Robert Boyle Summer School 2013

The 2nd Annual Robert Boyle Summer School will take place in beautiful Lismore, Co. Waterford from the 4th-7th of July and will feature a talk on the future of plant science.

A stimulating programme features speakers from around the world, panel discussions, a tour of Lismore Castle Gardens also a barbecue in the Castle Courtyard and a guided coach tour of West Waterford.

It will attract people with an interest in history, heritage, philosophy and science. According to a spokesperson: "It is not a science conference, but a gathering where people of all backgrounds can meet and consider the place of science in our lives".

The school celebrates the life, work and legacy of Robert Boyle who was born in Lismore Castle. Boyle was a central figure in the development of modern science and ranks alongside Galileo, Descartes and Newton whose work ushered in the modern age.

Prof. Liam Dolan

One of the highlights of the weekend will be a talk by Prof. Liam Dolan (Oxford) on advances in plant science and how we can help feed the world's ever growing population. This should be particularly topical given this week's speech by British Minister Owen Paterson in which he called for a renewed debate about GM crops in Britain.

Speaking to Communicate Science, founder of the Robert Boyle Summer School, Eoin Gill (WIT) said such an event dealing with science had been missing from the Irish calendar:

"For a long time Ireland has had summer schools celebrating many cultural figures / themes. One huge aspect of our culture that has been missing is science! The Robert Boyle Summer School now fills that gap and provides a place for scientist and non-scientists to meet and engage with science. Such an event is important for all of us concerned with public engagement with science and we need widespread support to continue".

More information on the summer school can be found at www.robertboyle.ie

Stamp of approval

An Post (the Irish postal service) has launched two new stamps to mark two significant science milestones: Dublin City of Science 2012 and the 350th anniversary of the formulation of Boyle's Law.

The City of Science stamp shows a photograph of Dublin’s Convention Centre - the venue hosting the Euroscience Open Forum 2012 (ESOF2012) from 12th-15th July - alongside a graphic of DNA’s molecular structure, representing people and their individuality. A second stamp shows an image of Boyle, his infamous formula, with an explanatory diagram alongside.

Commenting on the launch of the Stamps, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton, TD said, “Down through the years stamps have told the story of important historical and cultural Irish events, and the launch today of these two significant stamps marks two key milestones – Dublin City of Science 2012 and the 350th anniversary of the formulation of Boyle’s Law.”

Minister Bruton continued, “Science is hugely important to Ireland in many ways – not least for economic growth and job-creation. 2012 is a historic year for science in Ireland, as with the support of my Department Dublin is the City of Science for 2012. We are hosting the largest Science event in Europe, ESOF 2012, in the capital this July, and throughout 2012 Ireland will be showcasing its rich scientific heritage on the world stage.”

The stamps were created by Dublin’s Zinc Design.

The Dublin City of Science year long programme was developed to mark the honour of hosting one of the most prestigious international science events, the Euroscience Open Forum (ESOF) 2012. As the City of Science 2012, Dublin will host over 160 events showcasing the best of Irish Science, Culture and Arts.

Robert Boyle (1627-1691) was born in Lismore, Co Waterford. Often referred to as ‘The Father of Modern Chemistry’, he first formulated Boyle’s Law in 1662. Boyle’s Law states that the pressure exerted by a gas held at a constant temperature varies inversely with the volume of the gas. For example, if the volume is halved, the pressure is doubled; and if the volume is doubled, the pressure is halved.

Robert Boyle will also be commemorated at the Robert Boyle Summer School from July 15-18 at Lismore, Co. Waterford.

You can find out more about the Summer School here.

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.