Wednesday, 04.03.2009
Ulster celebrates scientists and engineers

The University of Ulster is hosting an eclectic range of events across all four campuses to mark National Science and Engineering Week which runs from 6 - 15 March. 

The programme, which includes public lectures at Jordanstown, Belfast and Coleraine and a schools’ seminar for Year 12 pupils at Magee, is aimed at raising awareness of the many and varied career opportunities open to science and engineering graduates.

The lectures will illustrate how cutting edge research at Ulster is paving the way for exciting new developments in healthcare. 

In their lecture ‘Optimising Rehabilitation Through Technology’, Professor Suzanne McDonough of Ulster’s Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Research Institute and Dr Michael McNeill, Senior Lecturer in Computing Science, will look at how different technology-led solutions can be used to help rehabilitate stroke patients.

“The current economic climate, increasing medical costs and an ageing population have combined to put increased demands on healthcare systems, so there is a growing need for new ways of providing effective solutions to individuals with disabilities,” says Professor McDonough.  

“Technology led solutions have been designed to help people recover from, and deal with, a variety of conditions including anxiety, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder and motor rehabilitation of people recovering from injury or stroke. Computer games, for example, have proved beneficial to people experiencing severe pain as they recover from burns.”

‘The Heart of the Matter: Cardiac Monitoring, Technology and Us’ by Clinical Physiology lecturer Cathal Breen and Dr Dewar Finlay, lecturer in Computer Science Research Institute, will look at how improvements in technology have given health professionals a fast and convenient way to detect heart abnormalities, leading to improved patient survival. 

In ‘From Nanotechnology to Microsensors: How this New Science relates to Healthcare Benefits and not just Health Concerns’, Professor Jim McLaughlin, Director of Ulster’s Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials Research Institute. will highlight the application of nanotechnology to healthcare. Professor McLaughlin will illustrate how medical sensors can be used but will argue that they need to be more portable, low cost with rapid sensing ability in order to be competitive.    
 
‘Small Particles, Big Problems? The Benefits and Threats Associated with Nanotechnology’ by Professor Vyvyan Howard, Biomedical Sciences Research Institute, will explore what is known about nanoparticles toxicology and try to predict the likely spectrum of disease that may arise from exposure.

The schools’ seminar at Magee on Friday March 6 will be used to launch Ulster’s degree programme in Mobile Robotics, which will be offered for the first time from this autumn.  

The general public became familiar with the term ‘robot’ following the success of the first Star Wars movie in 1977, which featured R2D2, an autonomous mobile robot. ‘Mobile Robotics: From Scientific Exploration to Entertainment’, the title of a lecture by Dr Laxmidhar Behera, will explain in layman’s terms how robots have evolved from scientific exploration to entertainment. Dr Behera is a Reader in the Computer Science
Research Institute.

In another lecture at Magee, Dr Kevin Curran’s lecture, sets out to explode some of the myths surrounding engineering, drawing heavily on his experiences as a computer science senior lecturer and media commentator for IT security issues.

“The lecture will also give away insider secrets and show how transferable skills learnt as a engineer or IT specialist, can be applied to many other careers.  Remember that if God didn't build it, an engineer did". says Dr Curran. 

Admission is free but if you would like to reserve a place at any of the lectures, please contact the Corporate Events Office by telephone on:  028 90368610 or email to events@ulster.ac.uk