The Beaufort Research Laboratory at UCC has taken to the high seas for its official launch aboard the Irish Naval Vessel LÉ Róisín.
Beaufort Research brings together three of University College Cork’s research centres:
- The Hydraulics and Maritime Research Centre (HMRC)
- The Coastal and Marine Research Centre (CMRC)
- The Sustainable Energy Research Group (SERG)
The new laboratory will provide support for the marine renewable industry, which will be a vital source of electricity and employment over the next decade. The lab will have 135 research positions, and up to 200 jobs will be created during the project’s construction phase which is due to start this December.
The new facilities at the 4,700-square-metre Beaufort Laboratory include the National Ocean Energy Test Facility, incubation suites for industry and offices and facilities for the multi-disciplinary researchers.
Who was Beaufort?
The lab takes its name in honour of Francis Beaufort (1774-1857). Originally from Navan in County Meath, Beaufort was the British Navy’s greatest hydrographer and map-maker.
Today he is best remembered as the originator of the Beaufort Scale which classifies the velocity and force of winds at sea.
Learn more
Visit the Beaufort Research website
Read a questions-and-answers session between students and people working in the energy sector in Ireland, including wave energy engineers. The Q&A session is part of the Smart Futures initiative’s STEM online careers week.
