2017

Congratulations to Geography PhD student Daithi Maguire on winning the Richard Fitzgerald Poster Prize for Best Aquatic Environment Presentation, (prize sponsored by AquaTT) at the  ENVIRON 2017, 27th Irish Environmental Researchers Colloquium, Environmental Sciences Association of Ireland conference held at the Athlone Institute of Technology, 10-12th April 2017. The title of his poster was “The Application of Copernicus Satellite-Borne Remote Sensors for Monitoring Coastal Erosion and Ecosystems in Ireland“

During 21-23 August, 2017, the Overseas Chinese Affairs of the State Council of China established a new Advisory Committee as a think-tank of Chinese government for the development of China in the areas of culture, policy, and science & technology. This committee comprises about 300 experts in various fields from all over the world, with nearly 200 of them in the Science & Technology sector. The inauguration ceremony was held in the People’s Congress Hall in Beijing. Three NUI Galway staff members, Sanbing Shen (Regenerative Medicine Institute), Xinmin Zhan (Civil Engineering) and Chaosheng Zhang (Geography) have been appointed as members of the committee. Afterwards, the Chinese Ambassador to Ireland, Mr. Xiaoyong Yue welcomed the members from Ireland at the Chinese Embassy in Dublin.

John Morrissey, Senior Lecturer in Geography and Associate Director of the Moore Institute, has published a new book critically telling the story of repeated US military interventions in the Middle East and Central Asia over the last 30 years. Entitled The Long War, the book focuses on the archives of US Central Command, and engages a wide range of scholarship on imperialism, geopolitics and neoliberalism, in critiquing the US military’s role in enacting US foreign policy in the most energy-rich region on earth, and in documenting the profound human consequences of military violence.

This year’s celebration of Geography Awareness Week is upon us. It runs from 12-18 November 2017. It promotes what geography is, why it is important, and the relevance of a geographic education in preparing citizens to understand and debate pressing social and environmental issues and problems. A list of events that are taking place across Galway and the country can be seen on the GSI website:   http://www.geographicalsocietyireland.ie/geoweek-2017.html

Staff members of NUI Galway’s Discipline of Geography have been shortlisted in the ‘Excellence in Marine Education and Training Award’ category for their MSc in Coastal and Marine Environments course.  Best of luck to the team: Dr Eugene Farrell and Dr Kevin Lynch, and Drs Frances Fahy, Aaron Potito, Audrey Morley, Terry Morley and Chaosheng Zhang.   Full Article: [HERE]

Richard Scriven, lecturer in Geography, is leading a project with artist Vicky Lanagan involving a series creative workshop series exploring holy wells with primary schools and heritage groups. It is being funded by the Creative Ireland County Cork Grant Scheme under the community participation strand of the Creative Ireland Programme 2017-2022.

Vittoria Semplici graduating with First Class Honours on the MA in Environment, Society and Development. Pictured with Programme Director, John Morrissey, and NUIG President, Jim Browne. Vittoria now works for the UN in Bonn.

Professor Niamh Moore-Cherry, President of the GSI, presenting the Award to Professor Mary Cawley, Adjunct-Professor of Migration and Rural Societal Change in the Whitaker Institute and SoGA, at NUI Galway, on the 3rd November

Congrats to Dr Audrey Morley (+ MSc staff) on receiving a Marine Institute award to purchase specialist research equipment. We welcome a Particle Size Analyser (with all the bells and whistles) to our research inventory in 2018.      Download Article:  https://www.marine.ie/Home/site-area/news-events/press-releases/minister-creed-announces-marine-institute-funding-grants

Congratulation to MSc graduate Jake Martin and Dr Audrey Morley on publishing their research in Scientific Reports (an online open access scientific journal published by the world’s leading scientific journal - Nature).  Jake Martin, Amy Lusher, Richard C. Thompson & Audrey Morley.The Deposition and Accumulation of Microplastics in Marine Sediments and Bottom Water from the Irish Continental Shelf

A team of scientists on board the RV Celtic Voyager during a recent survey to understand the habitat use of elusive beaked whales, got more than they bargained for when they encountered four separate groups of breaching whales within a couple of hours survey effort near the Rockall Trough.  Congratulations to Dr Patricia Breen, Discipline of Geography, NUI Galway, Chief Scientist on the survey.Media Articles: https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2017/1204/924923-rare-whales-spotted-off-irish-coast/ https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/scientists-find-home-of-elusive-whale-36379888.html https://www.marine.ie/Home/site-area/news-events/news/scientists-uncover-important-habitat-elusive-beaked-whales-0    

NUI Galway was confirmed as the host for the EUGEO 2019 conference at the recent EUGEO conference held in Brussels in September 2017. The conference theme for the 2019 EUGEO conference is "Re Imagining Europe's Future Society and Landscapes" The theme focuses on the centrality of the concepts of society and landscape within the Discipline of Geography and will be CoChaired by Dr Kathy Reilly and Dr Frances Fahy.

Eight Geography Postgraduate students, representing the MSc – Coastal and Marine Environments, MA – Environment, Sustainability and Development, and Geography Doctoral Programme, were selected to attend the 2017 EU Youth Seminar on Environmental Sustainability at the EU Parliament in Brussels, Belgium. The Delegation, comprised of 100 students from Ireland, Czechia, and the Netherlands, interacted with Members of the EU Parliament, presenting their ideas on how best to address pressing issues surrounding EU fisheries, urban renewal, and climate action.