UCD launches new Energy Institute with Taoiseach

The Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, has formally launched a new UCD Energy Institute which will bring together energy researchers from industry and academia.The UCD Energy Institute has received donor funding of €5 million and further seed capital funding from industry.

UCD President Dr. Hugh Brady, An Taoiseach Enda Kenny & Dr. David O'Rielly, Chair, UCD Energy Advisory Board

The Institute will focus its research on Energy Systems Integration which provides the basis for improved energy performance, reduced cost and minimises environmental impact – a challenge across the world.

The Institute is developing a major national initiative Future Grid Test Bed – Ireland in collaboration with EirGrid and the ESB. This activity feeds into a further collaboration with the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Danish Technical University (DTU) in the area of Energy Systems Integration. The integration of renewable energy to electricity grids is a strategically important research area for Ireland given its wealth of renewable energy resources and Ireland’s electricity grid is uniquely positioned to be utilised as an international location for testing new technologies.

The new Institute will host over 200 world class energy researchers working in partnership with industry and the energy policy community and builds on prior research investments by Science Foundation Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, Irish Research Council, the EU and importantly, industry in this area.

An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny TD said, "We are at an exciting juncture in energy research. With the right ideas, talent and support, the next decade has the potential to be transformative in how Ireland produces, uses and transmits energy. UCD’s new Energy Institute will prove an invaluable resource in solving our energy challenges and realising new opportunities. This initiative clearly demonstrates the ability of our public institutions to work together and with other stakeholders in pursuit of common goals and scientific excellence. The Government will continue to support investment in science, technology and innovation through our Action Plan for Jobs."

Dr Hugh Brady, President, UCD said, “Energy research is a strategic priority for UCD and establishing the UCD Energy Institute reflects of our ongoing commitment to this important area. It will supply a critical mass of world class researcher’s multidisciplinary engineers and scientists trying to bring that research and working collaboration with the industry to ensure that Ireland will absorb the new technologies. This is a highly competitive field internationally and we are proud of our research leaders who have built a strong reputation for research excellence on the world stage that can now realise benefits for Ireland.”

The UCD Energy Institute will be led by Professor Mark O’Malley, UCD School of Electrical, Electronic and Communications Engineering as Scientific Director and Paddy Teahon as Executive Director.




UCD students Shaun Sweeney, Lucy Van Djik, Meadbh Ní Chéirigh with An Taoiseach Enda Kenny at the launch of UCD Energy Institute

 The Strategy for the Institute was developed by the UCD Energy Advisory Board led by Dr. David O’Reilly, UCD graduate and former CEO of Chevron. It builds on the reputation of UCD as a leading centre for energy research, in particular UCD’s Electricity Research Centre supported by leading energy companies and its Petroleum Geosciences research supported by Tullow Oil and other oil industry companies and groups.

Dr. David O’Reilly, Chair, UCD Energy Advisory Board, added, “I am delighted that the Institute is now up and running. I am confident that it will attract high calibre researchers who will help propel Ireland to a leadership position in energy research.”

Jerry O’Sullivan, Managing Director ESB Networks Ltd said, “ESB is delighted to be involved with the new UCD Energy Institute which we know will transform energy research here in Ireland and internationally. As a leading destination for energy researchers the Institute will capitalise on UCD’s academic expertise across Engineering, Science, Business, Law, Economics and Behavioural Sciences. ESB is committed to the development of Smart Electricity Networks which will implement Smart Grid initiatives and enable the development of renewable technologies capable of making a substantial contribution to transforming and decarbonising the energy industry. We are delighted to be involved in a number of research projects which will enable this to happen and to position Ireland as a leader in the energy field.”

Michael Walsh, EirGrid’s Executive Director for Corporate Affairs, Planning and Strategy said, “EirGrid shares UCD's strong commitment to ensuring that Ireland plays a leading role in the world of energy research. Already Ireland and Northern Ireland’s power system has higher levels of instantaneous wind penetration than any other synchronous system in the world. This creates a unique opportunity to develop new world leading technologies and UCD's Energy Institute will play a crucial role in delivering the cutting edge research to support this.”

He added, “EirGrid is committed to working with all our partners including the UCD Energy Institute to deliver a Smart Grid that will continue to providing secure, sustainable and competitive power for consumers and making sure that the island of Ireland is well placed to attract high-technology employment.”

Engineers Picnic a Great Success

The Engineers Picnic has been judged a great success by the large crowd who attended. The weather was not as 'fantastic' as forecast earlier in the week but it settled into a lovely evening in the Rose Garden after the initial drops of rain at the start.

People enjoying the Picnic!

We are very grateful to our Sponsors Eircom Networks, ESB and Eirgrid for their support and to our superb Picnic Committee of Karina O'Neill, Angela Treanor, Robyn Kelly and Tony O'Brien for their very hard work and dedication to see it through to such an acknowledged success. Thanks to UCD for the use of the fabulous Rose Garden - a little known amenity on the Belfield Campus beside Belfield House now known as the Clinton Institute.



Karina O'Neill & Robyn Kelly



The quality of the BBQ by With Taste Catering was excellent and the music by TradSoc in the Rose Garden and JazzSoc in the Clinton Auditorium played tastefully in the background. We are indebted to the Class of 1988 who came in large numbers including members from both UK and the US.



JazzSoc playing at the picnic



TradSoc playing at the picnic

  

Some friends from the Class of 1988

We are also indebted to the Energy Needs Ireland (ENI) students of Electrical Engineering led by Professor Mark O'Malley who had a superb multifaceted exhibition expertly manned in turn by most of their 21 enthusiastic members.

PJ Rudden, Mark O'Malley and ENI Students

These are highly talented 21 undergraduate students from universities throughout Ireland who are spending the Summer of 2013 working on the technical, business and social aspects of projects that are related to the "Smart Grid". The group will make unbiased findings on their views of the future for these projects.

The group includes mostly electrical/electronic engineering students but also students of theoretical physics, earth sciences, commerce, mechanical engineering, chemistry drawn from UCD, UCC, TCD, UL and QUB. It’s great to see this interdisciplinary approach with engineers not just talking and conferring with themselves but interactive and drawing expertise from other professional disciplines. This is how 'big picture' problems get solved in today's world and ENI is an excellent formative model for the students involved. 

ENI Students examining Energy Policies

A number of people who attended the Picnic were greatly taken by the ENI exhibition and students particularly by the enthusiasm with which they displayed their research, their ability to communicate and their thirst for knowledge and innovation. I too was bowled over by their individual and collective performance. Their practical demonstration as to how a Smart Meter works to save energy in the home is a good example that these students know who their real audience must be - John and Mary Citizen! - and how best to communicate this message.  I regard the ENI Exhibition as the highlight of the 2013 Engineers Picnic.

The ENI project is conducted with the financial support of Science Foundation Ireland and the Electricity Research Centre (ERC) in University College Dublin in collaboration with the Smart Grid Innovation Hub. ENI was set up by the ERC in 2007 and has operated every second year with growing success from an initial handful of students to 21 motivated young people from across Ireland in 2013.

Back to the Picnic itself! There was an excellent cross section of generations and ages there as the photographs clearly show and a lot of 'third generation' families not seen previously at an EGA event or indeed in UCD. 





Mother with future engineer???



'I'm really enjoying this picnic!'

Maria Blair, Gerry Byrne, Anne Morrissey, Seamus McCague, Anne-Marie McCague, PJ Rudden & Domhnall Blair

The event was briefly and dramatically interrupted by the landing of a giant cardinal red Sikorsky helicopter from the Irish Coastguard Search and Rescue Team bringing a man on a stretcher from where he was rescued on a Wicklow mountainside to a waiting ambulance on the UCD athletics track beside the Rose Garden.

When asked what was happening I was tempted to tell people that 'Its Pope Francis coming to the Picnic as he's a Chemical Engineer'! 'Habemus Papem' in our profession as our eminent EGA Founder Emeritus Professor John Kelly recently put it so well in the Engineers Journal!

Everyone who attended got a copy of the new Engineers Newsletter July 2013 to bring home - also a notice on the forthcoming EGA Panel Discussion on 'Engineering Manufacturing and Job Creation in Ireland' which will be opened by Taoiseach Enda Kenny at 6pm on October 22nd next.




Liam Connellan & Friends

  

UCD Engineering Graduates



Mc Carthy's, O'Brien's & PJ Rudden outside the Clinton Institute

New UCD Engineers Newsletter launched by EGA

A new Engineers eNewsletter has been launched by the UCD Engineering Graduates Association to keep Members and potential New Members fully informed on happenings in UCD and in Engineering in general.

The first Summer Edition dated July 2013 is available (here). Its up to date on all the main stories from the New UCD President, our latest Distinguished Graduate Award and of course the upcoming Engineers Picnic BBQ in the Rose Garden later this month. Don't forget to book the Picnic online on the EGA website homepage (here)! There's also a call to join the EGA at reduced cost (here)!



EGA Newsletter

The new Editor of the Engineers Newsletter is Dr. Ciaran McNally of the UCD Civil Structural and Environmental School. Ciaran has put together a superb e-publication in a short space of time. It is hoped to issue the Newsletter quarterly in July, October, January and April of each year. Members of the EGA are invited to contribute Articles, Letters to the Editor and Opinions directly to Editor Ciaran.

Editor Dr. Ciaran McNally

I would like to thank Dr. Liam Madden, Vice President Xilinx Corp in Silicon Valley, California. Also, EGA Board Members, Cormac Mannion for his piece on Energy Efficiency and Angela Treanor for publicising the Picnic also through Facebook. I've mentioned it myself on Twitter (@PJRudden) a number of times. The administration of the Picnic is now in the very capable hands of Karina O'Neill, Marketing Manager for the College of Engineering and Architecture assisted by Robyn Kelly on Entertainment and Tony O'Brien on Sponsorship. Karina, Robyn and Tony are also on the EGA Board.

I hope you enjoy the Engineers Newsletter which will keep up updated on what the EGA are doing. The idea of restarting the Newsletter came to me from a very informative meeting I had earlier in the year with 6 EGA Past Presidents - Tom Hardiman, Des Green, Liam Connellan, Colm Bannon, Tony O'Brien and Michael Loughnane - together with the UCD Dean of Engineering Gerry Byrne.