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Tommy Collison from Castletroy College, Limerick talking to Discover Science & Engineering about his project that examines the attitudes of secondary school students towards blogging. This was taken at the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2010.

On Saturday the 13th February, Engineers Ireland will host a family day as part of this year’s Engineers Week which runs from the 8th to the 13th February. On the day, there will an Electromagnetic Engineering Show and K’nex Challenge for primary school children and a ‘Discover the Code’ workshop for secondary students wishing to make their own Morse code. All are invited to the free event which will be held at Engineers Ireland, Clyde Road, Dublin 4. Further information on the event and Engineers Week can be found on the official website by clicking here.

Engineers week is part of the STEPS to engineering programme which was established in 2000 to encourage primary and post primary students to explore the world of science and engineering. The value of the programme has been formally recognised by Government and is a key element of the National ‘Discover Science & Engineering’ programme. It is managed by Engineers Ireland and is supported by the Department of Education & Science, Forfás, FÁS and a number of major engineering employers. For further information, please log on to the Engineers Ireland website by clicking here.

Jack Carey and Jamie Raleigh from O’Carolan College, Meath, explain their project that investigates alternative materials to be used in the retrieval of crime scene footprints. This video was taken at BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2010 by Discover Science & Engineering.

Eddie Jordan

Originally uploaded by Discover Science & Engineering

The Irish Computer Society is delighted to announce former F1 team owner and BBC TV pundit, Eddie Jordan and CEO of Abu Dhabi Yas Marina circuit, Richard Cregan as the new patrons for the F1 in Schools™ Technology Challenge, powered in Ireland by the Irish Computer Society and supported by Discover Science and Engineering.

Eddie Jordan, who grew up in Bray, County Wicklow, brings a wealth of F1 experience, having been founder and team owner of Jordan Grand Prix. Jordan said of being invited to become a patron of F1 in Schools by the Irish Computer Society, “I am delighted to be a Patron of F1 in Schools in Ireland - the scheme gives many youngsters the opportunity to get a feel and appreciate the engineering complexities of top level motorsport. This is vital to encourage young potential engineers into the world of motorsport. It gives them the experience of working in a team in a competitive environment where all aspects of the business are considered - budgeting, engineering, marketing and sponsorship. F1 is an extremely competitive business to get into and this scheme can provide the opening for many budding engineers and designers - all for the benefit of the sport and industry.”

Richard Cregan, from Kildare, began his career working with Aer Lingus, before moving to Toyota where he enjoyed an illustrious career spanning rallying and Formula One. Cregan now heads up the newly-built and much acclaimed Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi. He commented on his patronage, ““I was delighted to be invited to be a patron of F1 in Schools in Ireland and had no hesitation in giving my support to this very worthwhile initiative. I am sure that if I had been given the opportunity to take part in this type of competition when I was at school in Ireland I would certainly have enjoyed the challenge. It is a great way to inspire students and open their eyes to the host of opportunities in motorsport for a career. There are so many facets of the F1 in Schools programme which are relevant to the real world and using the popularity of Formula One to engage students in engineering and other key subjects is excellent.

Jim Friars, CEO of the Irish Computer Society said, “The patronage of two high profile F1 personalities for the F1 in Schools competition is a great start to 2010. We had a successful year in 2009, with team Koni Kats from St. David’s Secondary School in Greystones winning the World Championship title in London. The programme gains enormous benefits from the support and assistance of industry achievers and both Jordan and Cregan demonstrate the success that can be achieved through hard work, ambition and passion. I am sure that both of these industry stars will help F1 in Schools go from strength to strength in Ireland. 2010 will be a very exciting year for us.

The F1 in Schools global initiative takes place in over 30 countries, with more than 15 million students aware of the programme. In Ireland, over one hundred teams from around the country are putting the final touches to their designs for the 2010 regional finals which begin in March. Current national champions Team Blink from St. Ailbes in Tiperrary, will represent Ireland at the World Championships in Singapore in September.. For further information visit www.F1inSchools.ie.

A video from the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2010 showing some of the different activities at the DSE “Discover Sport” stand and some of the different projects on show.

rx3 - rethink, recycle remake, formerly the Market Development Programme for Waste Resources has announced that it will be holding a Sustainable Innovation Forum on the 27th April 2010. The forum will serve to highlight opportunities and provide information and support to stakeholders and people who have an interest in the waste marketplace. Aimed at entrepreneurs, academics, economists, financiers and people who work in and have an interest in environment, some items on the agenda will include presentations and talks from local and global success stories, and a session on understanding green procurement.

There will be two competitions as part of the 2010 forum, Trash the Cash and 60 Green Minutes. The purpose of these competitions is to encourage the development of ideas surrounding the reuse of waste materials, and both come with significant cash prizes. The Trash the Cash competition is aimed at 3rd level students and prizes will be awarded to those who can demonstrate the most innovative use of recyclable materials and entries that transform waste into something of greater value. The 60 Green Minutes competition will take the form of a Dragon’s Den style presentation where participants will demonstrate an innovative idea to a panel of experts that shows waste being transformed for useful purposes. The winner of this competition will receive a prize worth €10,000 towards the development of their idea.

Closing date for registration of interest is 4th February 2010 and further information is available on the rx3 website.

Richard O’Shea, an 18 year old sixth year student from Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal, Blarney, Co Cork was named the winner of the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2010 with his project entitled, “A biomass fired cooking stove for developing countries.” Richard received the prestigious honour for his pioneering work on the design of a biomass-fueled cooking stove for use in developing countries. Over 2 billion people in the world depend on stoves to cook their meals every day, and his project built a new one which uses as little fuel as possible and which ideally produces no smoke. Richard made a strong impression on the judges with his detailed research into the chemical processes involved in burning timber, and with the various designs he came up with using very simple materials such as tin cans and nails which are very easy to find in Third World countries. An added bonus is that his stoves can be built using simple tools such as a Swiss army knife.
Adrian Weckler from the Sunday Business Post was at the exhibition and interviewed Richard.

The award for individual runner-up went to Hannah Eastwood from Loreto College Coleraine, Co Derry for her project entitled “Green rust the good gal” which was entered in the Senior Section of the Chemical, Physical & Mathematical Sciences category. Other awards presented, included Best Group, which went to Paul McKeever and Bryan Murphy, Abbey Christian Brothers Gs, Co Down for their project entitled “Specs Detector” which was entered in the Intermediate section of the Technology category and also won the NI award, new in 2010, for the best overall project from entries throughout Northern Ireland. The award for group runner-up went to Leona Chow & Mollieanne Gallagher, Alexandra College, Co Dublin for their project entitled “In vitro study of how various amounts of alcohol and caffeine affect protein degradation by the stomach enzyme pepsin” entered in the Intermediate Section of the Biological & Ecological Sciences category.

This year’s exhibition saw 1,135 students compete with 509 projects from 32 counties across Ireland. Further information on the exhibition, including videos of this year’s competitors can be found on the BT Young Scientist website.

Discover Science and Engineering has announced the launch of a new Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths (STEM) resource on CareersPortal.ie (www.careersportal.ie.) This section of the website is dedicated to students considering studying a STEM subject at third level, outlining all courses available at third level and providing real life case studies of professionals working in a related sector.

A number of new courses will be available to students this year to meet the projected skills shortage in a variety of sectors. The new courses include Computer and Energy Systems (Galway-Mayo IT), Print and Digital and Media Technology Management (DIT), Web Development and Creative Media (IT Sligo), Sustainable Construction (Athlone IT), Chemical Sciences with Medical Chemistry (DIT), Environmental Science (Carlow IT), and DNA and Forensic Science (IT Tallaght).

CareersPortal.ie has compiled information on industries sectors which are experiencing skills shortages in order to highlight the career opportunities available to students. Some of the sectors affected are outlined below:

• Science – The pharmaceutical, medical devices and diagnostics, and biotechnology are all performing well and there is demand for highly qualified and experienced individuals with specific skills, both at professional level (fourth level research and development scientists, clinical trials managers, regulation compliance staff) and technician level (e.g. lab technicians, junior chemists, development/prototyping technicians.)

• Engineering – Despite the current economic pressures, design engineers, particularly in research and development in the medical devices sector, are in high demand. In addition, the renewable energy sector (wind, wave, tidal) is expected to be one of the drivers of future growth and there will be a requirement for electronic and electrical engineers in this respect.

• Information Technology – There is a strong demand for IT graduates, particularly as the online entertainment and social networking sectors continue to go from strength to strength. In particular, there is a requirement for programmers, telecommunications experts, and research and design professionals.

The new webpage will provide up-to-date information on the career paths open to students within the STEM arena as well as the academic courses available. Students will have access to STEM occupational information such as course and sector interviews, industry videos and general advice. The site will also provide information concerning related news items, key sectoral contact details, and links to other relevant websites. For further information log onto www.careersportal.ie

The BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition has kicked off at the RDS. We have a stand at the event. You can’t miss us, it’s called “Discover Sport” stand and there’s a F1 Ferrari car at it. You can learn about the science and engineering that goes into Formula 1 racing, and see how a wind tunnel simulates the aerodynamic air flow around model designs such as those for racing cars. Read more about it here. If you’re at the event why not call by and say hello. For updates on the exhibition, check out the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition twitter account or blog.

Boing Boing has an interesting piece on Australia’s Monash University, who recently studied the physics of flying pizza dough. Here’s the video.