November 2005

ICHEC, Ireland s first national high-performance computing facility, joins prestigious Top500 list at rank 205 Ireland s first dedicated supercomputing facility, the Irish Centre for High-End Computing (ICHEC), has shot straight to the upper half of the Top500, a definitive listing of the world s fastest supercomputers. ICHEC s ranking at 205 is a major achievement for the Centre, which was officially opened just three months ago, to provide the vast computational facilities increasingly in demand by Irish researchers. "The Top500 list has been published semi-annually since 1993, and Irish computers have only appeared in the list twice, always near the bottom," said Dr. Andy Shearer, It Department of NUI Galway and Director of ICHEC. "ICHEC s ranking at 205 is a tremendous achievement, and shows the importance of the Government s investment into this kind of ICT infrastructure." Now in its 26th edition, the Top500 is recognised by the global IT industry as the world s most definitive listing of supercomputing facilities. The list is in a constant state of flux, as high-end computing facilities all over the world continue to expand their capacity. The facilities listed at 500 in the current list, for example, would have ranked at 73 just a year ago. "With this pace of development, it s essential that Ireland put sustained investment into high-performance computing resources, if we want to keep Irish scientists on a competitive footing with their international peers," said Dr. Shearer. "ICHEC s aim is to develop a proper infrastructure for Irish computational science, and this will only be possible if we invest in more powerful machines. I would like to see us reaching the top 50." Non-commercial Irish researchers are already using ICHEC facilities to undertake dozens of computationally intensive projects in areas including climate modelling, comparative genomics, molecular research, astrophysics modelling and simulation and medical implants research. ICHEC plays an essential role in fulfilling the Government s objective of substantially increasing Ireland s R&D activity by 2010, including a doubling of R&D undertaken in the higher education and public sectors. ICHEC is supported by a grant from Science Foundation Ireland and by contributions from two high-capacity computing projects funded by the Higher Education Authority s Programme for Research in Third-Level Institutions -- TCD s Institute for Information Technology and Advanced Computation (IITAC) and CosmoGrid. "CosmoGrid is delighted with this ranking, which vindicates the decision to pool our own Higher Education Authority funds with those of ICHEC to obtain a substantially more powerful system than either of us could have obtained on our own," said Professor Luke Drury, Head of the School of Cosmic Physics at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. Ends

Thousands of second-level students and their parents from all over the country are expected to attend NUI Galway's annual Open Day which will take place this year on Thursday 1st December, from 9.00am to 3.00pm. For students – whether they are Second-Level, Access or Mature – this day presents the ideal opportunity to obtain the kind of in-depth information about the courses and outcomes that they are looking for. Academic staff from the University's 52 departments will be available at the exhibition stands to answer queries and provide detailed subject and course information. "The range of courses on offer is immense, and Leaving Cert students often find it difficult to choose the options best suited to them," says Michael Howley, NUI Galway's Schools Liaison Officer. "Open Day provides the perfect opportunity for students to meet academic staff and postgraduate students, who will discuss course content, answer queries and provide advice at the stands in Áras na Mac Léinn/Student Centre and in the Arts/Science building." He explains why NUI Galway is the first choice option for many students when completing their CAO forms: "Prospective students will be made aware of our world-class teaching and research – the University takes pride in being student-centred. And what's more they will find out that student life in Galway is second to none!" "Galway is a relatively small city," he continues, "but big on atmosphere. The University campus is centrally located and accommodation is both plentiful and reasonably priced. Students who choose NUI Galway fall in love with the West and always treasure their student days here." On their arrival at NUI Galway on 1st December, students are requested to come to the assembly point in the Quadrangle Building. They will then go to the Martin Ryan Institute where they will register for the Open Day and enter a prize draw. Top prizes include Apple iPods. There will be introductory lectures and exhibition areas to enjoy. Guided tours of the campus will be provided throughout the day. Included are visits to the following: Clinical Science Institute (Medical School) Arts Millennium Building Áras na Gaeilge Student Accommodation Sports Facilities as well the University's newest buildings: the J.E. Cairnes Graduate School of Business and Public Policy and Áras Moyola, which accommodates the Centre for Nursing Studies, Therapies and the Department of Political Science and Sociology Laboratory demonstrations will be held in the Departments of Physics and Chemistry. Students will also have the opportunity to visit the Information Technology Labs, and the University's Applied Languages Centre. NUI Galway continues to provide the best academic options and facilities for its students, thus maintaining its position at the forefront of education in Ireland. Due for construction is a €53m. Engineering School, while plans are well advanced for the construction of a new Student Centre which will include a swimming pool. Ends

The Faculty of Law at NUI Galway has announced the appointment of Mrs Justice Catherine McGuinness to the position of Adjunct Professor of Law. Mrs. Justice McGuinness is a judge of the Irish Supreme Court and President of the Law Reform Commission. A former senator representing the University of Dublin, Trinity College panel in Seanad Éireann, Mrs McGuinness has also acted as the Chairperson of the Forum for Peace & Reconciliation. Welcoming the appointment, Marie McGonagle, Head of the Law Department and Director of the LL.M in Public Law said: "Given her dynamic track record as both a judge and legislator, it is especially appropriate that Mrs. Justice McGuinness will be associated with our new LL.M programme in Public Law. The students on that programme – which is the first of its kind in Ireland – will have the benefit of her extensive knowledge and experience". The Dean of Law, Donncha O'Connell, said the Faculty was honoured that a person of Mrs. Justice McGuinness's calibre was willing to accept the University's offer of an Adjunct Chair for a three-year period. He added that he looked forward to a fruitful period of engagement between the academic staff and student community in NUI Galway and an eminent member of the Irish judiciary. "This will cement the already healthy relationship between the Faculty and judiciary developed in recent years through the Faculty's involvement in editing and producing the Judicial Studies Institute Journal" he said.

The Irish Universities Association today announced the successful funding of research in Irish Universities and Industry to the tune of €10million in the current EU Marie Curie funding round. This brings the total amount of funding, secured by Ireland from the European Commission's highly competitive Marie Curie Programme, to €42 million. The funding will expand Ireland's R&D capability by attracting a total of 220 top class researchers from around the world. The current round represents 16 funded projects across eight Irish organisations: Cellix Ltd., Sigmoid Ltd., Duolog Ltd., Celtic Catalysts Ltd., University College Cork, University College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin and NUI Galway. The projects span a large variety of disciplines, from life sciences to nanotechnology and also include the humanities. The significance of this success for Irish Research cannot be understated, as the contract values represent almost one quarter of the total available fund for all Europe under this scheme. The Irish Universities Association (IUA) provides a national support service for industry and academia in preparing and submitting proposals to this programme. Harnessing academic know-how in accessing European funds is helping Irish Industry in building R&D capability. Dr. Conor O'Carroll, head of the Research Office at the IUA said: " This is an example of where universities and companies working together can demonstrate the high quality of R&D in Ireland by being more successful than any other European country in securing funding from this highly sought after funding." The stated Government policy is to increase research in Irish industry. In this context, the Irish Universities Association undertook to actively promote the Marie Curie Programme to companies. As a direct result, 20% of the total €42million has been won by Industry here. This proves that despite Government concerns about the decreasing involvement of Irish Industry in FP6, the Marie Curie Programme is bucking this trend. The Marie Curie Programme covers the salary costs of researchers hired for the project and contributes to research, management costs and overheads. Contract values vary between €150,000 for a single researcher up to €1.5million for a research team. The importance of this funding for research is illustrated by an awardee, Dr. Michael Madden of the Laboratory for Biomedical Data Mining in NUI Galway, "It will contribute to NUI Galway's capacity to perform research, and help to improve the competitiveness within the knowledge economy of the Objective 1 Region in which Galway is located. It will also enhance our interactions with other European research institutes, and help promote research as a profession. We owe a debt of gratitude to the IUA in their assistance on how to structure a proposal and their advice most certainly contributed to its success". Significant opportunities still remain for research organisations in the Marie Curie Programme with more than €450million available in early 2006. The Irish Universities Association will strongly support potential applicants in industry, universities and institutes of technology to maximise further success. Ends

The presenter of RTE's Mooney Goes Wild nature programme, Eanna Ní Lamhna, is to deliver a public lecture on sustainable development at the Environmental Change Institute at NUI Galway on Monday 21st November at 8.00pm. The well-known environmentalist is the current president of An Taisce and will deliver her talk on 'A Future for Our Past' at the O'Tuathail Theatre in the Arts Millennium Building. The event is free and members of the public are welcome to attend. An experienced radio and television broadcaster and a fluent Irish speaker, Eanna is in Galway for this year's Science and Technology Festival which runs from the 21st to the 25th November. Her talk will focus on how we can reconcile the growing prosperity in Ireland and the development this brings, with conserving our environmental heritage and countryside. She has been invited by the Director of the Environmental Change Institute, Professor Emer Colleran, to deliver what is the third in a series of topical lectures. "Eanna is a very charismatic speaker and is well-known for her commitment to sustainable development. The Environmental Change Institute is delighted to host her talk", says Prof. Colleran. The Environmental Change Institute (ECI) at the National University of Ireland, Galway was founded in September 2000 to develop a fundamental understanding of the processes involved in and the key indicators of, environmental change. It brings together the knowledge, skills and experience of researchers from a wide variety of relevant disciplines. The result is a focused, interdisciplinary and cross-faculty centre at NUI, Galway, dedicated to environmental science and environmental change research.

Photographs from the Congested District Board Collection and the Connemara Album An unusual photographic exhibition depicting life in the west of Ireland in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, will provide Galway audiences with a rare glimpse of a by-gone era. The exhibition, entitled Regeneration: the West of Ireland, 1890-1914, will take place in the James Hardiman Library, NUI Galway from Tuesday 8 November to Friday 16 December 2005 and is a joint event with the National Photographic Archive. The exhibition draws upon the National Photographic Archive's Congested Districts Board Collection and Connemara Album, which dates from 1904-1916. Both sets of photographs were created to record the difficulties facing economic development in Mayo, Galway and Donegal between 1906 and 1914 and in Connemara in 1892. They provide a fascinating view of the west of Ireland one hundred and more, years ago. These images are supplemented by photographs from the Balfour Album of 1892, which is part of the James Hardiman Library's Special Collections. The Congested Districts Board was established in 1891 with the primary aim of alleviating poverty in the most disadvantaged places along the western seaboard. Its work continued until 1923 when the Land Commission took over some of its functions. The collection of photographs comprises 105 images, 40 of which can be attributed to the well-known Belfast photographer, Robert J. Welch, documenting congested districts along the west coast. The Balfour Album depicts scenes from Galway and Connemara from the early 1890s. Created by Robert J. Welch, it was a gift to the former Chief Secretary of Ireland, Arthur J. Balfour in recognition of his support for the building of the Galway-Clifden Railway. Exhibition: Regeneration: the West of Ireland, 1890-1914 Location: Foyer and ground floor of the James Hardiman Library, NUI Galway Duration: Tuesday 8 November - Friday 16 December 2005 Opening Hours: Monday - Friday 8.30am-10pm Saturday 8.30am-5.30pm Sunday 10.00am - 5.30pm Ends