Visit to Research Institutes in Galway

Last Wednesday John Power Director General and I travelled to Galway to visit the Research Institutes in NUIG and the Marine Institute in Oranmore.

This was the first of a number of planned visits to Research Institutes around Ireland to experience at first hand Research, Innovation and the Job Creation possibilities emanating from these relatively new Centres of Learning in Third Level Education. We also wanted to concentrate our visits outside of Dublin to show support for balanced regional development.

Both visits turned out to be fascinating and very worthwhile, not only in seeing what Research is happening in Third Level Institutes but also to see the appreciation of the engineers and scientists working there at our efforts to reach out to them.

From the Forfas Research Forum in Dublin the previous day I can see that there is now a 'steady hand on the tiller' nationally coordinating the research efforts to target areas of potential strategic and economic advantage for Ireland. This was one of the recommendations of the Innovation Task Force Report of March 2010 one of whose members was Chris Horn President of Engineers Ireland in 2009-2010.

Both visits were kindly organised by Prof Padraic O'Donoghue of Civil and Environmental Engineering NUIG who is also Chairman of our West Region and member of our Executive Board.

In NUIG the visits were led by Professor Terry Smith Vice President of Research and Professor of Biomedical Engineering Peter McHugh. We also visited Dr Colin Brown Director and Martina Prendergast of the Ryan Institute (Environment, Marine and Energy Research) and Michael Turley CEO and his colleagues Patrick Mulrooney Commercialisation Manager and Dr Brian Wall Operations Manager at Digital Enterprise Research Institute (DERI). We also met the Vice Dean of Engineering Dr Eddie Jones.

Much of what we saw in NUIG was truly impressive. In terms of Biomedical Science and Engineering there appears to have been a historical collaboration with local industry clusters commencing with Boston Scientific going back many years and more recently with Creganna and Crospon (of which our Vice President John O'Dea is CEO).

There was also a succession of visionary NUIG Presidents, starting with Prof Pat Fortrell, who had the good sense to acquire an enviable land bank along the banks of the Corrib from the Newcastle Road to well beyond the Quincentenary Bridge that enabled the new Engineering Building, the Ryan Institute and DERI. To have all of this research endeavour on a single campus including also the Institute for Business Social Science and Public Policy was also a success factor.

The DERI fascination was with newly developed 'search engine' software that is more powerful than Google!

Stent Engineering

Whatever the combination of factors a truly remarkable Biomedical and Digital capability has been built in NUIG. I found the technical and biochemical aspects of stent engineering especially fascinating where stent material is also therapeutic in addition to its structural capacity.

 

We then travelled to the Marine Institute in Oranmore where we were met by Dr Barbara Fogarty National Coordinator of the Marine Technology Programme and her colleagues Glenn Nolan, Eoin O'Grady and Paul Gaughan, who are Section Managers in Oceanographic Services, IS&D and the SmartBay Project Coordinator respectively. The Marine Institute set up in Galway in 2006 is the national agency for Marine Research, Technology, Development and Innovation. The research carried out here is central to the future development of our Ocean Resources in terms of Shipping, Oil/Gas, Renewables, Sea Fisheries and Marine Leisure/Tourism.

The Institute is made up of 7 Service Areas, inc Strategic Planning, Marine Environment and Marine Food Safety. We toured the Institute's marine laboratories, which are quite extensive.

Afterwards we attended an excellent lecture jointly organised by the West and Thomond Regions in the Marine Institute given by Barbara Fogarty and Eugene McKeown of Biospheric Ltd in Galway on the SmartBay Project in Galway Bay. This is a Research Test and Demonstration Facility for Marine Information and Communications, Technologies, ICT, inc wireless and subsea sensor networks. This monitoring infrastructure was jointly established by the Marine Institute and the EPA in 2008.

SmartBay Project

John and I returned to Dublin that night with a real sense that we had been at the coalface of national engineering innovation across a wide spectrum of specialisations in Galway, both land-based and marine and all endeavours concentrated on just two highly planned and well chosen sites both east and west of Galway city. Our thanks again to Prof Padraic O'Donoghue for organising these most interesting and worthwhile visits.

New NUIG Engineering Building Opened by Taoiseach

I was invited by Dr Jim Browne President of NUIG (and Past President of Engineers Ireland) to attend the Official Opening of the new NUIG Engineering Building (http://www.nuigalway.ie/new-engineering-building/) by Taoiseach Enda Kenny last Friday. NUIG's Engineering School is the largest in Ireland with 1,100 students and 110 staff, offering nine fully accredited undergraduates programmes in areas as diverse as civil and environmental engineering, computer and electronic engineering and biochemical engineering.

Pictured at the Official Opening of the new Engineering School in NUIG were Professor Padraic O'Donoghue Chairman of West Region Engineers Ireland, P J Rudden President of Engineers Ireland and Dr Jim Browne President of NUIG

Also present from Engineers Ireland (http://www.engineersireland.ie/) at the Opening were Vice President John O'Dea who is based in Galway, Chairman of our Finance Committee Murt Coleman and Executive Board Members Professor Padraic O'Donoghue (Chairman of the West Region) Domhnall Blair and Kieran Feighan together with Engineers Ireland Registar Damien Owens and Director of Communications Fionnuala Kilbane. Past President John Killeen was also present.

Carmel Brennan President of Galway Chamber of Commerce, P J Rudden President of Engineers Ireland, Mayor of Galway Cllr Hildegarde Naughton and Dr Jim Browne President of NUIG

The Opening of the Building was a tremendous credit to President Jim Browne in particular, together with Padraic O'Donoghue Professor of Civil Engineering and Former Dean and the current Dean of Engineering and Informatics Professor Gerry Lyons.

In addition to the Taoiseach, I was also happy to meet the Mayor of Galway Cllr Hildegarde Naughton (http://www.galwaycity.ie/), City Manager Joe O'Neill and President of Galway Chamber of Commerce (http://galwaychamber.com/index.asp) Carmel Brennan at                                                                                            the Opening which was truly a major cause for celebration throughout Galway City. There were in excess of 350 people attending.

The new NUIG Engineering Building is truly an iconic curved structure designed to blend with the gentle curves of the River Corrib on whose banks it sits. The building has been designed to be a 'teaching tool' in itself with exposed construction techniques and an array of green building methods.

NUI Galway offers a degree in energy systems engineering and has a significant focus on research into environmental technologies. The engineering building itself contains a range of green technologies which will add to the 'hands on' experience of students. There is large scale rainwater harvesting, a biomass boiler, low- embodied energy materials, such as zinc, grass roofs for water attenuation, heat exchangers and many other cutting-edge technologies.

The structure is among the first in Ireland to employ the use of voided slab systems. The innovation introduces 'plastic bubbles' into the concrete reducing its weight and quantity of concrete used. Areas of the building such as the plant room will be accessible to showcase to students the industrial biomass boiler and combined heat and power unit at work.

All Irish engineers can be justly proud of this new national learning centre in NUIG, as Learning and Research Institutes are the future of Irish Engineering and the roots of future Job Creation.

That's why I've decided during my year as President of Engineers Ireland to visit a number of Research Institutes around Ireland like Tyndall Institute in Cork (http://www.tyndall.ie/), Marine Institute in Galway (http://www.marine.ie/home/) and many others in addition to also visiting various Infrastructural Projects in the Regions to highlight their role in Job Creation and in balanced regional development.

Innovative Student Engineer Awards

Biomedical engineering is one of the growth areas of our profession in Ireland and indeed a major sector now driving national recovery and job creation. The National Centre for Biomedical Engineering Science (NCBES) at NUIG (http://www.nuigalway.ie/) has an international reputation developing innovative diagnostic and therapeutic solutions to the healthcare challenges of our day.

I was pleased to present the Innovative Student Engineers Awards last Monday together with our sponsors SIEMENS (http://www.siemens.ie/index.asp). Fiona Griffin a native of Listowel Co Kerry studying at NUIG Biomedical Engineering School won the Innovative Student Engineer Award for level 8 students and the level 7 award went to Danny Allen, Patrick Byrnes and Richard Childs of Cork IT (http://www.cit.ie/) also for a biomedical project.

Innovative Student Engineer of the Year 2011 Fiona Griffin from NUI Galway pictured with Michael O'Connor from Siemens and P J Rudden, President of Engineers Ireland

This was the 15th year of the awards which have been generously sponsored by SIEMENS for the last 13 years and represented by Michael O'Connor Head of Corporate Communications and Marketing.

The shortlisted entries in both level catagories were all fascinating and thus I didn't envy the task of the three Judges all of whom were Chartered Engineers led by Wilf Higgins formerly of the Health Services Executive assisted by Dermot O'Dwyer Lecturer in TCD Engineering School and Niall English MD of Futura Design.

Fiona's project which was really amazing was the development of a transcatheter valve as a stent into the mitral value which regulates blood flow from the auricle to the ventricle of the heart. The catheter is inserted into the artery through an incision in the upper leg and threaded through the artery to the heart.

This procedure which takes about 1 week recovery period in hospital replaces an open heart surgery procedure with greatly increased risk of infection, the temporary cutting of the rib cage and some 4 to 6 months recovery period.
The Cork Institute of Technology project was similarly in the biomedical area on the subject of the 'Automation of Prosthetic Shoulder Stem Blasting' which they pioneered with biomedical firm Croom Precision Medical.

Other shortlisted projects included evaluation of a 6 stroke engine, office building energy consumption, design of post tensioned beams, pyrites in concrete and microgeneration - all of which are very topical submitted by Cork IT, DIT, Athlone IT, NUIG and Sligo IT.

Speaking at the presentation of the awards, I emphasised the importance of the modern engineer having a combination of creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and communications skills. I encouraged the students to further look at the commercial viability of their projects.

All in all a very exciting day for the students, their parents and teachers all of whom deserve great credit. Also deserving of great praise is Margie McCarthy Director of Membership together with Shirley McDonald and Julie Goggins who conducted the day with great assurance and maximum comfort to the students.