The Story of the Bicycle exhibition tells the fascinating history of a mode of transport invented in the latter half of the 19 th century.
Find out about the role the bicycle played in female emancipation, in providing the first cheap form of transport for the masses, in how its health benefits were recognised from its
earliest days by allowing people to escape overcrowded grimy industrialised cities to enjoy leisure time in clean nature-rich countryside, its use by guerrilla combatants in warfare and
its associations with romance and youth. There are also details to on the darker side of its history, in how the production of the bicycle began the large scale destruction of tropical
forests.

The exhibition is part of the BEO (Irish = alive) project which provides an Online Local Heritage Archive Library of photographs, films and stories reflecting the social, economic,
educational, religious and cultural life in Ireland in days gone by with a particular focus on the twentieth century. BEO is coordinated by the Insight SFI Research Centre for Data
Analytics at University of Galway in association with the Heritage Office of Galway County Council.

Exhibition posters co-funded by Bike Week, Active Cities Galway and Galway City Council

Location: Galway City Centre Library, Augustine Street.

Join Dr. Pat O’Leary for a presentation on his life with Chemistry: from illness to anti-doping

Dr. O’Leary is currently Registrar of the National University of Ireland, and formerly Head of the School of Chemistry in the University of Galway. He is a two-time paralympian and was the first athlete to represent Ireland in canoeing at the Paralympic Games in Rio 2016. Pat was appointed to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA’s) Athlete Council in 2023, part of a 20-member athlete panel tasked with representing, supporting and promoting the voices of athletes on anti-doping matters.

In this public seminar, through the Galway Science & Technology Festival, Dr. O’Leary will provide fascinating insight into his personal and professional experience with chemistry under the topics of:

Cancer and Chemotherapy

Imaging, swabbing and security checks

Artificial limb technology, sports science and paralympic competitions

Antidoping and athletes

Discipline/Office/Unit College of Science and Engineering

Date:  Tuesday 21st November, 2023

Time:  7pm

Venue:  Alice Perry Engineering Building , ENG G-047

Presented in association with Science Foundation Ireland as part of Science Week 2023.

Dr. Phil Kennedy was once a famous neuroscientist. In the late 1990s, he made global headlines for implanting several wire electrodes in the brain of a paralyzed man and then teaching the locked-in patient to control a computer cursor with his mind. He was compared to Alexander Graham Bell in The Washington Post and became known as ‘The Father of the Cyborgs.’ He made headlines more recently in 2014 when he travelled to South America and had tiny electrodes implanted inside his own brain in order to continue his research. The documentary examines the ethics of self-experimentation and the unintended consequences of a future where technology and human brains combine.

The screening will be introduced by Prof. Eilís Down and attendees will be welcome to a complimentary glass of wine from the Pálás bar.

Prof Eilís Dowd is Professor of Pharmacology at University of Galway and was President of Neuroscience Ireland, Ireland’s official neuroscience society, from 2017-2019, and President of the Network for European CNS Transplantation and Restoration (NECTAR) from 2014-2018.

She currently sits on the Executive Committee of the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) and Chairs the FENS Communications Committee. She is also Associate Editor of Neuronal Signaling, Section Editor of the European Journal of Neuroscience, and Editorial Board member at the British Journal of Pharmacology.

Date:  Sunday 18th November, 2023

Time:  16.00

Venue:  An Pálás Cinema

Gaze at the universe using telescopes (weather permitting) and learn about astronomy and
astrophysics.

Date:  13th November

Time: 6 – 8pm

Location: ATU Galway City campus, Dublin Road -Southern Reception

To book email

A series of weekly coding workshops for pre-teen children staying in direct provision will commence during the Galway Science and Technology Festival.
The first workshop will be held at 4pm Thursday November 23 rd at the Eglinton Direct Provision Centre in Salthill.
Over the four weekly sessions, the young participants will be taught how to create their own adventure stories and computer games, as well as to code a maths lesson.

Organiser: Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics at the University of Galway

Work like a modern biologist in your home and extract DNA from cells that make up all living things, with both scientific small equipment and everyday life items.

Children will work with the support of their parents/Guardian and the Cell EXPLORERS team!

This session will be run by Cell Explorers scientists based in different location in Europe and part of the EpiSeedLink Research Training Network.

Participants prepare DNA from banana cells assisted by scientist explainers during a secure zoom meeting. The activity will be run in small breakout rooms and participants will have the opportunity to ask questions to the scientists present. No Science background necessary to attend the event. The Cell Explorers online code of behaviour will apply during all sessions and emailed to all those who register.

• Suitable : For all, from 10+. Children must be under the supervision of an adult. Suitable for children between 7 and 9 if adult helper is present.
• Tickets: One ticket per family. Sales close on 14^th of November, 11am.
• Pre-requisite: Registered participant who have entered a valid postal address (including Eircode) will be sent a checklist of the necessary items. They will also receive a small science kit guaranteeing the success of the experiment. The kit includes hand sanitiser that contains 80% ethanol and no gelling agents. You MUST include the Eircode in your registration or you will not be sent the kit.
• Organisation: Participants who have registered online will be provided with a secure Zoom link to meet the Cell Explorers explainers in their laboratories. Participants will carry on the Banana DNA extraction under the guidance of the Cell Explorers Explainer.

Date:  21st November

Time:  6pm

Cost:  free

To book complete the booking form

What others said about the workshops:

• • ‘Interesting and worthwhile, real science in action!’ 
  • “Fantastic for inquisitive children. Very well structured, well organized and well run.’
  • ‘My son loved the live experiment. The live experience kept him engaged the whole way through. It was far more engaging than watching and following a pre-recorded video. He enjoyed seeing the other kids taking part, being involved in the poll and asking questions. Thank you to everyone involved!’ 

Cell Explorers is funded by Science Foundation Ireland, EpiSeedLink is funded by the European Union

Join us for a fascinating event on various applications of Artificial Intelligence with experts in the field.

Speaker and MC, Professor Edward Curry, from University of Galway and Insight/DSI

Title: AI101: Why all the Hype?

Speaker: Dr. James McDermott of the School of Computer Science

Title: Generative AI and Music

In this talk James will describe how AI is being used to analyse and learn from music, and to generate new music, including examples from Irish traditional music. He’ll use this as a jumping-off point to also discuss some of the central points of controversy and different lines of new research in the field of AI.

Speaker: Dr. Niamh Hynes, Galway Clinic

Title: AI to Empower Cardiovascular Imaging Diagnostics and Enhance Patient Care

Dr Niamh Hynes is a vascular surgeon with advanced fellowship training in aortic surgery. She operates at the Galway Clinic and undertakes research at the University of Galway. Artificial Intelligence is transforming the delivery of healthcare and medical diagnostics. Existing data and images and with the help of AI are being used to build tools that can not only make healthcare provision exponentiality more efficient but also lifesaving. In this talk Dr Hynes will discuss a project she is working which is run by the Insight SFI Centre for Data analytics and CURAM SFI centre for Medical devices on aortic disease.

Speaker: Dr. Heike Felzmann, School of Humanities, University of Galway

Title: The unpredictable impact of AI on society, focusing on responsibility and creativity.

Speaker: Mr. Rory Ward, B.Eng

Title: ‘Automatic Video Colourisation’.

Have you ever watched a classic film or family video in black-and-white and imagined what it would look like in vibrant and realistic colours? With technological advancements, this vision is steadily becoming a reality. In this talk, Rory will explore the what, the how, and the why of transforming monochromatic videos into colourful masterpieces.

The event will Followed by a short Q&A with the speakers.

Arrive early to enjoy an AR/VR Interactive Experience available in the lobby from 6-7pm.

Date:  Thursday 16th November, 2023

Time: 7 – 9pm (arrive early for the AR/VR Interactive Experience)

Cost: €10

Carol Danvers, or Captain Marvel, is perhaps the most powerful Avenger! Her powers are greater than those of Captain America, Iron Man, and even Thor.

Danvers can fly, she has super-strength, and she can fire ultra-powerful blasts from her hands. In terms of abilities, it seems like she’s out on her own.

Yet, in The Marvels, two other MCU superheroes – Kamala Khan and Monica Rambeau – are somehow connected to the abilities of Captain Marvel and it all comes down to one thing – light.

In The Marvellous Science of The Marvels and along with Dr Barry Fitzgerald (The Superhero Scientist) you’ll learn about the light-based science behind the superpowers of Carol Danvers, Kamala Khan, and Monica Rambeau, and how we are using light in the real world to do some extraordinary things!

It’s time to shed some super-light on The Marvels!

• Venue: The Eye Cinema
• Date: Tuesday 21^st November
• Time: 18:30
• Tickets €6 and available on galwayscience.ie

The fantastic annual Exhibition day will return to the University of Galway campus on Sunday 12th of November.

This unmissable day is filled with exciting exhibitions and workshops inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers. There will be fantastic interactive stands by world leading global companies, local universities, research centres and local primary and secondary schools. The Exhibition will also include over 20 educational and entertaining workshops and shows including the ever-popular Cell Explorers;  zoology workshops showcasing real tarantulas, snakes, scorpions and lizards to very excited children and much, much more for the entire family to enjoy.

The Exhibition itself is free to attend with tickets for individual shows and workshops released on Saturday 4th of November at 9am on Eventbrite.

Crowd4Access is a Citizen Science project. It is a partnership between citizens and professional technology researchers who have come together to map the accessibility of footpaths of Irish cities.

Everyone has challenges when navigating the footpaths of a city. The wheelchair user and the parent pushing a buggy may need access ramps, the runner may need an even surface, the user of crutches may need shorter street crossings, the person with low eyesight may need a good contrast between footpath and the street, whereas the blind may need tactile pavement.

At the first workshop you will learn about how:

• different people use footpaths in different ways

• to identify major obstacles to footpath accessibility

• to use a smartphone app to photograph footpaths in your area.

Participants will then be divided into small groups to map an area of the city using the photo app. At the second and third workshop, participants will review the images from the mapping exercise before inputting onto an open source map the footpaths and such elements as tactile pavements, pedestrian street crossings, bollards and electricity poles

Trainer: Brendan Smith, Education and Public Engagement Manager, Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics, University of Galway

Internet Safety sessions
Whilst Web services have brought untold benefits to individuals and to society, sadly cyberbullying and harassment on social media and gaming platforms is a problem that is increasingly causing harm to young people.
Brendan Smith, Education and Public Engagement Manager at the Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics at the University of Galway, will provide talks and workshops to
primary school children, secondary school students and parents on the dangers that exist online, the laws pertaining to cyberbullying, and guidelines on implementing safe use of the Internet.
Dates: November 21 st and 23 rd .
Audience: Parents and young people of primary and secondary schools
Organiser: Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics at the University of Galway
Contact: Brendan Smith at [email protected]

Computer & Communications Museum of Ireland
Location: Data Science Institute, University of Galway H91 AEX4
Date: Saturday November 18 th
Time: 2pm-4pm
Audience: General Public
Organiser: Computer & Communications Museum of Ireland & Insight
Summary
This very popular interactive technology heritage facility is open to the general public on Saturday afternoons.
The museum provides a fascinating insight into advances in communications from ancient hieroglyphics to today’s Internet with a particular emphasis on early radio communications,
telephony and the first decades of desktop computers and games consoles.
New features include thematic exhibits on Apple, Northern Telecom/Nortel, immersive gaming and radio.
For further information contact Brendan Smith at [email protected]