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Nanoweek ran from 30th November – 4th December 2009
Click here to watch video highlights of Nanoweek
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Nanotechnology will have a significant effect on society and people’s everyday lives. It can be used to develop smaller and more powerful electronic devices, materials with completely new properties and new ways of producing better medical diagnostics and targeted drugs. Nanoweek brought together a wide range of events designed to raise public awareness of the potential of nanoscience to improve our quality of life. The week showcased the excellence of nanoscience research in Ireland, its direct links to industry and the contribution that nanotechnology makes to the Irish economy and in developing our future Smart Economy.
Nanoweek is an initiative of the Nanoscience Network, which combines the Integrated NanoScience Platform for Ireland (INSPIRE), and the Competence Centre for Applied Nanotechnology (CCAN). INSPIRE is comprised of internationally leading researchers across 10 third level institutions and was recently funded to the level of €31.6m by the Higher Education Authority (HEA), via PRTL14. CCAN, funded by Enterprise Ireland and the Industrial Development Agency, includes leading multi-national companies, such as Intel and indigenous Irish companies such as Creganna.
Events took place around the country and it is hoped that all who participated enjoyed the events and gained a deeper understanding of the social and economic opportunity which is awaiting Ireland.
Schedule of events
Monday 30.11.09
Formal Opening & Graduate Workshop in Nanoscience
TYNDALL NATIONAL INSTITUTE, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE CORK, 13:00–18:00
Mr Batt O’Keefe, Minister for Science and Education will formally open Nanoweek at 2pm. This will be followed by poster presentations and displays on Inspire’s industrial collaborations, with the graduate workshops commencing at 3pm.
Graduate workshops
Irish academic institutions have a vibrant graduate student research community with in excess of 200 students currently undertaking PhD programmes. The purpose of this event is to offer three tutorial classes for graduate students in advance of, and co-located with, the Inspire-09 National Scientific Meeting, taking place on Tuesday, December 1st. Classes will centre on topics spanning
nanoelectronics, nanophotonics, and nanobiosciences. The event offers a unique opportunity for graduate students to gain an insight into key technologies and sciences underpinning the rapid developments in these sectors, from leaders in the field.
The approach will be informal and tutorial-like in delivery. The topics and instructors include the following:
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Synthetic Nanostructures, Prof. Siegmar Roth (Korea University/SINEUROP/Max-Planck-Institute)
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Nonlinear Optics, Prof. Anatoly Zayats (Centre for Nanostructured Media, Queens University Belfast)
-
Bio-Surface Interactions, Prof. Joachim Spatz (Max Planck Institute for Metals Research, Stuttgart)
Registration is from 1pm on the day.
To book a place, go to :http://conferencing.ucc.ie/conference/conference.php?id=52.
Meeting Of Minds: Be A Nano-Assistant
NANO ICE CREAM VAN, PEARSE ST., SCIENCE GALLERY, 13:00 – 14:00
Book a nano appointment with Professor Stefano Sanvito,
Principal Investigator from CRANN. Prof Sanvito has set up a
computational research group that investigates elementary properties of materials and of nano-devices using computer simulations.
.
Find out what is involved in his nano research and ask any pressing nano questions you may have.
You can also assist with experiments in the nano ice cream van.
Booking is essential on www.sciencegallery.com/events
Nanoweek For Schools
Aoife O’Donoghue, Outreach Officer from Tyndall National Institute, UCC will visit the following secondary schools in Cork today:
·
Christ the King
·
St Vincent’s Secondary
Aoife will introduce nanoscience to secondary school students using a combination of a lecture-style presentation and hands-on experiments using the “NanoSchoolBox”.
Tuesday 01.12.09
INSPIRE 09 National Scientific Meeting
TYNDALL NATIONAL INSTITUTE, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE CORK, 09:00-17:30
Nanoscience is a thriving and highly productive research topic being progressed by Irish academic institutions. Research activities have been greatly enhanced by recent investments in infrastructure under the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutes (PRTLI). Under PRTLI cycle 4, the Integrated Nanoscience Platform for Ireland (INSPIRE) has been established. This programme is a partnership across eight academic institutions and provides researchers with shared inter-institutional access to state of the art research facilities, graduate educational programmes, and collaborative research strands in
nanoelectronics, nanophotonics, and nanobiosciences. This meeting brings together many of the key players who contribute to Inspire to showcase their research activities.
The meeting will also be informed by industrial and academic perspectives on the future challenges for nanoscience by leading experts in the field. A particular focus of the oral and poster programmes will be to highlight the potential value to Ireland for undertaking research in nanoscience.
The oral programme is interdisciplinary and highlights the convergence of disciplines in nanoscience. It includes both international and Irish-based speakers, at different stages of their career.
To book a place at this event go to:
www.inspirenano.com
Meeting Of Minds: Be A Nano-Assistant
NANO ICE CREAM VAN, PEARSE ST., SCIENCE GALLERY, 13:00 – 14:00
Book a nano appointment with
Professor John Boland, Director of CRANN
. Prof Boland will answer any questions you have about nano-enabled technologies of the future. Will your newspaper contain moving images, like in Harry Potter? Will your bedroom blinds act like a cinema screen?
You can also assist with experiments in the nano ice cream van.
Booking is essential on www.sciencegallery.com/events
Nanoweek For Schools
Aoife O’Donoghue, Outreach Officer from Tyndall National Institute, UCC will visit secondary schools in Limerick today.
Aoife will introduce nanoscience to secondary school students
using a combination of lecture-style presentation and hands-on experiments using the “NanoSchoolBox”.
First Tuesday
PACCAR THEATRE, SCIENCE GALLERY, 18:30
Turning research and innovation into viable businesses driving Ireland's smart economy is the focus of the First Tuesday event, hosted at the Science Gallery.
Come along and check out the researchers below pitch their ideas to our panel which includes;
John Flynn, Managing Director – ACT Venture Capital
Terry Clune, Managing Director - Taxback.com (E&Y entrepreneur of the year)
Prof Brian McCraith - NCSR, DCU
Terry Clune, Managing Director - Taxback.com (E&Y entrepreneur of the year)
Prof Brian McCraith - NCSR, DCU
Dr Guido Mariotto, School of Physics, Trinity College Dublin
MIRAVEX was formed as a spin-out company of Trinity College Dublin with the objective to bring to market a three-dimensional imaging technology that has been developed on campus.The Promoters have recently signed a Licence Agreement with Trinity College for an exclusive, worldwide licence of the Intellectual Property.Aesthetic Doctors and Cosmetic Clinics are the primary target market for this product. This market represents one of the largest and fastest growing sectors in the use of cosmetic imaging devices.
Dr Anton Mitchell Davis, CRANN, Trinity College Dublin
Nano assay slide (incorporating phase stable technology) - This is work conducted with Prof Yuri Volkov and Prof Dermot Kelleher and is the core of a number new advanced technologies. This technology in simple terms can potentially reduce the costs of cell based drug discovery and biomedical research by 1000-10,000X.
Dr Wayne O Connell, The Eternal Candle
The Eternal Candle works by harnessing the difference in daytime to night-time temperature in dry, desert-type, climates such as sub-Saharan Africa and large regions of India, China and central Asia. This is achieved by storing thermal energy from the sun during the day and directly converting it to electricity at night.The device is complementary to Solar Photo-voltaic technology but require no replacement parts (like batteries) or operating costs.
RSVP to
info@sciencegallery.com
Wednesday 02.12.09
Nanoweek For Schools
Aoife O’Donoghue, Outreach Officer from Tyndall National Institute, UCC will visit the following secondary schools in Galway today:
·
St. Enda’s Secondary School, Threadneedle Road
·
St. Ignatius Jesuits College, Sea Road
Aoife will introduce nanoscience to secondary school students using a combination of a lecture-style presentation and hands-on experiments using the “NanoSchoolBox”.
Meeting Of Minds: Be A Nano-Assistant
NANO ICE CREAM VAN, PEARSE ST., SCIENCE GALLERY, 13:00 - 14:00
Magnetism – where is it leading us?
Book a nano appointment with Prof Mike Coey, Principal Investigator at CRANN
.
. Prof Coey will answer any questions you have about magnetism and its relationship with nanotechnology. Do you know the answers to the following?
1.
How many magnets do you own
2.
Where is all the information stored on the internet
3.
How big is a bit?
4.
What is spin?
5.
Why study spin electronics?
Prof Coey can help you answer these and other nano-related questions.
Booking is essential on www.sciencegallery.com/events
Science Leviathan: It’s The Smart Economy, Stupid!
PACCAR THEATRE, SCIENCE GALLERY, 19.00
Join us at this Nanoweek special Science Leviathan which features top policy makers, industry leaders and researchers, to debate and discuss whether Ireland’s research and development is enough to pull Ireland out of its current financial crisis.
MC for the event – RTE 1 Current Affairs Reporter, Broadcaster and Author, Mark Little.
Participants include:
Minister Eamon Ryan, Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and Green Party TD for Dublin South
Dr Constantin Gurdgiev, Head of Macroeconomics with the IBM Global Center for Economic Development and Adjunct Lecturer in Finance with Trinity College Dublin
Minister Eamon Ryan, Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and Green Party TD for Dublin South
Dr Constantin Gurdgiev, Head of Macroeconomics with the IBM Global Center for Economic Development and Adjunct Lecturer in Finance with Trinity College Dublin
Prof. John Boland, Director of CRANN, Trinity College Dublin
David Martin, Director of EMEA Finance and Business Intelligence with GOOGLE
Colm O'Regan, comedian - a Leviathan regular who has played all the festivals including the prestigious invite only Montreal Just For Laughs.
Register by emailing: rsvp@sciencegallery.com
Thursday 03.12.09
University Research to Economic Value: Changing Ireland Through Research
PACCAR THEATRE, SCIENCE GALLERY, 14:00-17:30
This workshop focuses on the development of economic value from university research, including discussions on Intellectual Property and case-studies on developing nanotechnology companies. The event will focus on personal case studies, both Irish and international, from successful entrepreneurs, including Mark Heffernand, Chris Horn, and Donald Fitzmaurice. The workshop covers all technology sectors but provides a specific closing focus on nanotechnology.
This event is suitable for those working in the university and technology sectors.
For details on how to book go to www.sciencegallery.com/events
Meeting Of Minds: Be A Nano-Assistant
NANO ICE CREAM VAN, PEARSE ST., SCIENCE GALLERY, 13.00 – 14:00
Book a nano appointment with Professor Martin Hegner, Principal Investigator with CRANN
.
. Prof Hegner will answer any questions you have about Nanoscience and Biomedics/ Diagnostics.
How is his research working to reduce length of time of diagnosis of certain illnesses?
You can also assist with experiments in the nano ice cream van.
Booking is essential on www.sciencegallery.com/events
Nanoweek For Schools
Mary Colclough, Communications and Education Officer from CRANN, TCD and Dr Laura
Walsh, Physics Education Research Group, DIT,
will visit the following secondary schools in
Dublin today:
·
O’Connell’s Boys Secondary, North Richmond Street (morning)
·
St Louis Girl’s Secondary, Rathmines (afternoon)
Mary and Laura will introduce nanoscience to Transition Years, 5th and 6th year secondary school students using a combination of a lecture-style presentation and hands-on experiments using the “NanoSchoolBox”.
Nanoscience To Nanotechnology:A Strategic Vector for the Knowledge Economy
PACCAR THEATRE, SCIENCE GALLERY, 9:00-16:45
How can nanotechnology contribute to developing Ireland’s knowledge economy? How should academic research, industry and government work together to enable this knowledge economy? How are scientific ideas change into commercial realities? This meeting aims to engage the key stakeholders in discussion about creating Ireland’s future and the potential for nanotechnology to play a role in this future. The event is focused on connecting the dots from nanoscience to nanotechnology, from academia to industry, from agency to agency, consortia to consortia, in representing a unified and coherent nano-network in Ireland. The event will include an introduction to the newly formed Competence Centre for Applied Nanotechnology, which forms an important final link in this network. It will highlight the opportunity to establish nanotechnology as a key vector in Ireland’s knowledge economy.
Speakers include:
Frank Gannon
Director General, Science Foundation Ireland
Barry O’Leary
CEO, Industrial Development Agency
Frank Ryan
CEO, Enterprise Ireland
Jim O’Hara
General Manager, Intel Ireland
Helen Ryan
CEO, Creganna
Gerry Kilcommins
VP & General Manager, Medtronics
Roger Whatmore
CEO, Tyndall National Institute
John Boland
Director, CRANN Institute
This event is suited to key stakeholders in the nanotechnology sectors. For full list of speakers and details on how to book go to www.sciencegallery.com/events
Meeting Of Minds: Be A Nano-Assistant
NANO ICE CREAM VAN, PEARSE ST., SCIENCE GALLERY, 13:00-14:00
Book a nano appointment with Professor John Donegan, Principal Investigator with CRANN. Find out the answers to the following:
1. What is a photon?
2.
How does light carry information?
3.
Will photonics replace electronics?
4.
Is photonic communications intrinsically secure?
5.
What type of photonics research goes on in CRANN?
Prof Donegan will answer these and any other nano-related questions you may have.
You can also assist with experiments in the nano ice cream van.
Booking is essential on www.sciencegallery.com/events
NANO@Night
CRANN, NAUGHTON INSTITUTE, 18:00
Take a tour of CRANN and finish the tour with a drink of your choice in the Science Gallery café to continue the discussion.
Opened in 2008 CRANN is one of the most cutting edge research facilities in Ireland. During Nanoweek you will get a unique chance to take a tour of these fascinating labs. See world leading research as it happens, have a chat with a researcher and find out how something so small can have such a big impact on our research and economic landscape.
Limited to 15 spaces - tickets include 1 drink - email colcloum@tcd.ie
Nano ice cream van
SCIENCE GALLERY, 12:30 – 14:30 and 16:00-18:00
Developed with Dr Andrew Maynard Smith as a tool to engage the public in nanoscience, the nano ice cream van is essentially a mobile laboratory equipped to demonstrate fundamental experiments exploring some of the principles of nanoscience.
The nano ice cream van provides a unique platform to introduce some of the more difficult to grasp concepts of nanoscience in a format that is digestible and fun for a general audience. Visitors during Nanoweek will be able to try out some nano ice cream, which is made by pouring liquid nitrogen into a mixture of milk, cream and sugar. The result is the most velvety smooth ice cream you’ve ever tasted thanks to the nano sized ice particles produced by the rapid freezing action of the liquid nitrogen.
Nanoworld Tours
CRANN, NAUGHTON INSTITUTE, 13:00-13:45
Meet at Science Gallery reception
Opened in 2008 CRANN is one of the most cutting edge research facilities in Ireland. During Nanoweek you will get a unique chance to take a tour of these fascinating labs. See world leading research as it happens, have a chat with a researcher and find out how something so small can have such a big impact on our research and economic landscape. More details about the range of tours are available online.
Booking is essential on www.sciencegallery.com/events
Nanolab
SCIENCE GALLERY, 12:00 – 15:00
Join one of CRANN’s postgrads at the Nanolab in the Science Gallery and try operating a desktop Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), take on the nanoquest challenge and find out firsthand the difference between how atoms and molecules behave on the nano and macro scale.
Your Science, Your Say
SCIENCE GALLERY
If you had the decision which theme or area of nanotechnology would you fund and why? Your
Science Your Say will feature three short films of nano researchers presenting their work – audiences at the Science Gallery will get to take a vote on which of the researchers they think should receive €1,000 towards their research and why?
30 November 2009
