October 2002

Release date: 29 October, 2002 NUI Galway Conference to address Gender Matters in Higher Education Fifty-seven per cent of all full-time students are women. Yet, when it comes to employment whether in the public or private sector, women's representation in senior educational or managerial positions is well below this figure. For example, according to the HEA (Higher Education Authority), in 2000 in Higher Education, only 7% of Professors, 8% Associate Professors and 17.5% Senior Lecturers were female, and in the Private Sector the figures are similar. According to the IBEC National Survey 2001, of Chief Executives, 8% were female and Senior Managers/Heads of Functions 21% were female. A conference entitled "Gender Matters in Higher Education", which will address these issues will take place in NUI Galway on the 8th - 9th November, 2002. The conference will be officially opened by Michael D. Higgins T.D., in the Ó Tnúthail Theatre, Arts Millennium Building on Friday, 8 November at 7.00 p.m. The keynote speaker will be Professor Áine Hyland, Vice-President of University College, Cork. Education is a human right and an essential tool for achieving the goals of equality, development and peace (Beijing Platform for Action, paragraph 69). It is the single most important factor associated with demographic and economic change for women in Ireland. This is a pattern repeated globally. Investing in formal and non-formal education and training for girls and women has proved to be one of the best means of achieving sustainable development and economic growth. Despite the appearance of gender neutrality, education within Ireland is still highly gendered. Strong differences are apparent between managers and managed, in choice of career studies and in the teaching and medical professions. The NUI, Galway conference will highlight the current gender discrimination in the higher education sector for staff and students and discuss initiatives that could address the imbalance, concluding with a 'Plan for Action' session. Ends Information from: Máire Mhic Uidhir, Press Officer, NUI Galway. Tel. 091-750418

NUI, Galway Law Lecturer, Donncha O'Connell, has been appointed to the newly-established EU Network of Experts on Fundamental Rights, which held its inaugural meeting in Brussels last week. The network was established by the European Commission in September 2002 (on foot of a European Parliament Resolution of July 2001), following a competitive tender process. The network consists of legal experts who are authorities on human rights from each of the EU Member States. It is entrusted with the preparation of an annual report on fundamental rights in the European Union and must assist the Commission and Parliament in the adoption of a human rights policy within the Union. It will contribute to an evaluation of the implementation of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights both by the EU institutions and by the Member States over a five-year period. Donncha O'Connell has recently returned to a lecturing position at the Law Faculty, NUI Galway, following a three-year leave of absence in which he was the first full-time Director of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties. He is currently a board member of Amnesty International Irish Section and of the Free Legal Advice Centres (FLAC) Ltd. but will serve on the network of experts in an independent capacity. Ends Information from: Máire Mhic Uidhir, Press Officer, NUI Galway Tel. 091-750418

Release date: 14 October,2002 Tissue Engineering - the new Frontier of Medical Science Galway seminar to explore the health and employment potential of Tissue Engineering Advances in medical science in recent years have been quite extraordinary, enhancing quality of life and human longevity to a degree unimaginable ten years ago. One area, still in its infancy in Ireland in terms of research, but with huge potential for patient care is that of tissue engineering. Two of the world's foremost authorities on tissue engineering will address a seminar entitled 'The Present Future of Tissue Engineering', which begins at 4.00 p.m., in the Aula Maxima, NUI Galway, on Tuesday, 5 November, 2002. Professor Robert Nerem of the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA and Professor David Williams, Professor of Tissue Engineering at the University of Liverpool, will share their knowledge and expertise in a subject which carries new hope for patients worldwide. The seminar is being organised by the Bio-Medical Engineering Division of the Institute of Engineers in Ireland. Tissue engineering is an interdisciplinary field that applies the principles of engineering and the life sciences to the development of biological substitutes that restore, maintain, or improve tissue function. The ability to engineer or regenerate lost tissue due to injury, aging, disease, or genetic abnormality holds exciting promise. With the development of complex three-dimensional tissue constructs, scientists are beginning to meet clinical needs. Not only does tissue engineering provide the potential to radically improve many medical therapies but it also involves significant financial savings, as for example, in organ transplantation. In standard organ transplantation, a mismatch of tissue types necessitates lifelong immuno-suppression, with its attendant problems of graft rejection, drug therapy costs and the potential for the development of certain types of cancer. In addition, there is the risk of rejection of the tissue and the surgery itself always carries some risk. To date, progress in tissue engineering has achieved the following successes: Design and growth of human tissues outside the body for later implantation to repair or replace diseased tissues. The most common example of this form of therapy is the skin graft, which is used in the treatment of burns. Implantation of cell-containing or cell-free devices that induce the regeneration of functional human tissue. This approach relies on the purification and large-scale production of appropriate 'signal' molecules, like growth factors to assist in tissue regeneration. In addition, novel polymers are being created and assembled into three-dimensional configurations, to which cells attach and grow to reconstitute tissues. An example of this is the biomaterial matrix used to promote bone re-growth for periodontal disease. Development of external or internal devices containing human tissues designed to replace the function of diseased internal tissues. This approach involves isolation of cells from the body, using such techniques as stem cell therapy, placing them on or within structural matrices and implanting the new system inside the body or using the system outside the body. Examples of this approach include repair of bone, muscle, tendon and cartilage as well as cell-lined vascular grafts and artificial liver. The seminar will feature a panel discussion with experts in the fields of medicine and engineering in Ireland, including the National Centre for Biomedical Engineering Science at NUI Galway. Ends Information from:Máire Mhic Uidhir, Press and Information Officer, NUI Galway. Tel: 091 750418. Mobile: 087-2986592

Release Date: 8 October, 2002 VIRUS REACHES IRISH SEALS MORBILLIVIRUS INFECTION has been confirmed in the carcase of a harbour seal, one of four found dead at the Aran Islands. Dr Jimmy Dunne and Jane Gilleran of the Zoology Department, NUI Galway examined carcases reported by Dr Michael O Connell at Inishmore on 21st September. They forwarded tissue samples for analysis to Dr. Seamus Kennedy, Veterinary Sciences Division of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for Northern Ireland. That analysis has confirmed the presence of morbillivirus infection in tissues of one of the seals. This is the first confirmation of morbillivirus infection in a seal in Ireland during the current European epidemic. About 15,000 seals have died in the waters of continental Europe in the past five months including approximately 1,900 along the east coast of England. Last week, tests carried out in the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development laboratory in Belfast indicated that the virus had spread to the seal population on the east coast of Scotland. The last major seal epidemic hit northern Europe in 1988 and killed over 18,000 seals, including hundreds along the coast of Northern Ireland. No cases were evidently identified from the Republic at that time. It is likely that Irish seals now have little immunity against the virus and are at risk of large-scale mortality. Previous surveys have estimated the total number of Irish harbour seals to be about 2000. The Zoology Department at NUI Galway has been studying the biology of Harbour seals in the Galway Bay area since 2000 and has calculated its population to number at least 400 individuals. The seal virus has never been reported to cause illness in humans. However, dying or dead seals may be more accessible to people resulting in an increased risk of infection by other organisms carried by seals, particularly through infected bites or wounds. Members of the public are therefore advised not to approach sick seals or carcases which may be washed ashore during the present high tides. It is likely that the seal virus could cause illness in dogs that have not been vaccinated against distemper. Dogs should therefore be kept away from sick seals or carcases. Sightings of carcases should be reported to either Duchas (Tel. 01-6473000) or the Irish Seal Sanctuary (Tel. 01-8354370). Ends Information from:Máire Mhic Uidhir, Press Officer, NUI, Galway. Tel.091 750418

Release Date: 8 October, 2002 NUI, Galway appoints Sean-Nós Singer in Residence The Centre for Irish Studies at NUI, Galway has announced the appointment of Bríd Ní Mhaoilchiaráin to the position of Sean-Nós Singer in Residence, the first such appointment at the University. In welcoming the appointment, Dr Louis de Paor, Director of the Centre for Irish Studies, said this latest appointment represents an important extension of the dynamic connection between the University and the performing arts. 'It is a timely acknowledgement of the tradition of Sean-Nós singing as a highly developed and sophisticated art form which is particularly strong in the Connemara Gaeltacht. Through her work at the University and in the wider community, particularly in the Gaeltacht, Bríd Ní Mhaoilchiaráin will bring further distinction to that great tradition.' A native on An Aird Thoir in Carna, Bríd cites her great-uncle, Joe Heaney, her granfather Máirtín Éinniú and her mother Bairbre as formative influences on her singing style. Her first foray into the world of competitive singing was at the inaugural Féile Joe Éinniú in 1986 where she was awarded Corn Joe Éinniú for the most outstanding young singer at the festival. Since then she has won numerous awards including Corn Mháire Nic Dhonnchadha, Corn Sheáin Óig Uí Thuama and Corn Tom Pháidín Tom. She was runner-up in Comórtas na mBan at the Oireachtas Festival in 2000. Over the coming twelve months, Bríd will participate in a series of performances and workshops at the Centre for Irish Studies and at Áras Shorcha Ní Ghuairim in Carna and at other venues throughout Connemara and the Aran Islands. She will also record her own work and that of other singers. This project is funded by Ealaín na Gaeltachta, Údarás na Gaeltachta and An Chomhairle Ealaíon in association with the Centre for Irish Studies at NUI, Galway. For further details, contact Louis de Paor at louis.depaor@nuigalway.ie. Phone: 091 512198 Ends Issued by: Máire Mhic Uidhir, Press Officer, NUI, Galway. Tel. 091 750418

Release Date: 7 October, 2002 Public Lecture on Atlantic History at NUI Galway The new Centre for the Study for Human Settlement and Historical Change at NUI, Galway will host its inaugural public lecture entitled On the Contours of Atlantic History on Thursday, 17 October, 2002. The lecture will take place at 8.00 p.m., in the Ó Eocha Theatre, Arts Millennium Building. Professor Bernard Bailyn, Director of the International Seminar on the History of the Atlantic World, Harvard University will deliver the lecture. All are welcome. Bernard Bailyn has been the most distinguished of the senior historians at Harvard University over the past half century; a fact acknowledged by his appointment in 1981 as the Adams University Professor at Harvard. More recently, he has established and directed the highly successful Harvard International Seminar on the History of the Atlantic World. Professor Bailyn s many books have had an Atlantic dimension starting with his influential study of "New England Merchants in the Seventeenth Century". After this he immersed himself in the study of the pamphlets which were published to justify the challenge to British authority that culminated in the American Revolution of 1776. The pinnacle of Bailyn s endeavours on this subject was his book "The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution", which was awarded both the Pulitzer and Bancroft Prizes in 1968. More recently, he has been engaged in a massive study on emigration described in his book "The Peopling of British North America". The first instalment of this undertaking has appeared under the title "Voyagers to the West: Emigration from Britain to America on the Eve of the Revolution". Besides these and many other books, Bernard Bailyn has been an influential and successful teacher, and has lectured extensively throughout the world. NUI, Galway was awarded €2.5 million by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) to establish the Centre for Human Settlement and Historical Change. The award in 2000 under the HEA Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions was the largest amount ever given to a university for humanities research. A new purpose-built research centre, which will be officially opened early in 2003, has been built. The Centre will contribute significantly to the understanding of the economic, social, cultural and political factors at work in Ireland, Europe and throughout the world in earlier centuries as well as in the recent past. The Centre will build on existing expertise in NUI, Galway in different areas, including History, Archaeology, Irish Studies and a range of literatures and languages. It will focus the work of some two-dozen established academics and bring within its new dedicated building some thirty young doctoral and post-doctoral researchers. A programme of research into the historical creation of colonies, cultural landscapes and planter societies around the world and in Ireland itself will be carried out at the Centre. It will also research the new worlds in the Atlantic and Pacific produced by Europeans on the move - new worlds that profoundly changed the old world of Europe. Ends Information from: Máire Mhic Uidhir, Press Officer, NUI, Galway. Tel. 091-750418

Release date: 7 October, 2002 Leading Architect to give public talk at NUI Galway Following on from Andrew Folan s highly popular opening talk last Tuesday night NUI, Galway s Talking Through Their Arts series, continues with a presentation by award-winning architect, Paul Kelly at 8pm on Tuesday, 15 October. The talks take place on Tuesdays, at 8pm, in the Ó hEocha theatre at the Arts Millennium building, NUI, Galway. Tickets at €4 / €2 per session are available on the door. Paul Kelly is a partner in Fagan Kelly Lysaght Architects who established practice in 1998. They received joint first prize for their entry to the Smithfield Urban Design Competition in 1991 and second prize in the Third International Yokohama Competition. Most recently they have been shortlisted in the Kildare and Monaghan Civic Offices Competitions and received second prize in the Wolfe Tone Park Design Competition. They have been exhibited, both individually and together, and have received several Architectural Association of Ireland Awards and an AAI Special Mention as well as RIAI Regional Awards 2002, for the Stacey House and Silicon and Software Systems. One of their most recent, exciting design projects has been the Esat Tower at Park West, Dublin. While the primary function of the tower is to support a mobile phone antenna, the architects have given an acceptable face to a potential health hazard through good design, which is carefully mannered and thoughtfully articulated. Paul Kelly will discuss his influences and the hallmarks of good, contemporary design. The series also features distinguished artists: Rita Duffy, Brian Maguire and Maud Cotter. Each works in a variety of media including screenprint, stained glass, public sculpture, painting, video and new technologies. These talks give voice to the individual creative experience and, in so doing shed light on issues in contemporary Irish art. The artists will survey their own work using slides, discuss their art making process and share their thoughts on Irish art today. Details on the wide range of Autumn/Winter arts activities are available from the NUI, Galway Arts Office webpage: www.nuigalway.ie/arts_office Ends Information from: Máire Mhic Uidhir, Press Officer, NUI Galway. Tel. 091 750418