholarship in Irish Medieval studies, and recognises the strength of the NUI Galway’s own research community in this important area of our heritage.” A full programme and list of abstracts are available at the conference website: www.irishmedievalists.com. The conference is open to students, academics and members of the public. Visit www.conference.ie for information on registration. -ends-

Monday, 13 June 2011

The Minister for Children, Frances Fitzgerald, T.D., will officially open the fifth biennial conference of the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre at NUI Galway later this month. The conference, entitled Protecting Children Through Family Support, will take place over two days, running from 16 to 17 June, in the Áras Moyola Building at NUI Galway. Protecting Children Through Family Support will address the challenges and opportunities in effectively realising children and young people’s right to be cared for safely within their families. The central theme of the conference is how to develop family support interventions that are mindful of children and young people’s right to be protected and child protection (and related) interventions which acknowledge their right to be supported within the family. The theme will be explored through keynote presentations and practice seminars addressing Family Support in universal and preventative settings, through to ’early in the problem’ targeted support services, and child protection and alternative care provision. It will enable practitioners and other key stakeholders the space to listen, reflect and discuss current challenges facing services for children. The keynote speakers will include: Professor Harry Ferguson, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom; Professsor Bob Lonne, Queensland University, Australia; Helen Meintjes, University of Cape Town, South Africa; Dr Susan Bissell, UNICEF HQ, New York; Professor Mary Daly, Queens University Belfast; Carmel Devaney, NUI Galway; Professor Brid Featherstone, NUI Galway; Professor John Pinkerton, Queen s University Belfast; and special guest Róisín Ingle, journalist with the Irish Times. Speaking about the conference, UNESCO Chair and CFRC Director Professor Pat Dolan, commented “With the imminent publication of new child protection guidelines and the establishment of a new child protection agency, the need for services to work effectively with parents, families and communities is critical - social work interventions alone will not protect children.” For further information, or to register for the conference, visit www.conference.ie. -Ends-

Thursday, 9 June 2011

The NUI Galway and UL Alliance have announced an exciting new structured PhD programme in Philosophy of Art and Culture at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick. This unique, inter-institutional PhD programme, which will run for the first time in the 2011/12 academic year, has been developed collaboratively by the Philosophy departments at NUI Galway and Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, with the Department of History at the University of Limerick. By blending expertise from the three partner institutions, the highly innovative programme seeks to explore the philosophy of art and culture in an intellectually enriched setting, combining Analytic and Continental Philosophy. The programme offers students valuable insight into the theories and methodologies that are basic to research in all aspects of philosophy of art and culture. It aims to develop students’ skills as active researchers and their capacity to pursue research independently as well as their ability to work in collaboration with others and in broader networks of international research contacts. Students will be encouraged to formulate their work in such a way as to be presentable at conferences and colloquia at both the national and international level and will be instructed in how to teach and develop their research to international standards through specialist disciplinary education. The programme will be offered on an inter-institutional basis across the three partner Institutions. Students will therefore register at either Mary Immaculate College or NUI Galway, but will, under the guidance of their supervisors, take a number of core modules in each of the participating institutions and will choose from a number of other modules on offer. Depending on which modules individual students select according to their own needs, there may also be an element of distance education. Among the modules expected to be taught on the programme at Mary Immaculate College are: Philosophy and the Subject: From the Modern to the Post-Modern; Introduction to Hermeneutics; Literary Aesthetics and Research Methodology. Phenomenology of Art and Culture, History and Philosophy of Pictorial Space and Modernity and Knowledge will be taught at NUI Galway, while modules in Art and Cultures of Display and The Look of the Past will be offered at the University of Limerick. The MIC Director of the programme, Dr. Stephen Thornton, said: “This programme is the first of its kind in Ireland, and offers exciting new possibilities for the promotion of inter-institutional collaboration and research in the philosophy of Art and Culture, construed in a very broad and inclusive sense. We envisage that it will appeal to those who have an interest in Philosophy, Art, Literature and other aspects of contemporary culture and who wish to pursue that interest at the highest level, utilising the expertise available at the three participating institutions.” NUI Galway Professor of Philosophy, Paul Crowther said: “We live in a time when the meanings of art and culture are being subjected to radical questioning through globalisation and modes of new technology. Our programme negotiates this challenge. It does so by combining depth and breadth in philosophical thinking about the arts and the meaning of culture. By this means, it also connects philosophical aesthetics to community-life and the bigger world-picture.” Applicants will normally possess at least an upper second level (2.1) primary degree in Philosophy or a similar award from a cognate discipline from a recognised third level institution. Acceptance may be subject to interview and/or a sample of written work and is entirely at the discretion of the Programme Board. Candidates should be proficient in the use of English for academic purposes. A number of Assistantships will be available for applicants on a competitive basis. For a copy of the Programme Brochure, please contact: Ms Linda McGrath, The Arts Office, Mary Immaculate College: 061-204525 or linda.mcgrath@mic.ul.ie For further information on application procedures for the Structured PhD in Philosophy of Art and Culture, please contact: The Graduate Office at MIC: 061 204556 or hellen.gallagher@mic.ul.ie For application forms see: http://www.mic.ul.ie/programmes/Postgraduate/pdf/EnglishTaught%20Application.pdf. For application via NUI Galway visit http://www.nuigalway.ie/courses/research-postgraduate-programmes/structured-phd/philosophy-art-culture.html . For further information contact: Holly Ní Chomáin, Oifigeach Margaíochta & Caidrimh Poiblí/ Marketing & PR Officer Coláiste Mhuire gan Smál/ Mary Immaculate College. 061 204595 Holly.Cowman@mic.ul.ie www.mic.ul.ie. -ends-

Friday, 10 June 2011

The Irish State needs to defend its citizens’ rights to a home and protect them from the power of global financial corporations, according to NUI Galway’s Dr Padraic Kenna. His new book, Housing Law, Rights and Policy, provides the first comprehensive reference and critique of the legal and policy elements of the Irish housing system. According to Dr Kenna: “There is an urgent need to re-evaluate what housing law and policy is actually about. Housing and mortgage law must be more than the means of repaying irresponsible loans from international financial corporations. It must be more than disparate pieces of legislation, cases, policy reports and media commentaries on the state of the market. Housing as a means of personal, social and community development must be given a legal status”. Dr Kenna, who is a lecturer with the School of Law at NUI Galway, added: “Today, we need a balance in our housing law and policy. Now might be the time for a new set of representative national organisations of mortgage consumers, social housing tenants, and those who require adequate and affordable housing at Irish and EU level. The new book from Dr Kenna, Housing Law, Rights and Policy, brings together for the first time all the legal and policy approaches which could inform a new paradigm in Irish housing. The book examines the development of the Irish housing system, including contemporary policy perspectives. It also outlines and evaluates the law, rights and policy in relation to older people, people with disabilities, homeless people, State housing finance, private mortgages, housing rights, planning, housing standards, building regulations, local authority housing, private rented housing, apartments, multi-unit developments and estates, housing associations and co-operatives, rural housing and EU housing related law. Housing Law, Rights and Policy is published by Clarus Press. -ends-

Wednesday, 8 June 2011

The Discipline of Botany & Plant Science at NUI Galway will host the 2011 annual meeting of the Botanical Society of the British Isles, which will run from 18 to 21 June. This is the first time the meeting has been held in Galway and only the second time in Ireland in the Society’s 175 year history. The meeting is aimed at both academic and amateur botanists from throughout Britain and Ireland and will consist of the AGM and a variety of talks by leading experts. The 2011 meeting is taking place in Galway due to its close proximity to some of the best botanical regions in Ireland, including the Burren, Connemara and the Aran Islands. Day excursions to each of these will follow the meeting, led by local botanist experts. Founded in 1836, the Botanical Society of the British Isles is the leading society in Britain and Ireland for the study of our native flora, its distribution and taxonomy and has a membership of over 2,000. Keynote speakers will include: Dr Karen Molloy, NUI Galway Senior Researcher, who will deliver a talk on vegetation change and land-use history in the West of Ireland; Dr Sharon Parr, Burren Farming for Conservation Programme and John Conaghan, Ecological Consultant, will speak about the Burren and Connemara flora; and Dr Matthew Jebb, Director of the National Botanic Gardens, will deliver his talk on Irish archaeophytes (ancient plant introductions). Dr Micheline Sheehy Skeffington, Conference Organiser and Lecturer with the Discipline of Botany & Plant Science at NUI Galway, said: “It will surely be the first time so many botanists will be seen out botanising together anywhere in Ireland. They are coming because Galway is the gateway to three of the best botanical sites in Ireland and Britain. The interest is so large that we have had to divide them into three separate tours of the Burren and Connemara, with delegates all meeting in Carron, Co. Clare and Roundstone, Connemara for an evening meal.” For a full schedule visit http://www.bsbi.org.uk/meetings.html#Galway. Registration is now closed. -ends-

Tuesday, 7 June 2011

NUI Galway Executive MBA students are in New York this week on an International Study visit to Fordham University. The 25 NUI Galway students will embrace various lectures, teachings and topical presentations from the highly esteemed academics at Fordham University. The combination of on-campus tuition, key industry site visits and presentations will enable the students to receive full exposure to the most current thinking in Business Administration and Management from the US. This inaugural trip by the Executive MBA class has been heralded by Dr Ann Torres, Programme Director at NUI Galway, as: “A wonderful chance for the Executive MBA students to embrace this unique learning opportunity in New York City. Fordham has a wonderful reputation of producing the best and the added advantage of being so ideally located to the Financial District and the driving force of the US economy. The exposure of these Masters’ students to the exciting and unique academic offering that they will receive at Fordham will certainly offer them a distinct competitive advantage as Executive MBA graduates.” The students will be accompanied on their trip by Dr Torres and Dr Emer Mulligan, Head of the J. E. Cairnes School of Business & Economics at NUI Galway, as well as other members of the academic staff at the University’s Business School. Goldman Sachs in association with Galway University Foundation and NUI Galway Alumni Association are hosting a welcome reception for the NUI Galway Executive MBA class, enabling them to connect with successful NUI Galway graduates based in the US. This is an ideal opportunity for the current students to observe how successful NUI Galway graduates have been all over the world and the vital roles that they play in managing successful organisations in New York and indeed across the US. Suzanne Ryan, Executive MBA Student and Alumni Association Coordinator of the trip commented that: “This is the highlight of our academic studies to date; it is a wonderful opportunity for us as students of NUI Galway to get access to such esteemed lectures and wonderful facilities at Fordham University as part of our EMBA programme. As managers, we can actively learn from and directly apply this experience to our own work environments on our return.” Dr Emer Mulligan, Head of J.E. Cairnes School of Business & Economics said: “This exciting academic exposure for the Executive MBA students. We are proud of the esteem that the NUI Galway Business School is held in internationally, and I look forward to establishing greater links with Fordham University and other US Universities through innovative programmes in the future.” -Ends-

Tuesday, 7 June 2011

The School of Psychology at NUI Galway will host a one-day workshop entitled Mindfulness and Values in Acceptance Commitment Therapy. The workshop will take place in Áras na Mac Léinn on Wednesday, 15 June. The workshop will focus on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), an approach to psychotherapy and sound living, and will be delivered by Dr Kelly Wilson, co-developer of ACT and Associate Professor of Psychology with the University of Mississippi. ACT is based on emerging clinical science that demonstrates the broad utility of mindfulness and values in human wellbeing. It’s a hybrid therapy in terms of approach and technique, bringing together aspects of mindfulness, Gestalt therapy, and humanist-existential thought, all organised under a contemporary contextual behavioral framework. The ACT approach is about embracing necessary suffering in order to make more committed, life-affirming choices and live in accordance with deeply held personal values. Dr Wilson has devoted himself to the development and dissemination of ACT. Over the last 20 years, he has published numerous articles, chapters and books on ACT and the theory and empirical science underlying it and has led workshops in 21 countries. He has recently published a book, Mindfulness for Two, on the use of mindfulness in Acceptance Commitment Therapy and this workshop will present many of the methods and techniques discussed there. Speaking about the upcoming one-day workshop, Dr Ian Stewart, Lecturer with the School of Psychology at NUI Galway, said: “ACT is an increasingly popular form of psychotherapy in the United States and internationally. The key to its success is its basis in a unified empirically-based understanding of human psychology. Kelly Wilson is an expert in both the research and the therapeutic delivery of this approach. I’d thoroughly recommend this workshop to any clinician or professional for whom an understanding of human psychology is a key part of their work.” For further information on the workshop, or to register, visit www.conference.ie. -Ends-

Tuesday, 28 June 2011

A spin-out company from the Digital Enterprise Research Institute (DERI). at NUI Galway is bringing a new experience to music lovers. Seevl provides new ways to explore the cultural and musical universe of users’ favourite bands and artists, and lets them discover other connected ones, based on a rich set of connections that can exist. The service, free for its users, offers an online discovery user-experience, whether it is by browsing artists, labels or genres, or by combining these features together to find new ones. It also makes its data available to developers that want to build new applications on top of the platform. Dr Alexandre Passant, CEO and founder of Seevl, which is based in Galway City, Ireland, said: “We want to recreate, online, the music discovery experience that people have when reading records sleeves, trying to know every fact about their favourite artists, or engaging in conversations about the bands they like. To do so, we get data from various sources on the Web to build consolidated artist profiles, so that we can then enable semantic search and explanatory recommendations of related bands. For instance, if you like the Beatles, we will tell you that you may like the Quarrymen as it used to be the former band of most of their members! Combined with the social experience, these features make Seevl a unique music discovery service.” To enable its platform, Seevl brings together several years of R&D in Semantic Web and Linked Data technologies that have been researched at DERI, which is a Centre for Science, Engineering and Technology (CSET) established with funding from Science Foundation Ireland. Seevl also partners with OpenLink software to deliver its infrastructure. Stefan Decker, Director of DERI, said: “This shows that our research can have an impact not only in academia but also in the industrial world, and that DERI is focused on supporting spin out activity from NUI Galway”. For further information visit the public beta site at http://seevl.net/. -Ends-

Thursday, 2 June 2011

In cooperation with Queen’s University Belfast and Essex University, the Irish Centre for Human Rights at NUI Galway will host an international tripartite video-conference dedicated to the life and work of Professor Kevin Boyle. Professor Boyle was a renowned international human rights lawyer. The conference will take place on Saturday, 11 June, in the Moore Institute, NUI Galway. The conference is jointly organised by the three universities where Professor Boyle spent his career. A tribute to his work, the conference will focus on key themes in human rights with which he was most engaged. According to Professor William Schabas, Director of the Irish Centre for Human Rights at NUI Galway, “the conference will bring together three of the world’s leading human rights institutions and some of world’s leading human rights lawyers who were both friends and colleagues of Professor Kevin Boyle.” Professor Boyle began his career at Queen’s University Belfast where he was deeply engaged in the civil rights movement. In the late 1970s he joined NUI Galway where he launched the Irish Centre for Human Rights. The last two decades of his life were spent at the University of Essex, where he directed its Human Rights Centre. In addition to his enormous academic contribution, Professor Boyle was active with important international NGOs such as Article 19, of which he was the founding director. He served as a special advisor to Mary Robinson when she was High Commissioner for Human Rights. Professor Boyle appeared frequently before the European Court of Human Rights, winning important cases that dealt with a broad range of issues, including freedom of expression, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, and torture. Keynote speakers at the conference will include 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. For further information on the conference contact Nathan Derejko at the NUI Galway Irish Centre for Human Rights on nathanderejko@gmail.com. -Ends-

Thursday, 2 June 2011

Applications are being accepted immediately for 30 fully-funded PhD scholarships at NUI Galway. The Hardiman Research Scholarships are four-year structured PhD scholarships, and include full fees and an annual stipend of € 16,000. The deadline for applications is 19 June. The scholarships are focused on five key areas of research in which NUI Galway offers world-leading expertise: Biomedical Science and Engineering Galway is one of four global hubs for Medical Technologies. NUI Galway is Ireland’s leading university for Biomedical Science and Engineering, and home to the National Centre for Biomedical Engineering Science (NCBES). Major research clusters include REMEDI, Regenerative Medicine Institute, Cancer Biology and Therapeutics, Glycosciences and Biomedical Engineering, focused on Biomechanics and Functional Biomaterials. Informatics, Physical, and Computational Sciences The University supports research in mathematics, core physical sciences, and Information Technology leading to new technologies and contributing to the knowledge-based economy in Ireland. DERI, the Digital Enterprise Research Institute, is the world’s largest institute for semantic web research and is a SFI Centre for Excellence in Science and Technology. Environment, Marine, and Energy This research area covers environmental change and modelling, atmospheric studies, biodiversity and bioinformatics, marine science and law, and sustainable energy. At NUI Galway, researchers in the Ryan Institute work to assess the harmful environmental impacts associated with global and regional climate change. Applied Social Sciences and Public Policy Focused around the Centre for Innovation and Structural Change (CISC) and the Life Course Institute, NUI Galway is committed to improving understanding of innovation and social entrepreneurial strategies. Humanities in Context NUI Galway research examines areas such as disease, ageing and challenges to the environment from archaeological, literary or historical perspectives. The Moore Institute fosters the culture of research in this field at NUI Galway. NUI Galway President, Dr James J. Browne, said: “Our primary strategic aim is to attract the best students to NUI Galway and to support their development as innovative individuals who will contribute globally to economic, cultural and social development. The alignment of the scholarships to particular areas of research reflects our University’s growing international reputation in these fields of enquiry.” The Hardiman Research Scholarships offer opportunities for suitably qualified individuals to pursue a structured postgraduate degree by research. Structured PhD programmes, while retaining the focus on the advancement of knowledge through original research of traditional programmes, also provide professional development modules in subject-specific and transferable skills. Named in honour of James Hardiman, who was appointed the University’s first Librarian in 1849, the scholarship programme aims to produce highly focused PhD graduates from a pool of national and international candidates. Dean of Graduate Studies at NUI Galway Pat Morgan, said: “Throughout his life, James Hardiman displayed a tremendous breadth of interest, expertise and scholarship that has led to the naming of the award in his honour. His life and works will hopefully provide a source of inspiration to all those upcoming researchers who will be awarded the accolade of Hardiman Research Scholars”. Applications and more information are available to download at www.nuigalway.ie/hardiman-scholarships, with closing date for applications on 19 June and interviews taking place the week after. -ends-

Tuesday, 31 May 2011

NUI Galway has marked the 150th anniversary of the creation of Italy with an interdisciplinary one-day workshop focused on specific themes of debate. In 1861, with the creation of the Italian Kingdom, Italy became for the first time in her history a unified nation. The one-day workshop at NUI Galway, held on Friday, 27 May, was called ’Debating the Italian Nation - Historical and Cultural Perspectives’. NUI Galway staff from the disciplines of History and Italian were joined by prestigious overseas scholars to discuss the significance of the idea of the nation for contemporary Italian history, society, and culture. According to NUI Galway’s Professor Paolo Bartoloni, Head of Discipline, Italian Studies: “The 2011 anniversary is an occasion to reflect upon this important event in history and its significance from different perspectives. Our intention is to pay respect to an idea, but also to read that idea against and in relation to the mediation of time, memory, history and culture. The history of unified Italy is a history of struggles, of significant achievements, of great individual and popular successes, starting from the Wars of Independence, to the Resistance, to the economic boom. And yet it remains a history intercalated by divisions: the division between the rich and poor Italy, the Italy of the north and the Italy of the south. Professor Bartoloni added: “One of the most enduring historical catch-phrases to describe Italy is ’The Divided Italy’. This is a problematic division, a division that calls into question the very notion of unity. It is not by accident that time and time again attempts have been made to address and remove this division, an while it is imperative that economic, and power relation divisions, such as those still characterizing men and women relations, must be relentlessly tackled, it is also necessary that cultural differences be maintained.” Some 150 people study Italian at NUI Galway, including the BA in Italian and the BComm in Italian. The University is offering an evening Diploma in Italian in September 2011. -Ends-

Tuesday, 31 May 2011

NUI Galway is giving its graduates an opportunity to attend a unique graduate support event on Tuesday, 14 June from 9.30am to 1pm in the Careers Seminar Room, Arts/Science Building. The NUI Galway Graduate Job Search Boot Camp is a free event, organised by the Career Development Centre, and will focus on effective CVs, interview skills and using social media in the job search process. Interactive workshops will challenge participants to review their current approach to their job search and to apply the learning gained to enhance their job prospects. “We look forward to working again with our recent graduates and strongly encourage those who are looking for new ways to market themselves to come along and get their career back on track”, said John Hannon, Head of the Career Development Centre, NUI Galway. Places are limited to ensure individual attention and graduates are encouraged to book a place via the Careers website as soon as possible. To register or for the full programme, visit www.nuigalway.ie/careers. -Ends-

Tuesday, 31 May 2011

The Royal Irish Academy (RIA) has elected three of NUI Galway’s top academics for admission in recognition of their academic achievement. NUI Galway’s Professor Peter McHugh, Professor Colin O’Dowd and Professor Donal O’Regan were among twenty-three scholars in total from around Ireland who joined the ranks of Ernest Walton, Erwin Schrodinger, Seamus Heaney and Mary Robinson by becoming Members of the Royal Irish Academy. Membership is awarded to persons who have attained distinction in education and research. The NUI Galway professors work in the fields of Biomedical Engineering, Climate Physics and Mathematics. NUI Galway President, Dr James J. Browne, commented: “Research and academic excellence are the cornerstones of all that we do here at NUI Galway. My colleagues’ attainment of what is the highest academic honour in Ireland is testament to the calibre of our staff and research.” Professor Peter McHugh Peter McHugh is the Established Professor of Biomedical Engineering at NUI Galway. He is an internationally recognised expert in biomechanics, and works closely with clinicians and industry in order to develop mathematical models of human tissue and medical implants in an effort to understand their precise behaviour and to facilitate the design of new treatments and clinical procedures. Professor McHugh is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers of Ireland and a recipient of the Silver Medal of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland. His research is widely published and highly cited in high impact international journals. Professor Colin O’Dowd Colin O’Dowd is Personal Professor in the School of Physics and Director of the Centre for Climate and Air Pollution Studies at the Ryan Institute, NUI Galway. He is internationally recognised for his innovations, publications and international leadership in the fields of atmospheric aerosol formation, transformation and climate effects. Professor O’Dowd has been joint-chief editor of the premier atmospheric science journal (JGR-Atmospheres), and has been awarded Fellowship of the Institute of Physics, Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society, International Smoluchowski Award, and a DSc by the University of Manchester. Professor Donal O’Regan Donal O’Regan is a Personal Professor of Mathematics at NUI Galway. He is internationally recognised as an expert in the field of Nonlinear Analysis, and he has made valuable contributions to fixed-point theory for single and multivalued maps, critical-point theory, operator equations and inclusions, degree theory and oscillation theory. Professor O’Regan has published extensively in prestigious, high impact factor ISI journals, and his many books and papers are highly cited. He also serves on editorial boards for many international journals. The Royal Irish Academy, which was founded in 1785 and has now 455 members, is the principal learned society in Ireland. Those elected to membership are entitled to use the designation ’MRIA’ after their name. -Ends-

Tuesday, 31 May 2011

The Gender and Child Welfare Network, which is an international group of researchers and practitioners, will hold its fourth Interdisciplinary conference, and its first Irish conference, at NUI Galway on Wednesday, 15 June, 2011. The network has organised three successful conferences previously on the relationship between gender and child welfare. This conference will focus specifically on the relationship between gender, child protection and family support. The keynote speaker for the conference will be Norah Gibbons, Director of Advocacy with Barnardos. Ms Gibbons will be discussing her recent report on the Roscommon case, which highlighted the importance of understanding and working with gender issues in child protection and family support. In particular, the report noted that an assessment of the role of the father in such cases is very important. Generally, practices in child welfare can ignore the role of fathers, thus missing out on those who are at risk but also those who might be supporters in the family. Moreover, the focus on mothers can often be unfair in that they are expected to carry the burden of protecting children from violent or abusive men. Conference organiser and Professor with the School of Political Science and Sociology at NUI Galway, Professor Bríd Featherstone, said: “I am delighted that this event is taking place at NUI Galway and that such a distinguished group of speakers from so many countries will be contributing their insights on such an important topic.” This conference brings together experts from the US, Canada, UK, Germany and Ireland to discuss their research in the following areas: working with men and women around domestic violence; training social workers to engage fathers; men in social work; working with mothers in case of child sexual abuse; new approaches to working with violence by children and young people; and working with fathers where a child has a disability. For further information on the conference, or to register, visit www.conference.ie. -ends-

Saturday, 28 May 2011

The 9th Galway Symposium on Higher Education will take place in NUI Galway from 9 to 10 June in Áras Moyola. The 9th Symposium is being jointly organised by NUI Galway’s Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) and NAIRTL and this year the event is also the Annual Conference of NAIRTL. The title this year is Engaging Minds. Active Learning, Participation and Collaboration in Higher Education and will focus on aspects of student engagement in the learning process. Higher Education institutions are increasingly focusing on the importance of active student engagement in the learning process, moving away from the traditional stereotype of passive lectures and examination towards processes that involve participation, challenging intellectual problems, imaginative use of technologies and new approaches to large classes. Learners who take responsibility for their own development and who feel a sense of purpose and ownership are more likely to meet the aims of a graduate population that has high levels of critical thinking, flexibility and creativity. This international conference will address these topics. The two day symposium will be comprised of short papers, presentations, workshops, panel discussions and posters on themes such as students as co-creators of knowledge, civic engagement and social responsibility, the first year experience, engaging large classes and technology enhanced learning. Keynote speakers will include: Dr Lesley Gourlay, Director, Centre for Academic and Professional Literacies, University of London; Dr Derek Bruff, Assistant Director, Center for Teaching, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, USA; Elisabeth Dunne, Head of Project Development, University of Exeter; Professor Mike Neary, Dean of Teaching and Learning, University of Lincoln; Professor Guy Claxton, Co-Director Centre for Real-World Learning and Professor of Learning Sciences, University of Winchester; and Dr Paul Kleiman, Deputy Director of PALATINE and Senior Research Fellow, Lancaster University. 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.” Registration for the event is on the NAIRTL website NAIRTL website . The twitter hashtag for the event is #nairtl11. -Ends-

Monday, 30 May 2011

Professor Mike Clarke, newly appointed Adjunct Professor to the School of Nursing and Midwifery at NUI Galway, will give his inaugural lecture entitled Systematic Reviews for Natural Disasters and other Humanitarian Emergencies: Evidence Aid. The event will take place on Thursday, 9 June, at 6pm in the Lecture Theatre, Áras Moyola Building in NUI Galway. Professor Clarke is the Chair of Research Methodology at Queen’s University in Belfast and Director of the All-Ireland Hub for Trials Methodology Research. He is also the former Director of the UK Cochrane Centre. He has worked actively on dozens of systematic reviews in a wide range of areas, as well as on large randomised trials in topics such as maternity care, breast cancer, poisoning and stroke. He is the Podcast and Journal Club Editor for The Cochrane Library. Commenting on his upcoming lecture, Professor Clarke said, “I am honoured to be giving this lecture in NUI Galway, with its history of working with Non-Governmental Organisations and governmental agencies in humanitarian emergencies. In the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami on St Stephens Day 2004, a group of us within The Cochrane Collaboration saw an unmet and pressing need for systematic reviews to provide evidence for people and organisations planning for and responding to natural disasters. We established Evidence Aid, and the devastating natural disasters and humanitarian emergencies since then have confirmed the need to strengthen and expand this work. I look forward to sharing these plans in my lecture.” Professor Clarke has a strong commitment to improving access to systematic reviews for people living and working in low- and middle-income countries, in particular to make it easier for individuals and organisations who have to cope with natural disasters and other humanitarian emergencies to use systematic reviews in their decision making. Welcoming Professor Clarke s impending lecture, Professor Kathy Murphy, Head of School of Nursing and Midwifery at NUI Galway, commented: “I am delighted with Professor Clarke s appointment to the School as Adjunct Professor. He brings with him a wealth of experience at the forefront of health care research and evidence synthesis. Professor Clarke s work on Evidence Aid pools together evidence that can help those who are responding to crisis situations and is a strong example of how researchers can practically respond to natural disasters and other major healthcare emergencies.” To reserve a place, please contact Sheena Connolly at sheena.connolly@nuigalway.ie before Friday, 3 June. -Ends-

Saturday, 28 May 2011

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 were awarded 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. The SPHERE study was published in the British Medical Journal and focuses on the secondary prevention of heart disease in General Practice and was funded by the Health Research Board and the Irish Heart Foundation. 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. This work, published in the British Journal of Anaesthesia, investigated the efficacy of novel airway devices to reduce the in people at higher risk for difficult or failed tracheal intubation, which can cause serious harm in patients who are undergoing major surgery or who require artificial respiration in the Intensive Care Units. Professor Fidelma Dunne, Head of the School of Medicine at NUI Galway, commended both research teams on their achievements at the highly competitive event. -ends-

Monday, 30 May 2011

The School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures at NUI Galway will host an international conference on ecocentrism and ecocriticism entitled From Ego to Eco - Imagining Ecocentrism in Literature, Film and Philosophy. The conference will take place in the Huston School of Film and Digital Media at NUI Galway from 10 to 11 June. For many centuries, anthropocentric world views were crucial for the implementation of nature toward man s ends and played a part in creating the multifarious imbalances that today threaten ecosystems on a global scale. In film, literature and critical thought alternatives to anthropocentrism are being outlined, sensitivities awakened towards a global eco-consciousness that pays attention to the interdependence of species and ecosystems. A shift from imagining homo sapiens at the top of a hierarchy of existence or, alternatively, at the centre of global concerns to imagining a unity of being is taking place in literature, art and film through the ages. A unique and different inventory of artistic techniques, modes of expression, structures of realising this shift towards ecocentrism go hand in hand with an academic shift of focus. The aim of the conference is to bring together scholars from various disciplines within the Arts and Sciences and the Humanities to reflect on these changes and on ways in which works of art and mind break free from anthropocentric paradigms. Artistic visions and theoretical concepts that place humans in neighbourly relations with the 30 million surrounding species shall be central but also the discontents and possible dangers inherent in ecocentrism. Keynote speakers at the conference will include: Professor Lawrence Buell, Powell M. Cabot Professor of American Literature, Harvard University; Professor Hubert Zapf, Professor of American Literature, University of Augsburg, Germany; and Dr Thomas Duddy, Lecturer of Philosophy, NUI Galway. Commenting on the upcoming conference, Dr Tina-Karen Pusse, conference organiser and Lecturer in German at NUI Galway, said, “Our conference is meant to inaugurate green studies at NUI Galway and beyond. It will be an opportunity for people from all over the world to come together and reflect upon a paradigm shift. So far Homo Sapiens was placed at the top of our concerns and the center of all our values and structures. The leading question of this conference is: How can we implement ways of thinking (and hence acting) that lead to a paradigm shift and displace the Ego from its central position? How, from within the different disciplines of the so tellingly called ’humanities’ can this shift be understood and implemented? Which pieces of art, texts, ideas, can help us in this endeavour? This conference shall answer a few of these questions but first and foremost it will be an occasion of weaving a global network of scholars who have been working ceaselessly in the field of ’green studies’. We are certain that this is the way to go ahead and have already started to implement research alliances with universities such as University of Limerick and Trinity College Dublin, but also international networks with universities in Germany, Switzerland, Romania and the Czech Republic. We hope to strengthen these connections with the conference and to make NUI Galway the hub of these activities.” To register for the conference email tina-karen.pusse@nuigalway.ie or visit http://www.wix.com/nuigalway/from-ego-to-eco-conference. -Ends-

Friday, 27 May 2011

Professor Denis O’Hearn will be giving the 2011 Social Sciences Research Centre (SSRC) Annual Lecture in NUI Galway. During his talk, entitled Reassessing the Celtic Tiger: Its Rise and Fall, Professor O’Hearn will be speaking on his work in light of recent events with his talk. The talk, in association with the Department of Economics, will be on Thursday, 9 of June from 2 to 4pm in Lecture Hall 1 (CA111) in the Cairnes Building in NUI Galway. The SSRC Annual Lecture is a tradition of the Social Sciences Research Centre (SSRC), which is one of the longest running research centres in NUI Galway, established in 1965 in the then University College Galway. Professor O Hearn is Professor of Sociology, Binghamton University, State University of New York and has published extensively on Ireland, social movements, the sociology of economic change and much more. He is the author of Inside the Celtic Tiger, which cast an important critical eye on, and raised fundamental questions of, the former economic boom’s sustainability and its social impact. Professor Terry McDonough, Department of Economics, NUI Galway says “Denis O Hearn was one of the first analysts to argue that the Celtic Tiger had feet of clay. He is returning to Ireland for the first time since the economic crisis to give his informed take on the end of the Tiger. This will be of paramount interest to all those who have been following recent economic events.” The event is free and all are welcome. For further details about the talk, please go to the SSRC website: www.nuigalway.ie/ssrc or email Dr. Oliver Feeney on oliver.p.feeney@nuigalway.ie for more information. -Ends-

Wednesday, 25 May 2011

TG4 presenter and NUI Galway graduate Eimear Ní Chonaola today launched a new part-time degree in Applied Irish at NUI Galway. This is a new part-time degree which is being jointly offered by Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge and Roinn na Gaeilge. This is the first Arts degree in Irish to be made available on a part-time basis that will be delivered via blended learning. The Part-time Bachelor of Arts is a four-year degree programme in Applied Irish. The programme is delivered via blended learning, which involves a mixture of traditional face-to-face classes and internet-based learning. IT skills are not a prerequisite for entry to the programme. Appropriate IT training will be provided at regular intervals throughout the programme. The degree is aimed at mature students who may currently work full-time. Delivery by blended learning allows students with work and/or family commitments to study at times that suit their lifestyle. The BA syllabus will cover a wide range of subjects with special emphasis on language skills and on the Irish language in the contemporary world in a literary, professional, social and cultural context. Students will also take modules in applied areas such as translation and media studies. NUI Galway President, Dr James Browne, who was also present at the launch, stated: “I am delighted that this innovative new BA will be starting in the next academic year. NUI Galway endeavours to cater for adult learners who want to go back to education. This new part-time degree will offer the flexibility needed for people to continue their busy lives while at the same time gaining a University degree. I warmly welcome this degree.” For further information or to access an application form, please go to www.oegaillimh.ie/acadamh or www.oegaillimh.ie/gaeilge or contact Éamon Ó Cofaigh at 091 493802 or eamon.ocofaigh@oegaillimh.ie. -Ends-

Wednesday, 25 May 2011

NUI Galway has announced the graduands to be conferred with Honorary Degrees on Friday, 24 June 2011. Margaret Atwood will be 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. Seán Campbell will be conferred with a Degree of Doctor of Laws (honoris causa). Seán Campbell is CEO of Foróige. Seán O’Rourke will be conferred with a Degree of Doctor of Laws (honoris causa). Seán O Rourke has been the presenter of News at One since January 1995. He is also the presenter of The Week in Politics on RTÉ One television. Seán is an Arts graduate from NUI Galway. Professor Gio Wiederhold will be conferred with a Degree of Doctor of Science (honoris causa). Professor Wiederhold is Emeritus Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University. Commenting on the announcement of this year’s graduands, Dr James J. Browne, President of NUI Galway, said: “NUI Galway is fortunate to be associated with many outstanding honorary graduates throughout its history and those being honoured this year form a particularly distinguished group. Each has made an outstanding and distinctive contribution to the diverse fields of literature, youth affairs, journalism and computer science. NUI Galway is very pleased to be in a position to recognise these exceptional individuals”. -ends-

Monday, 23 May 2011

The Centre for Research on Occupational and Life Stress at NUI Galway are currently recruiting individuals to take part in their Family Research Project. The research study will examine the influence of family factors and social networks on blood pressure, and is funded by the Irish Research Council for the Social Sciences and Humanities. The researchers are looking for parents and children (aged 6 to 10 years) to take part. Director of CROLS, Dr. Brian Hughes explained, “Previous studies have suggested that our social networks and family relationships affect our blood pressure responses to everyday stressful situations. Some people feel that this may help explain why socially supportive relationships can be good for your health.” Ann-Marie Creaven, a lead researcher on the study, said “Social factors are strongly associated with blood pressure responses to stress and are therefore relevant to public health. Little research examines blood pressure in children and parents specifically. This project offers parents and children an opportunity to see how their blood pressure fluctuates in response to everyday events. The findings of this project should help to inform the development of improved health promotion strategies for family groups and highlight the factors particularly relevant for parents’ cardiovascular function.” For this project, parent-child pairs will visit the laboratory together at NUI Galway, for an hour-long session where their blood pressure will be monitored. Parents will also be invited to a public talk outlining the topics of the research to take place at the end of summer. For details on how to participate in the study, contact the principal investigator Ann-Marie Creaven at 091 493264, or 085 1855560, a.creaven1@nuigalway.ie, or visit http://CROLSfamilyproject.wordpress.com/. -Ends-

Saturday, 28 May 2011

2011 marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of Ave by Irish writer George Moore and also marks the Fifth International George Moore Conference at NUI Galway. The conference will take place from 3 to 6 June at a number of locations in Galway and Mayo. The focus of this conference will concern the relationship of George Moore to the Irish Revival, and to those involved in various social/cultural/political movements in Ireland and Europe during the first decade of the twentieth century. Keynote speakers for the conference include Professor James Pethica, Williams College; Professor Lucy McDiarmid, Montclair State University; Professor Mark Llewellyn, University of Strathclyde; and Professor Robert Welch, University of Ulster. The conference will be hosted at the Moore Institute at NUI Galway on Friday and Saturday (3/4 June). On Sunday, 5 June, participants will travel to Moore Hall in Co. Mayo where the conference will continue with another keynote address and a presentation on the history of Moore Hall by researchers on the Irish Landed Estates Project. On Monday, 6 June, the conference will travel to Coole Park, Gort, Co. Galway, where Professor James Pethica will deliver a paper on Moore’s collaborations at Coole. Speaking about the upcoming conference, Conference Coordinator Conor Montague, said: “The Moore Institute at NUI Galway is delighted to be hosting the Fifth International George Moore Conference on this, the 100th anniversary of the publication of Ave. We look forward to a thought-provoking and enjoyable event, where Moore’s life, work and legacy will be discussed, paying particular attention to the cultural contexts in which he produced his best material, and his relevance to modern literature and criticism. We also look forward to presentations on the Moore family, and visits to Moore Hall and Coole Park. We would like to express our gratitude to Fáilte Ireland and the Irish Landed Estates Project for their assistance in bringing this conference to Galway.” Full programme details and registration information is available at www.conference.ie. -Ends-

Monday, 23 May 2011

The J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics at NUI Galway will host a three day intensive course entitled Topics in Microeconometrics. The conference will run from 1 to 3 June in Áras Moyola, NUI Galway. The keynote speaker for the event is Professor William Greene, Professor of Economics and Toyota Motor Corp Professor, the Stern School of Business at New York University. Professor Greene s work is at the forefront of knowledge in this field. This course will introduce the conference delegates to methods and models used to analyse cross section and panel data. It will show the change from the linear regression model to specifications for binary and censored data, ordered choices, count data and multinomial choices. The discussion will present basic models for cross section data then introduce theory and methods for extensions to panel data and stated choice experiments. The primary objective of the conference is to provide intensive instruction on frontier techniques in econometrics used in the analysis of cross section and panel data. The conference will include approximately ten morning classroom meetings. In the afternoon of each day, there will be hands-on analysis using ’live’ data sets and a familiar computer package. Speaking about the upcoming conference, Dr Mary Silles, conference organiser and Lecturer in Economics at NUI Galway, said: “Econometrics is central to the production of research in all domains of applied research relevant to public policy. This conference demonstrates the University s capacity to lead a programme of training in econometrics at the highest international level.” For further information, or to register online, visit http://www.conference.ie/Conferences/index.asp?Conference=117. -ends-

Monday, 23 May 2011

The Centre for Disability Law and Policy at NUI Galway will hold its third International Summer School from 6 to 11 June. The School will be co-hosted by the Harvard Law School Project on Disability and will take place in Room MY129, Áras Moyola at NUI Galway. The purpose of this six-day summer school is to equip participants with the insights and skills necessary to translate the generalities of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities into tangible reform for persons with disabilities. The teaching faculty includes senior academics, practitioners and policy makers from around the world who have been directly and actively engaged in drafting and implementing the Convention. The participants will similarly be from around the world and will bring great diversity to the debate; including persons with disabilities, their families, civil society groups of persons with disabilities as well as advocates for disability law reform, lawyers, policy makers and policy analysts and others. The summer school is directed by Professor Gerard Quinn, Director of the Centre for Disability Law and Policy at NUI Galway and Professor Michael Stein, Professor of Law, Harvard Law School and Executive Director, Harvard Law School Project on Disability. Professor Quinn states that, “This summer school is all about power - restoring power to persons with disabilities over their own lives and giving them knowledge and skills based on the new UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities. Above all it belongs to the people affected and is structured in such a way as to enable people explore for themselves the relevance of the convention in their own lives and in the process of change.” Further information is available from the summer school website at: http://www.nuigalway.ie/cdlp/summer_school/welcome.html. -ends-

Thursday, 19 May 2011

Gearóid Moroney, a final year student in Electronic & Computer Engineering at NUI Galway has been awarded the Avaya Prize for the best final year project in Electrical & Electronic Engineering in the College of Engineering & Informatics at NUI Galway. 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 to 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. Dr Michael Keane, Senior Manager with Avaya in Galway commented: “Avaya are delighted to continue with the sponsorship of this prize. We have recently announced expansion plans involving 75 new positions, many of which will be filled by graduates with the types of technical skills that we have seen in abundance in all of these excellent projects. We were greatly impressed by the standard of all the projects which we reviewed but Gearóid’s project was particularly innovative. It involved the very challenging task of developing a number of different pieces of software and custom electronic hardware and then getting them all to work together to deliver a very novel and fun application.” -Ends-

Wednesday, 18 May 2011

A major electronic historical database will be launched at NUI Galway on Friday, 20 May. The database of the landed estates of Munster, c.1700-1900, contains information and a guide to research sources for 1,972 landed estates and some 3,230 estate houses in Munster.A similar database for Connacht was compiled three years ago and both provinces can now be accessed at the site www.landedestates.ie Since its launch, the Connacht guide has been ’visited’ by tens of thousands of researchers and interested parties from dozens of countries across the globe. This major research database was created by Senior Archivist, Brigid Clesham, with Marie Boran, Special Collections Librarian at NUI Galway as Adjunct Research Advisor. The Technical Advisor was Joe Desbonnet. The research project under which this database created was government-funded, as part of NUI Galway’s suite of research projects funded under PRTLI4. The Munster Landed Estates database will be officially launched by Dr Martin Mansergh, at the Moore Institute in NUI Galway on Friday, 20 May at 5.30 pm, during a Conference on Irish Landed Estates c.1700-1900, which will take place in the Moore Institute on Friday 20 and Saturday 21 May. Distinguished speakers at the Conference will include, Professor Joe Lee, Professor William Smyth, Dr Olwen Purdue, Caitriona Crowe, Finola Reid, Ciara Kerrigan and young researchers - Conor Montague, Joanne Mcentee and Laura Vickers- conducting research into aspects of the Irish landed estate and its influence. The conference programme may be consulted on the Moore Institute website. Commenting on the significance of this new major research database, NUI Galway’s historian Professor Gearóid Ó Tuathaigh, academic Director of the Project, said: “This major research resource will be invaluable in assisting and supporting researchers -academics and members of the general public - working on aspects of the social, economic, political and cultural life of Ireland, notably rural society, from the early eighteenth century to the eve of the Great War”. -Ends-

Tuesday, 17 May 2011

NUI Galway’s James Hardiman Library will host renowned photographer Tarquin Blake’s Abandoned Mansions of Ireland exhibition until Friday, 24 June. Opening today, this photographic project spans three years of research and documentation and contains more than 40 images of the lost estate houses of Ireland. Blake documents the end of the landed aristocracy in Ireland and the demise of their country mansion houses. His beautiful, haunting images of crumbling ruins convey an indefinable beauty in the decay - in the abandonment. The images are accompanied by history and folklore, telling of troubled times and private hardship. The exhibition also features two audio visual presentations. The exhibition will be launched on Friday, 27 May at 4pm by Professor Gearoid Ó Tuathaigh of NUI Galway’s Moore Institute. Professor Ó Tuathaigh is Project Leader of Landed Estates and Country Houses in Connacht c1700-1914, a major historical database. Tarquin Blake will be present at the launch. Also on display will be items from the James Hardiman Library’s landed estates collections. In 2010, Collins Press published a book of Tarquin Blake’s photographs Abandoned Mansions of Ireland. More photographs can be viewed on his website: www.AbandonedIreland.com. Over the summer period, the Library will be open until 10pm Monday to Thursday, 5.30pm Fridays, and 10 am to 5pm Saturdays. Admission to the exhibition is free. -Ends-

Tuesday, 17 May 2011

International experts will gather at NUI Galway later this month to further the scientific knowledge-base surrounding microRNA profiling. MicroRNAs are a class of newly discovered molecules within our cells that control the activity of genes. The regulation and function of microRNAs is still poorly understood, but they are required for the normal functioning of our bodies. When their behaviour is perturbed, disease, such as cancer, can arise. As a result, there is enormous interest worldwide in developing microRNAs as diagnostic markers and even as therapeutics to treat a range of conditions. The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) practical course entitled ’MicroRNA-profiling, from in-situ hybridization to next-generation sequencing’ takes place at NUI Galway from 21 to 27 May. 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). Research groups in the Schools of Medicine and Science (headed by Professor Michael Kerin, Dr Linda Howard, Dr Nicola Miller and Dr Sanjeev Gupta, amongst others) are investigating microRNAs. Their work is focussed on diagnostics for cancer, regenerative medicine and a broad range of basic research areas from cell death to cell cycle regulation. These NUI Galway researchers will support a team of international experts who will come 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. The course will bring to NUI Galway basic and clinical researchers with interests ranging from marine algae, and viniculture to regenerative medicine and cancer therapy to learn the latest advances in microRNA techniques. The course instructors are drawn from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, the Cambridge Cancer Centre, University of Cambridge and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and include Dr Eric Miska and Dr Greg Hannon, two very highly respected scientists in the microRNA field. The core of the team are experts from the EMBL-Gene Core, led by Dr Vladimir Benes who will share their extensive experience in techniques ranging from microarrays, in situ hybridization and RNA sequencing. Dr Howard Fearnhead, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, School of Medicine at NUI Galway said, “MicroRNAs are small RNAs that are critically involved in controlling an enormously wide range of cellular processes through direct posttranscriptional regulation of gene expression. The realisation that these, and other small RNAs, are so important has driven an explosion of research activity that aims to identify, characterize and understand microRNA regulation and function. With this increase in interest comes the need to provide training in the cutting edge research technologies. The course at NUI Galway fulfils this requirement very well by bringing together highly motivated non-experts and a team of international experts to study, discuss and share a fascinating area of modern cell biology.” The meeting is co-organised by Dr Howard Fearnhead, NUI Galway, in collaboration with Dr Vladimir Benes, and Dr Mirco Castoldi, EMBL-Heidelberg, and Dr Donal O’Carroll, EMBL-Montorotondo. -Ends-