Apr 30 2010
Cork Science Cafe Explores How Thinking Small is Pushing Technology Forwards
CIT Cork Institute of Technology’s Blackrock Castle Observatory (BCO) in association with UCC, Tyndall National Institute, CIT, the Cork Electronics Industry Association and Cork City Learning Forum today announced the May programme for Cork Science Café at Blackrock Castle, Cork.
Cork Science Cafe is a place where anyone can come to explore the latest ideas in science and technology and their impact on our culture. Meetings take place monthly in the relaxed surrounds of the Castle Bar and Trattoria before the headline speaker at Blackrock Castle Observatory’s First Fridays at the Castle.
The next Cork Science Café takes place on Friday, May 7th at 7pm when Dr Aidan Quinn explores the theme of Pushing Technology Forwards.
How can nanoscale objects make an impact on technology to improve our quality of life and help the planet? Dr Quinn will provide some examples of how nanostructures, things about 5,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair, are being used for applications across a range of sectors, including;
- Healthcare, where gold nanoparticles are being used to develop new medical tests for early detection of illness.
- Energy, where nanoscale structures are being used to improve the efficiency of solar cells for renewable energy generation.
- Electronics, where nanoscale materials are being developed to improve everyday electronic devices like laptops, mobile phones and MP3 players.
Aidan Quinn is Head of the Nanotechnology Group at the Tyndall National Institute in Cork. The group focuses on developing methods to interface “bottom-up” nanostructures, which are assembled atom-by-atom using methods from chemistry and biology, with “top-down” fabrication methods currently used to make electronic devices like computers and mobile phones.
Commenting on the programme, Aoife O’Donoghue, Outreach Officer at Tyndall National Institute said “The Cork Science Café was established to help bring science and technology research into a public domain whereby members of the local community can engage with scientists, ask questions and give opinions on contemporary research. The intention is to increase awareness, understanding and interest in the sciences in general and particularly to draw attention to research being carried out in the community.”
Cork Science Café is affiliated to the international network of Café Scientifique first organised in the UK in 1998 based on the French Café Philosophique. While French scientists thought they ought to inform the public more on topics within the science community, in the UK the movement was started by members of the public who wanted to know more about science. In both countries it moved out of an academic structure into popular locations, attracting wider audiences.