Walton sculpture unveiled - 'Apples and Atoms'

Apples and Atoms by Eilis O'Connell (Image: @TCDArtCurator)

A sculpture celebrating the life and work of  Ernest  T.S. Walton, Nobel Laureate for Physics, and former  graduate  and professor at Trinity College Dublin, was opened to the public by Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn TD, this week at  a special ceremony at TCD. The sculpture titled ‘Apples and Atoms’   was designed by artist, Eilís O’Connell RHA.

Ernest T. S. Walton studied at Trinity where he was a scholar and won many College prizes, including a gold medal in experimental science. He graduated with joint honours in mathematics and physics in 1926 and went to Cambridge to do his postgraduate work. Thus began the momentous collaboration between Walton and his fellow physicist, John Cockcroft, which exploited linear acceleration methods to induce nuclear disintegration by artificial means, as observed by Ernest Walton, on April 14^th, 1932. It was the first time that Einstein’s E=mc²was verified directly in a nuclear reaction. His and Cockcroft’s success, using artificially accelerated particles for experimenting on the atom, meant the research into the nature and structure of the atom was no longer restricted by having to rely on natural sources of radiation. In 1946, Walton returned to Trinity College, to become the Erasmus Smith Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy where he remained until 1985.

“Ireland is home to many science heroes and Ernest T.S. Walton is one of our leading ones. This sculpture pays homage to him as a scientist, teacher and truly celebrates his scientific legacy  that continues to educate and inspire our students of science today, ” said Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn.

Ernest TS Walton

Commemorating the 80^th anniversary of the experiment, Trinity invited six artists to submit a design, honouring Ernest T.S. Walton’s research achievements as well as 30 years of dedication to science education. Eilís O’Connell’s design was selected by a panel that included representatives from the Walton family, the School of Physics, the College Art Collections, students and external visual arts professionals.

“The sculpture was commissioned to commemorate Ernest T.S. Walton as a significant figure in the history of the College and in the development of science globally.  It reinforces Trinity’s special connection with him and is an opportunity to honour him as a scientist as well as a champion of science education, an academic and an Irishman,” said Provost of Trinity, Dr Patrick Prendergast.

The sculpture by  Eilis O’Connell is a stack of mirror polished spheres, increasing in size as they rise upward which appear to defy gravity. It is located beside the Fitzgerald Building, home to the School of Physics. Reflected in the stack of spheres are specially planted native Irish apple trees that refer to the private man and his keen interest for growing fruit trees.

“The sculpture pays homage to Walton’s most important characteristics – his intellectual rigour and hands-on ability to physically build the particle accelerator and his nurturing ability as teacher and father.  A man is not defined solely by his academic achievements but also by the memories he leaves behind in others,” explained sculptor, Eilís O’Connell.

Ernest T.S. Walton generously presented his papers to the College Library in 1993; his family subsequently donated his Nobel medal. A small exhibition, which includes the medal, is currently on display in the Long Room, to mark the formal launch of the sculpture.

The commission was made possible by the support of the Walton family, the Provost, the School of Physics, the Trinity College Dublin Association and Trust, the Department of Education and Skills, the Institute of Physics in Ireland, the Fellows and alumni of Trinity and the Science Gallery.

ESOF 2012 opens in Dublin

Dara O'Briain at the launch of Dublin City of Science (image: Dublin2012)

Today marks the opening of ESOF2012 - the Euroscience Open Forum - taking place, this year, in Dublin.

The event is Europe's largest, general science meeting and is held every two years, this year from July 11th-15th. The forum aims to showcase advances in science and technology; to promote a dialogue between science and society; and to stimulate interest, excitement and debate about science.

President Higgins at ESOF2012 (image: @COSToffice)

President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins opened the event, pointing out that the achievements and reputation of Ireland in the arts is often mentioned by commentators but that "unfortunately not really all of them would mention prominent parts of the Irish intellectual achievement which is just as important, older and maybe even more central: Bell's Theorem, the development of fibre optics, the splitting of the atom, the Beaufort scale or the effectiveness of the mariner's compass or the many other inventive and forward-thinking achievements which owe their success to the innovation, creativity and above all, original thinking of talented Irish scientists".

The President name-checked a number of notable Irish scientists such as Ernest Walton, Robert Boyle, John Tyndall, Agnes Mary Clerke and Lucy Everest Boole who, he said, had laid the groundwork on which today's scientists build.

"Science", the President said "is being re-imagined in an era of new and global cultural context that sees it in a far more engaged and challenged way than any functional narrowness of recent times might suggest".

President Higgins welcomed the focus on ethical issues: "The moral challenge is ever greater now.... our new responsibilities are to a planet already made fragile and a global population of which so many, a great proportion, has been excluded".

"As a nation, we continue to have much to offer to the world of science and technology", the president noted.

Attracting scientists and those interested in science from around the world, a number of distinguished scientists and policy makers will deliver keynote addresses, including synthetic biology advocate and pioneer Craig Venter; Nobel Prize winner and co-discoverer of the DNA double helix, James Watson; European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science Maire Geoghegan-Quinn; Former President, UN High-Commissioner and climate justice advocate Mary Robinson; astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell; and Director General of CERN Rolf-Dieter Heuer.

There's much more to see and hear at CERN and one-day passes are still available for the Dublin Conference Centre. For those who can't make the event in person, you can watch the keynote addresses live via webcast.

To celebrate the arrival of ESOF2012, the Science in the City programme has been running as part of the Dublin City of Science year-long festival.

Capital Science

This morning sees the launch of Dublin Science 2012 - an innovative science themed festival running throughout the year. The festival has at its centre the ESOF 2012 meeting which takes place in July.

The ESOF (Euroscience Open Forum) is a broad ranging, interdisciplinary meeting held every two years and will see over 5,000 scientists meet in Dublin.

This morning's launch will highlight just some of the 160 projects which will make up the science-themed year including:

• Exhibitions at the Science Gallery including Happy? - exploring the factors that shape happiness.

• Theatrical events including Rough Magic's hilarious and uplifting 'Improbable Frequency'. I was lucky enough to see an earlier production and it was very enjoyable - featuring characters such as John Betjeman, Flann O'Brien and Erwin Schrödinger. The final performance will be streamed live on the web.

• Dublin's St. Patrick's Day festival will see a science-themed parade and a treasure hunt with science related costumes!

There is many more events already announced and more to be revealed throughout the year. Check them out on the Dublin Science 2012 website or follow @dubscience2012 on twitter.

You can find more details on ESOF 2012 on their website and follow them on @ESOF2012. The full programme for this meeting will be announced in mid-February.

Best of luck to all involved!

Science Gallery: Dublin Zoo

Regular readers will know that we here at Communicate Science very much believe in the old saying that 'a picture paints a thousand words'. 

With that in mind, we sent our part-time roving reporter Daniel Lettice to Dublin Zoo recently to work his photographic magic and bring us some wonderful examples of the type of animals that the Zoo is home to.

Dublin Zoo was opened in 1831 and received all of its animals from the recently opened London Zoo.

The Zoo has had an interesting history since then: receiving its first giraffe in 1844; its first lions in 1855;surviving the 1916 rising by feeding some of the less fortunate animals to the lions; right up to the present day when it is one of the most visited attractions in the state.

Our first photo is of one of the Sumatran tigers (Panthera tigris sumatrae) - the smallest of all still existing tiger subspecies. The tigers are critically endangered in the wild. Around 400-500 were thought to exist in 1998 and their numbers continue to decline.

Next, it's the Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiaca): an easily recognisable yellow-eyed bird. This guy is a male - the males are virtually pure white, while the females have dark markings.

This hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) looks right at home in the water. Dublin's hippos are named Henri, Hoovie and Heidi. native to central and southern Africa, they are classified as 'vulnerable' in the wild.

Finally, an Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus), from the herd at Dublin Zoo. they have smaller ears than their African counterpart and those ears (kind of) look like India! it's estimated that there are only around 35-50,000 Asian Elephants left in the wild.

Dublin Zoo is open all year round; except for Christmas Day and St. Stephens Day. It's really worth a visit.

Inside the Dead Zoo

To celebrate Darwin Day; a two-part documentary (via youtube) on Ireland's Natural History Museum, also known as The Dead Zoo.

Part1


Part 2

All aboard for Turin

In another example of novel science communication, six young Irish science ambassadors are travelling across Europe aboard the Science Communication Bus in order to promote Dublin City of Science 2012.

Having left Dublin on the 20th of June, they plan to reach Turin (City of Science 2010) on the 1st of July before heading on to Barcelona to end their tour. The stopover in Turin will coincide with that city's science celebrations which take place from 2nd-7th July.

The science ambassadors will be tweeting, blogging and youtubing along the way.

The science bus rolled into Brussels yesterday where they visited Ireland's European Commissioner for Research and Innovation, Maire Geoghegan-Quinn.

Ellen Byrne, one of the science ambassadors outlined the goals of the trip: "We are travelling from Dublin to Turin and all along the way, we are talking about Dublin, the city of science 2012".

Maire Geoghegan-Quinn welcomed the initiative: " I think it is a tremendous achievement because it is collaboration between different elements, Enterprise Ireland, which deals with industry in Ireland, the chief scientific officer and so on, and also the tourism bodies in the country."

"They have been talking to the ambassadors, and they keep telling me that every time, everywhere they go, there is a huge buzz and a huge excitement. And, as I've said from the beginning, I want young people back involved in the sciences and what better way to promote that than to see these young people travelling all the way to Turin."

And Ellen Byrne had some advise for those interested in science: "I would say roll up your sleeves and just totally get involved. There is something for everyone in science: science, technology, engineering and maths; and whether it's music, art or football, there is something for everyone to do within science."

You can find out more about the trip and about Dublin 2012 by visiting www.dublinscience2012.ie

43 % have never been to the Natural History Museum

The Irish Natural History Museum has re-opened today after being closed since 2007. Despite a €15 million refurbishment being put on hold, the museum opened today with just minor structural changes having been made.
Due to the halt on refurbishment, little improvements have been made with regard to emergency exit from the upper floors. For that reason, the balcony galleries, containing many thousands of specimens, will no longer be accessible to the general public. This is a real shame, but we should be thankful for small mercies and the fact that the bulk of the museum is now, once again, open to the public.

According to our recent survey 57 % of readers who responded had previously visited the museum on Dublin's Merrion Street. If you haven't been, now is a perfect time to go. It's free, so bring a friend!

Natural History Museum - a history of neglect?

Some excellent news for Irish science with the announcement that the Natural History Museum of Ireland will re-open on Thursday 29th April.

The museum has been closed since 5th July 2007 when one flight of a staircase collapsed suddenly and without warning with about 20 people on it. Eleven people were injured in the collapse. According to a report prepared for the Office of Public Works (OPW) by Price and Myers Consulting Engineers, a sound "like someone biting into a crisp apple" was heard and the flight of stairs gave way.

"such staircases are common to many large 18th and 19th century houses"The stairway was a cantilevered staircase which are common to many large 18th and 19th century houses in Ireland. They are designed to have one side of each stair (or step) attached to the supporting wall of the building. This takes part of the load of the stairway. The rest of the load is passed down the stairs from step to step - the weight coming from above is held by the back of the step, that step is then supported by the step below. This is repeated all the way down the stairs.

The report to the OPW suggested that the failure of the staircase started at the bottom, where it was most heavily loaded and "progressed rapidly up the flight".

On inspection of the collapsed stairway, it was evident to the engineers that pieces of stone had been inserted into the steps to repair wear and tear. This work was probably done over 20 years ago " when little was known of the mechanics of these staircases".

Having carried out stress testing on the collapsed stairway, the report concludes: "It is clear that the introduction of the inserts has very considerably weakened the threads". The remaining flight of stairs at the museum, which did not have such inserts was not affected and after testing has been confirmed as perfectly safe.

It was unfortunate that the collapse should have happened in 2007, as it was the 150th anniversary of the opening of the building as the Museum of the Royal Dublin Society.

A €15 million redevelopment plan for the museum was approved by the National Development Plan in February 2008 and staff began the task of documenting all of the collections (some 10,000 exhibits) on site in preparation for a move to accommodate the necessary building work. This redevelopment plan included the construction of an Earth Science Gallery underneath the front lawn of the building which would exhibit geological collections.

However, by December 2008, the restoration plan was put on hold due to financial constraints and by 2009 a temporary exhibition space was opened at Collins Barracks, Dublin.

A 2005  report by the Royal Irish Academy (RIA) notes that the museum comprises "an irreplaceable and priceless national collection of world-scale historical importance in a setting of the highest architectural significance". This is important to note. The Merrion Street building has often been referred to as a "museum of a museum" given the traditional layout and design which ironically survives due to a lack of public spending on the building.

It is a unique entity, believed to be the last national natural history museum in the world to retain the 'cabinet' layout of the 19th century style.

The report to the RIA insists that the museum should be preserved "as it stands with a minimum of modernisation" but that an extension should be provided to expand and provide more modern interpretive elements, teaching and refreshment facilities and access by the disabled.

"removal of the natural history collections would be symbolic of the notion that science has no part in Irish culture" -RIAA move away from its current location in the heart of Ireland's government district (it is adjacent to Leinster House) is discouraged by the report: "It is the only wholly scientific institution in this complex and removal of the natural history collections would be symbolic of the notion that science has no part in Irish culture".

Given the current state of public expenses, it is hardly surprising that the museum will re-open this month with the minimum of work having been done to the fabric of the building. This is not to detract from the work of the staff over the closure - they have re-cataloged much of the collections and provided new labeling.

As for the Earth Science Gallery and the extension to house new exhibition space and disabled access, these have been put on the long finger once more. It seems the Natural History Museum is destined to stay much as it has been for the past 150 years. Not because there isn't a need to upgrade teaching, exhibition and access facilities, but because the government cannot bring itself to spend money on the much needed improvements. A government which continues to call for its young people to study science, but will allow its science museums to, very literally, collapse.

You may want to complete our poll on the Natural History Museum. Have you ever been? The poll can be found on the top right hand corner of this page.