NUI Galway Energy Night Wednesday 26 Janurary 5.30 - 9.00 pm
NUIG Energy Night was an entirely student and postdoc organised event bringing together the Chemistry, Energy and Physics societies of the
National University of Ireland, Galway. It was the first time that so broad a section of students came together at
NUIG or any other Irish University to organise such an event, and it reflects the seriousness with which these enthusiastic and energetic students regard the future of energy supply and demand in Ireland. The sponsors of the night were
Enerit, Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), and
Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering & Technology (IRCSET). Over 300 delegates from academia, local and national industry, policy-making and the general public attended and participated in Energy Night.
The night started with a poster session which showcased some of the cutting edge energy research being undertaken at
NUI Galway. There were over 40 presenters and the standard of the posters was very high. Attendees had the opportunity to vote for their favourite postersand the top three bright sparks were; Mark White of the Department of Information Technology, NUIG, Darren Coppinger of the Ryan Institute, NUIG and David Fallon of the Department of Civil Engineering, NUIG.
The panel discussion took place in a packed O’Flaherty Lecture Theatre. High Profile panellists included SEAI CEO Professor J. Owen Lewis, Siemens Ireland CEO Paul Lynam, IBEC’s Head of Energy and Environment Policy, Dr. Neil Walker, founder of NUI Galway’s Combustion Chemistry Centre Professor John Simmie and Nuclear Energy Expert Professor Philip Walton. The discussion was expertly moderated by RTÉ’s Environment Correspondent Paul Cunningham. The often high spirited debate raised some interesting issues such as nuclear energy in Ireland, whom should be making energy policy in Ireland, energy efficiency and the viability and potential viability of new energy technologies. The well-informed audience, which included Senator Niall Ó Brolcháin as well as directors and executives of many of Ireland's major energy companies, asked questions and raised issues that challenged the panel and lead to interesting debate.
NUIG Energy Night showed that the spirit of innovation is alive and well among the students and postdocs of
NUI Galway. For more information on the night, to see the winning posters or to see the panellists’power point slides see the
NUIG Energy Night website.
