Top Irish Laser Scientist Wins Boyle Medal

Margaret Murnane, Distinguished Professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder, United States, has been awarded the prestigious RDS Irish Times Boyle Medal for Scientific Excellence for her pioneering work which has transformed the field of ultrafast laser and x-ray science.

Inaugurated in 1899, the Boyle Medal continues to recognise scientific research of exceptional merit and since its inception has been awarded to 38 distinguished scientists, including George Johnstone Stoney (1899), John Joly (1911), Garret A. FitzGerald (2005) and Luke O’Neill (2009). In 1999 the awarding of the Boyle Medal became a joint venture between the Royal Dublin Society and The Irish Times. It is now awarded biennially - alternating between a scientist based in Ireland and an Irish scientist based abroad. This year’s award celebrates the work of an Irish researcher working outside of Ireland and carries with it a cash prize of €20,000.

Professor Murnane’s distinguished work has focused on the development of lasers which can operate at the fundamental limits of speed and stability. She designed the first laser able to pulse in the low trillionths of a second range (10 femtoseconds) which allows time almost to be halted to capture a freeze-frame view of the world. She has also developed a tabletop x-ray laser using very short laser pulses to generate coherent beams of x-rays. The output x-ray beam has all the directed properties of a laser - rather than the incoherent, light bulb-like, properties of the x-ray tubes used in science, medicine and security.

Upon hearing the news that she had won, Professor Murnane said “I am deeply grateful to be honoured with this award. I am certain that I would not be where I am today without the love for learning instilled through the strong education I received in Ireland through my primary, secondary and University years. It is undoubtedly this foundation which has given me the confidence to go out and put my stamp on the world. It makes it even more significant for me to learn that I am only the second female Boyle Medal Laureate in the Medal’s history.” Professor Murnane was born in Limerick and is a graduate of University College Cork, where she achieved B.Sc and M.Sc degrees in physics.

Speaking following their deliberations, the 2011 RDS Irish Times Boyle Medal International Judging Panel said that “Margaret Murnane is an international leader in her field and has made a significant contribution to laser and x-ray science. Not only is her fundamental research groundbreaking in itself, the application of her work has the potential to make a significant impact across virtually all scientific and medical disciplines.”

The Panel also noted that Professor Murnane has shared her technology with hundreds of scientists worldwide. A laser built directly from her design was the critical element in the ‘frequency comb’ work for which the 2005 Nobel Prize for Physics was awarded.

The International Judging Panel selected Professor Murnane from a shortlist of five outstanding world-class Irish scientists. The members of the 2011 International Judging Panel included Professor Fulvio Esposito (Chair, Italy); Professor Alexander Borst (Germany); Professor Sir John Enderby (UK); Professor Mary Fowler (UK); Dr Peter Goodfellow (UK); Professor Sir John Pendry (UK) and Professor Dervilla Donnelly (Ireland, Chair of the National Judging Panel).

Professor Murnane will be conferred with her Medal and give a public lecture at the RDS on November 29, 2011. The lecture will be free of charge and open to the general public.

The RDS, founded in 1731, continues to fulfill its commitment to advancing agriculture, arts, industry and science. The awarding of the Boyle Medal for Scientific Excellence is an integral part of the RDS Foundation’s Science programme which aims to support excellence in scientific endeavour and communication, to emphasise the importance of science and technology in economic and social development and to encourage people to see science as provoking, challenging and fun.

For further details about the Boyle Medal and to reserve tickets for Professor Murnane’s public lecture please contact Karen Sheeran on karen.sheeran@rds.ie; 01 240 7289 or  visit www.rds.ie/boylemedal.

Primary Science Fair

As primary schools get back to work this month, they can also get back to  developing exciting class science projects for the RDS Primary Science Fair 2012. 

The call for entries is now open and primary schools across Ireland are invited to visit the website to submit an expression of interest to participate in the 2012 Fair. 

Open to 4^th, 5^th and 6^th class (ROI) and Key Stage 2 (NI), the RDS Primary Science Fair provides an opportunity for students to think about science in practical, fun ways. Projects are not limited to a specific theme so schools can choose a topic that interests them and make the most of the chance to learn something new.

 

The RDS Primary Science Fair is not a competition, the emphasis is to encourage a positive learning experience for each class and to inspire students to see science as exciting, challenging and fun. Successful schools will be invited to exhibit on one day of the RDS Primary Science Fair which takes place from January 12 – 14, 2012 as part of the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition.  

Entries for the 2012 RDS Primary Science Fair are now open and will close on October 5, 2011. Schools will be notified of their allocation by mid-October to allow plenty of time for classes to work on their projects! 

For more information or to contact the RDS Primary Science Fair team visit www.rds.ie/primarysciencefair telephone 01 240 7990 or email primarysciencefair@rds.ie.

Science Live!

The RDS have launched the call for their Science Live Demonstration Lecture Bursaries.

The RDS Science Live Demonstration Lecture series involves funding science communicators to develop high quality workshops that are aimed at those in primary and secondary school.

The aim is to take science out of the classroom and focus on the interactive, practical elements of a topic in order that the students gain as much from the experience as possible.

Recipients of the RDS Science Live bursaries are required to conduct the demonstration lecture as part of the RDS Science Live Demonstration Lecture series held at the RDS every October and November.


For more details on how to apply, visit the RDS website.

Primary Schools Showing Their Science Skills

The RDS are calling on primary schools across the country to exhibit at Ireland's largest science event.


The 2011 RDS Primary Science Fair will take place from Thursday, January 13 - Saturday, January 15, 2011 at the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition in the RDS.

The organisers are looking for 120 primary schools to display a class science project at this major exhibition. The Fair is open to 4th, 5th and 6th classes in the Republic and Stage 2 in Northern Ireland.

Last year's Primary Science Fair saw 100 schools exhibiting projects on subjects which ranged from Swine Flu, Eco Classrooms, Soiders, Waterworks, Electric Motors, Lighthouses, Wind Power and Slime!

Speaking to the Communicate Science blog, RDS Foundation Administrator Alexis Steberger said the fair was "a great way for primary schools to exhibit at the BT Young Scientist Exhibition".

All schools who are interested in taking part are invited to submit an expression of interest through the online form at www.rds.ie/primarysciencefair

Get moving though, because the deadline to express an interest is this Friday, November 12th at 5pm.

Science Snapshot Four: Science Live!

Science Week is ongoing in Ireland and continues until the 14th. For more details of events taking place around the country, you can visit here.

Here on Communicate Science, for the duration of Science Week, along with our usual posts, we'll be posting a 'Science Snapshot' every day. If you have a Science Snapshot you'd like to share, you can email here and we'll post the best later in the week.

Today's snapshot comes courtesy of the RDS and features images from the recent RDS Science Live for Teachers event which took place last Saturday, November 6th.

The event is designed to encourage teachers to find new and innovative ways to teach the primary school science and maths curriculum.