Panel Discussion Speaker Biogs

Live Panel – Thursday November 5th, 7.35pm

‘Diversity and Participation in STEM’

Participants

Dr Shaun O’Boyle

Dr Shaun O’Boyle is a science communicator who works across education, museums, activism, and broadcasting. He is an organiser of the International Day of LGBTQ+ People in STEM and is currently working on a book about being queer in STEM with Dr Alfredo Carpineti.

Merrilyn Goos

Merrilyn Goos is Professor of STEM Education and Director of EPI*STEM – the National Centre for STEM Education at the University of Limerick. She is Vice-President of the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction, a partner of the Gender Gap in Science project.

Dr Gemma Irvine

Dr Gemma Irvine is Vice-President for Equality & Diversity in Maynooth University with responsibility for leading strategic change in the areas of equality, diversity, inclusion and inter-culturalism across the entire University community, students, and staff. Prior to this she was the Head of Policy and Strategic Planning in the Higher Education Authority coordinating a national approach to the development and implementation of policy for higher education.

Dr Fiona Malone

Dr Fiona Malone is an award-winning biomedical engineer and lecturer by day and a science communicator and comedian by night. At weekends she co-hosts Next Gen Fem, a podcast dedicated to celebrating women’s achievements.

Note: This panel discussion will include Sign Language

Live Panel – Sunday November 8th, 2.00pm

‘An Island of Storytellers and Scientists’

Participants

Gary Granville

Gary Granville is Emeritus Professor of Education at the National College of Art and Design (NCAD), Dublin. He served as Interim Director of NCAD before retiring in 2016. In recent years he has chaired the NCCA Development Groups Art and is on the Expert Advisory Group for Creative Ireland.

Dr Richard Roche

Dr Richard Roche is Associate Professor at the Department of Psychology, Maynooth University. His areas of interest are cognitive neuroscience/neuropsychology, particularly memory, ageing, dementia, stroke, brain injury and synaesthesia. He is also strongly committed to science outreach and public engagement, and has given an Ignite talk at Science Gallery’s Mindfields at Electric Picnic 2016, performed for BrightClub Dublin in 2017, as well as hosting ‘The Brain Box’, a 2-part radio documentary about the brain on NewsTalk 106-108FM.

Emer Reynolds

Emer Reynolds is an Emmy and multi-award-winning director and editor, based in Dublin, Ireland. Her feature documentary THE FARTHEST – starring the iconic Voyager spacecraft – was awarded an Emmy for Outstanding Science and Technology Documentary 2018 and The George Morrisson Best Feature Documentary Award at the Irish Film and TV Awards 2018. Her latest film ‘SONGS FOR WHILE I’M AWAY’- an intimate and poetic film exploring the life and work of Irish rock icon Philip Lynott – is due for wide release in Winter 2020.

Anne Cleary and Denis Connolly

Anne Cleary and Denis Connolly are a husband and wife team of artists, architects and science nerds, winners of the AIB award in 2009, and have been making collaborative art exploring visual perception with scientists for over a decade. They have produced STEAM projects in partnership with organisations in Ireland, France, Britain, Germany and the US, including the Pompidou Centre in France; the Barbican in London; the National Museum and CURAM Research Institute in Ireland; David Byrne’s organisation Todo Mundo TV in New York and Biotopia in Munich. In 2018, they founded the School of Looking to develop STEAM in Ireland. They are currently aiming to convert a heritage barge into a floating studio lab where artists and scientists can work together to address climate change.

Fr Michael Connolly

Fr Michael Connolly is parish priest of Oughterard, Co. Galway, having studied in Rome for the priesthood. He returned for ordination to Galway for parish, school, and hospital ministry, while undertaking an M.Sc. and a Ph.D. in high-energy astrophysics with the centre for astronomy, N.U.I.G. finishing in 2018. Re-echoing the recent call by Pope Francis to work together to face the climate crisis and other global challenges (Fratelli Tutti), he wishes to facilitate firstly respectful dialogue then concerted concrete action for key challenges, drawing on the religious, scientific and humanities traditions locally.