St. Vincent’s Secondary School, Dundalk, Co. Louth were declared the All-Ireland winners of Debating Science Issues (DSI) 2011. The grand final which took place at the Science Gallery at Trinity College Dublin on April 14 was the result of a field of 56 schools narrowing to just four. The confident team from Dundalk persuaded Professor Tom Sherry, Dean of Science at National University of Ireland Galway, Dr. Amy Sanders, Wellcome Trust Special Projects Manager, and Professor Orla Sheils Lecturer in Pathology and Medical Jurisprudence, that “animal testing is necessary for the advancement of disease treatment”.

Times Higher Education has named Prof Jonathan Coleman, Principal Investigator in CRANN and the School of Physics, Trinity College Dublin, among the top 100 materials scientists of the past decade. Materials science is an interdisciplinary field that overlaps with chemistry, physics, engineering and other areas and involves the study of the properties of matter and the application of materials to various areas of science and engineering.
 

Two posts have become available in CRANN, the country's leading nanoscience research institute. Both are based in CRANN's Advanced Microscopy Laboratory (AML), which opened in April 2010. The AML houses Ireland's most advanced microscopy instrumentation.

Dublin City of Science 2012 will be a year long programme of events that will highlight the role and value of science in society. The call for proposals for possible inclusion in the “Public Engagement Programme” opened yesterday and will close on 30 June 2011. Partnerships are sought with those organising events to engage the general public with science during 2012, including those with a particular focus on “Science in the City” events for July 2012.