James D’Arcy’s device, called Flo2w, is the only Irish entry to make it the final of the international Dyson Design Awards. James is in with a chance to win the grand prize of €12,000 – plus €12,000 for the design department at the University of Limerick, where he has just completed his final year.

The contestants must pitch their inventions to a panel of top experts, Dyson engineers and finally James Dyson himself – the renowned international inventor whose charitable trust is behind the awards.

Oxygen system

James D'Arcy's prototype design for his oxygen delivery system

James’s invention holds an oxygen tube to a patient’s head with an adjustable headpiece, and the subtle design makes the user feel as if they are not even wearing it.

“It eliminates the big, intimidating, one-size-fits-all mask that is currently being used,” he explains.

James, who comes from Minane Bridge in Cork, has beaten more than 500 entries from 21 countries to make this year’s final. He drew his inspiration for the project from his father, who spent over eight months in hospital.

“It was here that I noticed the amount of issues with the current respiratory masks. The flimsy strap that was poorly attached to the mask kept loosening, and after a period of time the strap was causing pain above the ear.

“In addition to this, the top of the mask was causing pain at the bridge of the nose and led to skin sores.

“I also observed that some of the oxygen was escaping out the sides of the mask and blowing into the patient’s eyes, therefore the efficiency of the mask was poor.”

In the early part of his research James undertook “empathy trials”, wearing a traditional mask in a hospital environment. The next phase was conceptualisation “with lots of sketching and prototyping”.

“I used the prototype in a hospital environment and found it much better. I was also getting help from a respiratory nurse within the college and she also approved of the design. Fine tuning the design came after this.”

The winner of the James Dyson Design Awards will be announced on 5 October. Last year’s winning invention was a fire extinguisher that can be fitted directly onto a standard kitchen tap. In the event of a fire, a wireless heat detector triggers a  pump and quickly fills the kitchen with a fine mist to put out the blaze.

Learn more

View all this year’s entries

Read James D’Arcy’s blog

Learn more about designer James Dyson on Wikipedia

Leading bat expert: Dr Emma Teeling

She has been called Ireland’s “Batwoman”, and is a leading international expert on how bats have evolved their flight and echo-location abilities.

Now Dr Emma Teeling talks about her childhood fascination with biology and the science of bats in the latest issue of Science Spin magazine.

Emma, who is is Director of the Centre for Irish Bat Research, and is a lecturer and researcher at UCD, has spent much of her career studying these often misunderstood little creatures.

She explains in the Science Spin interview that she has been fascinated by the natural world since she was a young girl, and she loved physics and biology at school. She also talks about her work and how she progressed through her career.

“It is not quite a profession in the traditional sense,” she says. I think that studying science in school enabled me to realise that this was what I really wanted to do.”

The advice Emma would give students thinking of a science career is to “take the subjects that you love at college level, at least for the first degree. You want to get high grades in your degree then you can study anything at fourth level.”

Breakthrough bat research

Emma hails from Dublin and graduated from UCD’s Zoology Department in 1995. For her doctoral research at Queen’s University Belfast, she investigated bat genetics.

Then her groundbreaking paper in the prestigious journal Science totally rearranged the bat family tree. Previous research suggested that large “megabats” evolved first, but Emma’s genetic analysis showed that “microbats” predated their larger, seeing counterparts. Microbats use echolocation, whereas most megabats don’t.

In 2007 Emma won a €1 million science award. The prestigious Science Foundation Ireland President of Ireland Young Researcher Award has allowed her to study the molecular evolution of sensory perception.

The aim is to identify which genetic mutations and genes are most likely to cause deafness and blindness in humans and mammals such as bats.

Bats are friendly

While bats have a bloodthirsty reputation, Emma says bats are “lovely creatures” that are very friendly.

“I think they are absolutely beautiful. I also think they have had terrible bad press. People are frightened of them”

- Bat expert Dr Emma Teeling

Bats have a soft side too: they are loving mothers and constantly groom their pups. Injured bats that are hand-reared by humans can become pets. “They recognise people and will purr in the hands of their owners. They are wonderful creatures, actually very friendly.”

Now Emma’s lab at UCD is developing new techniques to count bats, and to identify them into species.

“Bats regulate insects,” she explains. “If one species is to go extinct we have no idea what this will do to Ireland’s natural landscape. All environments depend on the species that are present in them. To remove one may cause the entire ecosystem to crumble. Therefore we must carefully monitor these environments and species.”

Learn more

Read the Science Spin interview with Emma Teeling

Listen to an RTÉ interview with Emma about her research into the genetics of goats (MP3 file)

Visit the Centre for Irish Bat Research website

The annual CanSat competition is organised by the European Space Agency, and is part of its initiative to inspire young people to follow a career in science or engineering.

A CanSat is a simulation of a real satellite, integrated within the volume and shape of an ordinary soft drink can. The team from Laurel Hill used their CanSat to measure air temperature, air pressure and the levels of methane and carbon dioxide in the air, in order to assess levels of pollution in the atmosphere.

Sensors and fibre optics

The team from Laurel Hill at the rocket range

It wasn’t all plain sailing though. As their team notes explain, “We ordered a CO2 sensor which unfortunately came without a data sheet.

“So we got in touch with Sinead O’Keeffe from the University of Limerick who advised us to use optical fibres to measure the light intensity one kilometre in the atmosphere and from that we can detect whether there is a lot of gas in the atmosphere due to light absorption.

“We did a lot of research for optical fibres and carried out many experiments once they were connected to our CanSat.  These experiments were vital in our preparations as it made us familiar with the optical fibres.

“Without the help of John Nelson, Hugh O’Brien and Sinead O’Keeffe from University of Limerick our team would have been lost. They have been great mentors and their help has been invaluable to us.”

The team, named Truailliú, consisted of Roisin Aherne, Orla O’Brien, Derval McCauley, Meave Gilligan, Genevieve McPhilemy, Gillian Gavin, Rachel Ryan and Sarah McNamara.

Ann Fitzpatrick, ESERO (European Space Education Resource Office) manager, said: “The competition is a great way to encourage students to become more actively involved in science and in particular physics. The students have illustrated great creativity and innovation in this project.”

Learn more

Check out the videos and posts on the team’s blog

Read more about the CanSat competition

Mr Power was speaking in the light of this year’s Leaving Certificate results. Only 16% of students sat this year’s higher-level maths paper.

While he found the latest figures for higher level maths “disappointing”, an Engineers Ireland survey last week of Leaving Cert maths students showed that 71% at higher level rated their maths teacher as excellent or good.

“This suggests there are a lot of strong teachers out there that have the respect and attention of their students,” he said.  “What is needed to tackle the maths problem is much greater support for maths teachers in the classroom – and this needs to come not just from Government but from industry and business also.”

Project Maths

The preliminary data around Project Maths was encouraging, but it would be “two to five years before we have any meaningful data on the initiative”, he said.

The same Engineers Ireland survey found that students felt higher level maths was currently too time-consuming. “We need to give maths the time it deserves in the classroom. Bearing in mind the CAO uses six subjects to calculate points for third-level courses, there is an argument that students should only take six subjects during school time,” he said.

“This would allow teachers to focus on the key subjects, such as maths, that are integral to students finding jobs on graduating.”

Bonus points

Meanwhile the Minister for Education and Skills, Mary Coughlan, said this morning that bonus points for Leaving Cert maths would be introduced by 2012.

Learn more

Read the full Engineers Ireland media release

Read an overview of the Project Maths syllabuses

Here’s a video of 2009 winners “DanWantsTech” (of DanWantsTech.com)  in an interview on RTE 2′s Two Tube:

Click here to view the embedded video.

The awards aim to:

• Acknowledge innovation among web creators in schools.
• Provide an exciting programme that will encourage teachers/students to further develop their technology skills in web design.
• Encourage the use of the internet to teach subjects on our curriculum.
• Act as a catalyst for those students who wish to pursue a career in this sector by providing access to influential business executives

There is no cost to enter. You can take part either as an individual, a group (up to three people), a class or the whole school.

Don’t forget that all entries will need to have your teacher/principal contact name and number, otherwise it won’t qualify.

Key dates

• 5 November: closing date for entries
• 30 November: announcement of the primary school winners and the shortlist of secondary school finalists
• 17 December: the finals at the Helix in Dublin City University

Check out the Junior Spiders website for how to take part, and links to helpful resources for your web project.

CanSat offers students the opportunity to build their own mini “satellites” in soda cans.

The event will see the team of Genevieve McPhilemy (from Corbally), Roisin Ahearne (Kildimo) and Orla O’Brien (Patrickswell) launch their scale model of a satellite integrated into the shape and volume of a regular European soda can (115mm high and 66mm in diameter).

Space mission

Soldering tools, part of the CanSat kit. Photo: European Space Agency

A CanSat is a simulation of a real satellite, integrated within the volume and shape of a regular soft drink can. The challenge for the students is to fit all the major subsystems found in a satellite such as power and communications into the can, using a kit supplied by the contest organisers.

After release from a rocket or a captive balloon the CanSat has to perform a certain mission and land safety on the ground.

The missions of the Limerick team’s CanSat include measuring air temperature, air pressure and UV light levels in the atmosphere before – all going to plan – landing back safely on the ground.

European Space Agency

The competition is organised by the European Space Agency and is part of its initiative to inspire young people to follow a career in science or engineering.  The Limerick team faces stiff competition: out of 33 projects submitted from across Europe, just 11 were selected to go through to the final.

The girls’ physics teacher, Siobhan Crowe, said: “We are very proud of what we’ve created. Each student was given a role in the project such as programming, processing, data logging and design.

“The whole process has been a true team effort and regardless of the outcome of the competition we are extremely proud of our achievement”.

Learn more

Read more about the CanSat competition

The survey of maths students who sat this year’s Leaving Certificate also found that nearly 83% of ordinary level students made their decision by fifth year, and half opted out of the higher level syllabus during their Junior Cert year.

Among the survey’s other results:

• 41% of ordinary level students believe that higher level maths is too time-consuming
• 23% said they found the subject “scary”
• 21% said they wouldn’t need maths on leaving school
• The remaining 15% said maths was boring

Project Maths

The Project Maths website

Engineers Ireland’s Communications Director, Fionnuala Kilbane, says the survey shows that there is still a vital need to alter the perception of maths among many second-level students.

“Project Maths focuses on linking maths with everyday experiences and we are delighted that the Government is rolling out the curriculum in September to first and fifth-year students.

“Maths needs to be demystified and shown that it is integral to everything from mobile phone use to the effective functioning of Facebook.”

Learn more

Read the full press release by Engineers Ireland about the survey

Visit the Project Maths website

Hannah Hayes (16), from Glounthaune, who is going into fifth year at Midleton College in Cork, developed the new method to recharge ordinary batteries using a rotating ball placed inside a tumble dryer.

She picked up several prizes for her science projects at the recent 2010 Shanghai International New Science and Technology Expo.
Here’s our interview with Hannah at the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition last January, in which she explained how her invention works…

Click here to view the embedded video.

“I started thinking about how we are using more and more household batteries in our homes,” “Many people are unaware that batteries should be recycled and they are often just thrown out with regular household waste, which pollutes and damages our environment.

“Rechargeable batteries are a better solution but they still require electricity for charging. I realised that there are many household appliances that use kinetic energy and the idea grew from there.”
- Hannah Hayes explains her invention in today’s Irish Times

After taking second place in her category at the Young Scientist, Hannah has done further research on the “tumble charger” as part of the Business Mentoring Programme in Trinity College Dublin.

She is receiving 12 months of expert support in developing her prototype, with the possibility of putting it into production.

Hannah then travelled on a scholarship to the Shanghai Expo with fellow student Beth Wardle (16). They worked jointly on a second prize-winning project, “Kiwi 3″, which investigates various filter media to extract DNA from fruit.

In Shanghai, Hannah was also awarded a major prize for “best thesis”, and the duo from Middleton won a “best display” prize for their stand.

Learn more

Find out more about the 2011 BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition – the closing date for entries is 4 October 2010.

Read a quick explanation of the difference between potential energy and kinetic energy

Test your knowledge of kinetic energy at the Physics Classroom

Exo-planets (artist's impression)

A new space mission involving physicists from Queen’s University Belfast is on the hunt for life-bearing planets far beyond our solar system.

PLATO (Planetary Transits and Oscillations of Stars) is one of three missions to share in a £3.65 million development grant from the UK Space Agency.

In June 2011, The European Space Agency will choose two of the three missions to build and launch into orbit between 2017 and 2020.

“Planet hunter” Professor Don Pollacco, from Queen’s School of Maths and Physics, is leading the PLATO team.

“The discovery of life-bearing planets is one of the major scientific and philosophical challenges of our time and at Queen’s we have been active in this area for many years,” he explains.

Searching for exo-planets

“Already our SuperWASP experiment, using ground-based telescopes, has discovered 43 exo-planets so far,” he says.

Exo-planets are extra-solar planets, and the mission will scan for various signs of life.

The study of these planets is one of the most dynamic and exciting areas of modern astronomy. Since the first discovery in 1995 of a planet around a normal sun-like star, more than 470 planets have been discovered.

Learn more

Check out the Queen’s Astrophysics Research Centre’s website for more about exo-planets, hot stars, molecular astrophysics, supernovae and solar physics.

“Even in a bumper year for college applications, [these] three disciplines regarded as cornerstones for the so-called smart economy are outpacing other areas,” the report says.

Meanwhile fewer students are opting for “the fashionable careers of the boom years such as architecture and law”.

“School-leavers, as well as the rising number of mature students now seeking to go back to college to acquire new skills, are obviously heeding the advice of the Government and industry experts about where the jobs will be in the new economy.”

- Irish Independent, 3 August 2010

Record figures

The trends have emerged in the Higher Education Authority’s analysis of this year’s college applications. This year the CAO is dealing with an all-time high of 77,126 applications, compared with 65,883 in 2007 before the economic downturn.

Within these record figures, science, engineering and computing are all capturing a greater share of first preferences than they did in 2007. The report finds that:

• Science has moved up from seventh to fifth place in terms of the most popular disciplines for level 8, honours degree programmes. It is now the top choice for 7% of applicants for level 8 courses, compared with 5.4% in 2007
• Computing attracted 1,835 first preferences in 2007 (3.3% of the total) and increased this year to 3,163 (4.7%)
• The number of students making engineering their first choice has risen from 3.8% to 4.3%

Learn more

Read the full report in the Irish Independent

Read more about careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics on our MyScienceCareer.ie website