The discipline of Occupational Therapy at NUI Galway will host an equipment expo on Friday, 28 January from 10am to 4pm.The Expo will focus on equipment for adults and children with physical disabilities. The event will take place in the School of Health Sciences, Áras Moyola in the University, and is open to everybody, including disability service providers, students, health professionals and service users. A wide range of equipment will be exhibited on the day from daily living aids, to hoists to beds, to adapted toys. With regard to seating; wheelchairs, shower chairs, comfort chairs and specialised buggies will all be on display. These buggies and wheelchairs, when carefully chosen, may enable a person to move and socialise independently, while other specialised seating may prevent further disability and maximise the person's posture while they are eating, drinking or working. A range of hoists will also be on display, including those with active sensory products and pressure care systems. Appropriately recommended equipment such as hoists and slings can make a carer's job of moving a person with specific care needs safer and easier. There will also be multi-sensory handwriting programmes, adapted scissors and colourful educational games that can assist in motivating a child to succeed at school. Adapted toys can also enable children with limited use of their hands to play age appropriate games, and these will also be exhibited. Equipment will be on display from a variety of companies from all over Ireland. Hazel Killeen of Occupational Therapy at NUI Galway says: "The goal of health care is to enable a person participate to their fullest potential in everyday life. This includes providing an environment to make people more independent so they can dress, wash, eat, communicate and move freely in their community. A health professional can recommend equipment that can mean the difference between dependence and independence for a person and we at NUI Galway are delighted to play our part in informing all parties of the products and services available to them." -Ends-

NUI Galway will host a Drop-in-Day for Mature Students on Thursday, 27 January in AM205, the Arts Millennium Building in the University. The event is open to anyone who would like information on the Mature Student application process from 10am until 4pm. The primary purpose of the Drop-in-Day is to provide potential Mature Students with information prior to important application closing dates for CAO Applications and MSAP exams registration on 1 February 2011. NUI Galway invites mature students to apply through the CAO system, which has a deadline for applications of the 1 February 2011. In order to qualify as a Mature Student, applicants need to be 23 years or over and must wish to pursue a full time degree programme. Mature Applicants for programmes in The College of Arts, Social Sciences and Celtic Studies degrees at NUI Galway are also required to register prior to the 1 February 2011 for the Mature Students Admissions Pathway (MSAP) exam which takes place on 19 February 2011. This exam will consist of a two hour paper designed to determine the candidate s verbal reasoning; candidates will also be required to complete two short essays. The MSAP is independently administered by ACER (Australian Council for Educational Research). Details on registration and MSAP exam tips are available at http://www.msap.acer.edu.au/. Trish Hoare, Mature Students Officer at NUI Galway says "We welcome Mature Students at NUI Galway and recognise the contribution they make to each course with their wealth of experience and passion for learning. The economic climate has made many people consider new careers and to retrain in new professions, so we want to ensure that applicants have all the information they need and that they are aware of the important deadlines for applications. The Drop-in-Day will allow potential students find answers to questions and concerns they may have about becoming a Mature Student." For further information please contact: Trish Hoare, Mature Students Officer at NUI Galway on 091 492695 or email maturestudents@nuigalway.ie or visit www.nuigalway.ie/mature. -Ends-

Two Postgraduate Researchers at Network of Excellence for Functional Biomaterials (NFB) in NUI Galway recently won awards for presentations related to their ongoing projects. Andrew English won the Best Poster Award at the Surface Science of Biologically Important Interfaces (SSBII) conference which was hosted by Ulster University, Belfast. Bill Daly, was awarded the Best Podium Presentation at the Neuroscience Research Day meeting in Galway recently. This is the second award Bill has won for this particular project. His first award was for the Best Podium Presentation at the European Society of Biomaterials in Finland in September. Both students are supported by Dr Dimitrios Zeugolis and Professor Abhay Pandit at the NFB. Professor Pandit who is Director of the NFB says, "These awards demonstrate the quality of research conducted at NFB and the high calibre of training we are providing researchers." Andrew English's award-winning poster demonstrated an ongoing project entitled, "Topographical Cues for Cellular Guidance". During the project Andrew is producing synthetic nano-textured scaffolds for cells, through incorporation of spatiotemporal and biological signals, aiming to favourably control cellular functions. Creating tissue-engineered structures or scaffolds that mimic the complex architectures of native tissues could potentially be used as therapy for injured or degenerated tissues. In order to promote functional neo-tissue formation, these scaffolds should support cellular attachment and proliferation, maintain cell phenotype and facilitate directional growth. This work is conducted in co-operation with Proxy Biomedical Ltd, a leading biomaterials manufacturer and Research and Development service provider based at Spiddal, Co Galway. Proxy Biomedical's involvement in this project ensures immediate translation of the work from the lab-bench to clinic. Bill Daly is developing a biomaterials-based technology in the area of peripheral nerve regeneration. The project aims to improve current clinically approved conduit systems to repair critical nerve gap damage in peripheral nerves. A critical nerve gap injury is one where the distance is too great for the nerve to reconnect naturally, preventing regeneration. Bill is developing an implantable system which not only physically bridges this gap but will also provide stimulatory support. An additional interesting component of this work is his focus on the molecular interactions during the regeneration process. The information obtained can provide improved treatments and better patient recovery in peripheral nerve repair operations in the future. Systems currently available do not repair injuries beyond this critical gap. -Ends-

Top experts from the fields of energy technology, policy, innovation and business will come together in NUI Galway on Wednesday, 26 January, 2011 to discuss the future of energy in Ireland. The Energy Night has been organised by the Chemistry, Energy and Physics Societies at NUI Galway. The NUI Galway Energy Night will open at 5:30pm in the Orbsen Building Foyer with a showcase of the rich and varied range of cutting-edge energy research currently underway at the University. With presenters working in areas from bio fuels to wave energy, and smart buildings to smart grids, the showcase will provide attendees and researchers alike with the opportunity to meet, learn and exchange ideas on the future of energy in Ireland. Following this, a major fact-based panel discussion entitled Averting a Future Irish Energy Crisis will be held at 7pm in the O Flaherty Lecture Theatre, located on the main Concourse. RTE's Environmental Editor Paul Cunningham will moderate the discussion. Panel participants include Professor J. Owen Lewis, Chief Executive of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), Paul Lynam, Chief Executive of Siemens Ireland, Emeritus Professor at the Combustion Chemistry Centre NUI Galway and acclaimed fuels researcher John Simmie, Neil Walker, Head of the Energy and Environment Unit at the Irish Business Employers Confederation (IBEC), and Philip Walton, Emeritus Professor of Physics at NUI Galway and nationally-renowned nuclear energy expert. NUI Galway Energy Night is an entirely student and postdoctoral organised event, being jointly undertaken by the Chemistry, Energy and Physics Societies at NUI Galway. This is the first time that a broad section of students have come together at NUI Galway or any other Irish University to organise such an event, and it reflects the seriousness with which the students regard the future of energy supply, demand, cost and security in Ireland. It is their hope that the NUI Galway Energy Night will be a spark that ignites enhanced understanding, interaction and collaboration between energy stakeholders in the policy, business, technological and academic spheres as well as the public. The event is made possible by the generosity of sponsors Enerit Ltd., the Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology (IRCSET) and SEAI. The entire event is open to all members of the public. If you are interested in attending the panel discussion please email nuigenergy@gmail.com as space in the lecture theatre is limited. More information on NUI Galway Energy Night is available on the facebook page – NUIG Energy Night or by contacting Rory Monaghan at rory.monaghan@nuigalway.ie or 085 1509336 or http://sites.google.com/site/nuigenergynight2011/ -Ends-

A book by a senior lecturer in Women s Studies at the School of Political Science and Sociology at NUI Galway has been selected as an Outstanding Academic Title for 2010 by the American Library Association/CHOICE. Dr. Niamh Reilly s Women s Human Rights: Seeking Gender Justice in a Globalising Age (Polity Press) explores the emergence of transnational, UN-oriented, feminist advocacy for women's human rights, especially over the past three decades. It identifies the main feminist influences that have shaped the movement and exposes how the Western, legalist, state-centric, and liberal biases of mainstream human rights discourse impede the realisation of human rights in women's lives everywhere. Ultimately, the book reaffirms a commitment to critically reinterpreted universal human rights principles and demonstrates the vital role that bottom-up, transnational movements play in making them a reality in women's lives. Every year the American Library Association/CHOICE editors single out the most significant print and electronic works reviewed in CHOICE during the previous calendar year. Appearing annually in CHOICE's January issue, this prestigious list of publications reflects the best in scholarly titles and attracts extraordinary attention from the academic library community. In publishing the Outstanding Academic Titles feature, CHOICE acknowledges and honours the authors, editors, and publishers of these works for their vital contribution to the scholarly endeavour. Dr. Reilly says she is delighted with the selection, "It is a wonderful endorsement, not only of the book itself but of women's human rights as an important field of research and teaching." Along with Women s Human Rights: Seeking Gender Justice in a Globalising Age, Dr. Niamh Reilly has authored, co-authored, and edited a number of other books, including Women Testify: A Planning Guide for Popular Tribunals and Hearings (2005), State Accountability for Women s Human Rights in Ireland (1997), Without Reservation: The Beijing Tribunal on Accountability for Women's Human Rights (1996), and Demanding Accountability: The Global Campaign and Vienna Tribunal for Women s Human Rights (1994). She has over 20 years experience of teaching, research, publishing and advocacy in the field of women s human rights at various institutions in Ireland and the United States and has worked with the United Nations and with a number of international and national women s and human rights NGOs. For further information please contact Dr Niamh Reilly at 091 495403 or niamh.reilly@nuigalway.ie. -Ends-