And NASA astronaut Greg Johnson will be appearing at various locations around the country, including events at the CIT Nexus Centre in Cork, DIT in Dublin, the University of Limerick and the Institute of Technology in Carlow. He’s also in Ireland for the activation of the big dish at the National Space Centre, and to meet the winner of the “Name the Big Dish” competition.

The 32-metre dish will be the only large radio telescope available to students for educational purposes in Europe.

Read more on about these and other space and astronomy events on Science.ie, and find more events near you on the Science Week website.

Tickets are available by emailing cosmonaut2011@gmail.com and stating the number of tickets required and the names of those attending. Children over 12 years are also welcome. Places are limited so will be allocated on a first come basis only.

For more information http://www.dcu.ie/president/finalfrontier.shtml

The aim of the week is to create positive awareness and spark enthusiasm about the engineering profession to people of various ages with little or no engineering background. Events are taking place all over the country, check out the full programme. You can also follow the latest news on www.twitter.com/EngineerIreland and track stories using the #engweek2011 hashtag. Read more about the week, and how you can get invloved at http://www.engineersweek.ie.

The winner will be offered a trip to CERN in Geneva, Switzerland, and given exclusive access to scientists working on the project as well as all the equipment and expertise in CERN’s audiovisual lab. The contest and intern position are open to persons over the age of 18 as of July 31, 2009 who are capable of traveling to and residing at CERN during fall of 2009.

More information is available on the competition website.

Here’s the competition video on YouTube also.

Among the SCIENCE THEMED highlights this year are:  
• The annual Bat Walk, round The Lough this year;
• Talks from broadcaster Leo Enright and from the Vatican’s Astronomer;
• A range of activities around the book: Ice Man: Tom Crean – The Adventures of an Irish Antarctic Hero by Michael Smith;
• A mobile ICT bus visiting the Glen and Mahon, helping you learn digital photography.
 
Other interesting events include: try rowing a longboat, experience traveller culture and lunchtime concerts. There are puppet shows for the young ones and computer classes for seniors.

This festival is unique – the only one in Europe which showcases and celebrates learning across all age groups. All events are free and there is no charge for taking part, although some events are ticketed due to limited space. For the full programme visit www.corkcity.ie/learningfestival or pick up the hard copy from city libraries and community centres. 

The science of attraction was discussed at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting. Prof Wendy Hill, provost and professor of neuroscience at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania, conducted a small study on the science behind kissing which showed that snogging isn’t simply about love, but also contains a dash of biochemistry, neurotransmitters and evolution. In fact the “part of the brain which was strongly active for those passionately in love also happened to be the brain centre involved in cocaine addiction and the satisfaction felt when eating chocolate.” The Guardian goes into a bit more sloppy detail.

io9 posts about the history (and future) of commercial space flight. If it’s a topic of interest to you, Stephen Attenborough of Virgin Galactic, talked about the same subject at the Science Week Lecture Series last year.

Roisin Burke writes about innovation happening in our own back yard in the Sunday Independent. Here’s a sample:

Mi-POWER, a cushion which harnesses naturally occurring body heat and converts it to top-up battery power suitable for MP3 players, mobiles, game consoles, laptops and more.

KidSpotter is a device that aims to actually enhance children’s freedom to roam rather than restrict it, by means of a gadget that is worn like a watch and monitors where a child is via GPS or Bluetooth signal, using the internet or a mobile phone.

UCD campus-based company Bioplastech is looking at new ways of converting everyday waste materials into biodegradable plastics to deliver an alternative to the pricey and increasingly scarce petrochemicals used in much plastic manufacture.

The BBC interviewed Richard Dawkins (audio) about Charles Darwin on the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth.

Deirdre Nolan writes in today’s Irish Independent about Ireland’s emerging bioinformatics sector on the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth.

Wired posts about how Darwin’s theory remains central to understanding the natural world, but how its complexity may take another hundred years to unravel.

The Guardian looks at the social impact of Darwin’s theory of evolution.

Professor William Reville describes Darwin’s theory in the Irish Times today. Next week, he will examine the influence it has had on the modern world.

Ethiopia submitted the U.N. resolution calling for the Year, which will celebrate the achievements of chemistry and its contributions to the well-being of humanity. National and international activities carried out during 2011 will emphasize the importance of chemistry in sustaining natural resources.

Commenting on the announcement, President of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), Professor Jung-Il Jin, said, “The International Year of Chemistry will give a global boost to chemical science in which our life and our future are grounded. We hope to increase the public appreciation and understanding of chemistry, increase young people’s interest in science, and generate enthusiasm for the creative future of chemistry.“


On a semi related note, there are still a few tickets available tonight for the Science Gallery’s latest RAW debate. This month the topic for debate is whether Ireland is falling behind in the race to create a sustainable future, a particularly apt subject given that we have entered the last month of the International Year of Planet Earth. For more info, log onto the Science Gallery website.