mestech autumn bulletin
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MESTECH Bulletin Autumn 2013
MESTECH
Autumn
Bulletin 2013
The MESTECH Autumn Bulletin shows a range of activities
over the past 6 months. New students are starting their research and summer interns have completed their work and have
returned to Toulouse, South Bend Indiana and various corners of Ireland. The MESTECH PIs and researchers celebrate a successful year of attracting funding through the 7th Framework
programme. This success will see the expansion of the sensor development work and increased engagement with industry
partners. We have been active in presenting at international conferences this summer with postdoctoral researchers Dr Lisa
Jones and Dr Jenny Ronan attending the most up to date meetings on passive sampling and Dr Tim Sullivan received an award for his talk at SENSORCOMM.
Scholars experience MESTECH Research
Dr Kevin Murphy Passive sampling in Cork Dr Caroline Murphy Dr Tim Sullivan presents paper at SENSORCOMM
PhD student Gillian Duffy joins the team
Top: Jenny Ronan deploying passive sampler.
Left: Iniscarra deployment site, Cork.
Highlights This Issue
The months ahead will see a lot of engagement
by the team in Horizon 2020 activities as well as
participating in the 4th SmartOcean Forum in
Belfast this year. Thanks to all our collaborators and funders and we look
forward to continued success in the last quarter
and into 2014.
Welcome from Director
ATWARM/ISGEI Summer School -
Researcher profile - Lisa Jones and Jenny Ronan - Researcher profile - MESTECH wins IARIA award -
Naughton Fellow joins MESTECH -
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MESTECH Bulletin Autumn 2013
ATWARM/ISGEI
Summer School
The first International SmartOcean Graduate Enterprise Initiative (ISGEI) Summer School was held on
the 3rd of July 2013. Six students from the partner institutions of University
of Limerick, University College Cork, Tyndall National Institute and NUI
Galway attended the event. These ISGEI students were joined by sixteen Marie Curie ATWARM students. The
four-day event included a series of presentations and workshops given by
representatives from T.E. Labs. The fellows were also given a workshop on CV writing, interview skills, grant applications and report writing at DCU and science journalist Dr Claire O'Connell talked about
the importance of making research accessible to the general public via the media.
MESTECH researchers demonstrated the group‟s sensor
deployment work to the fellows during a sea-safari around Dublin Bay and a visit to Poolbeg. Dr Tim Sullivan
(pictured above right) described the process from the production of the sensing device to the interpretation of the
results. Prof Dermot Diamond from the NCSR gave a workshop on prototyping with engineers and members of the
NCSR and ASG groups. The summer School ended with a presentation of certificates to all students by Patricia McCrory
Above left: Summer School student with sensor
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MESTECH Bulletin Autumn 2013
MESTECH Researcher – Kevin Murphy
Kevin received his PhD in Applied Optics in 2011 from NUI Galway, focusing on the wavefront sensing of optical vortices in
turbulent fields with a view to correcting the phase defects using adaptive optics technology. After completing this work Kevin spent almost two years in industry as an Optical Engineer at
IRIS R&D. This involved designing and building prototype and complete optical systems for publicly and privately funded
projects. These projects included spectroscopy solutions in the visible/IR regions for agro-food and plastics industries as well
as machine vision and imaging solution systems. Kevin started with MESTECH in May 2013 where his work focuses on data analysis and management and in the development of a low-cost
optical sensor for marine and coastal deployments.
The low cost optical sensor is based on the change in transmitted and scattered light levels detected from a set of
LEDs at different wavelength.
Using this data it is possible to
determine whether various water parameters are rising and falling. This
information can be used qualitatively to alert decision makers on rapid changes in certain water parameters.
Due to the low cost of the system multiple sensors can be deployed
across a wider area than is economically viable at present using
commercial systems. The system is currently being tested in the field, deploying it alongside a commercial
instrument at Poolbeg Marina in the Dublin Port Area.
Prof Fiona Regan attends SWIG conference
The sensing in water conference held in September at the
Nottingham Belfry Hotel was directed at the broad water sensing
community including an exhibition and half-day seminars on
Water Distribution Monitoring, Real-Time Decisions Support,
Wastewater Network Monitoring and New Ideas in Water
Sensing. Prof Fiona Regan gave a presentation on the decision
support systems being developed at MESTECH.
Right: Ship turning in Poolbeg
at sensor deployment site
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MESTECH Bulletin Autumn 2013
Lisa Jones & Jenny Ronan passive
sampling in Cork
This month marked the completion of the first stage of sampling in Cork as part of MESTECH's passive
sampling project. Using a catchment approach Dr Lisa Jones (DCU) and Dr Jenny Ronan (Marine Institute)
collected passive sampling devices at 5 sites in Cork which were deployed in August 2013. Supplementary
water and biota samples were collected for analysis of emerging compounds using both gas chromatography (GC) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry
(LCMS).
The project aims to provide a report on recommendations for the use of passive sampling as a tool Ireland can use to meet the WFD specs. Further sampling will take place next year in
Cork as well as Donegal, Mayo, Galway and Dublin.
A number of compounds, including pharmaceuticals, pesticides, endocrine disruptors and polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCBs), have recently been added to the list of priority substances for chemical monitoring under the EU Water Framework Directive. Meeting the monitoring
requirements of the WFD has proven to be a challenge with grab sampling being the current standard employed. In order
to tackle this issue other sampling techniques are being investigated with passive sampling showing the greatest
potential.
Dr Jenny Ronan attends
NORMAN meeting
Dr Jenny Ronan attended the invite-only NORMAN expert group meeting “Linking Environmental Quality Standards and Passive Sampling” in July 2013. The meeting brought together experts from
different areas to discuss how Environmental Quality Standards values relate to results obtained from passive sampling and vice
versa. Passive sampling is a promising technique for water compliance monitoring but it is not yet implemented because the
Environmental Quality Standards for this method have not yet defined as part of the Water Framework Directive. The conclusions of the meeting will be widely disseminated in a position document.
Right: L-R: Lisa Jones and Jenny Ronan.
Below: Passive sampler deployed in Cork
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MESTECH Bulletin Autumn 2013
Caroline Murphy – MESTECH
Researcher Profile
Caroline was the senior DCU-based researcher on the BEACONS project which gave her the opportunity to travel
to each research institute to learn new techniques and interact with the different researchers. In association with MBio Diagnostics Ltd., the project saw the development of
a fully validated, portable, safe and „easy-to-use‟ platform to detect the presence of harmful algal-toxins using novel avian
recombinant antibody fragments that were genetically manipulated post-production for enhanced sensitivity.
Caroline finished her PhD in Biochemistry and Immunology in Trinity College Dublin in 2009 after which she came to DCU where she began work as a Postdoctoral
researcher in Prof Richard O‟Kennedy‟s laboratory. She worked on the BEACONS (Biosafety for Environmental
Contaminants using Novel Sensors) project; an SFI-funded, US-Ireland research consortium involving researchers from
the University of Maine, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Queen‟s University Belfast.
Dr Lisa Jones
attends IPSW
Workshop
In June MESTECH postdoctoral researcher Dr Jones attended
the 6th International Passive Sampling Workshop and Symposium
held in Bordeaux. There she presented work on the role of passive
sampling from an Irish perspective. The workshop focused on the
development and the use of in situ passive samplers for
environmental monitoring, ecological risk assessment and related
issues. Attendees were experts in the field as well as policy
makers, regulatory authorities and market representatives that
have a need for monitoring environmental pollution.
Caroline also participated in the PHARMATLANTIC programme which is a
European project that looked at the use of biomolecules of marine origin as actives
towards various diseases. During her time in DCU, Caroline and Professor O‟Kennedy produced a book „Immunoassays,
Applications, Development and Future Trends‟ which will be published in 2013 by
Pan Stanford Publishing.
Caroline has recently joined MESTECH
where her aim is to further develop the portable monitoring system and advancing it
to an automated system to detect a range of economically important harmful marine
toxins. Caroline also participated in two FP7 grant proposals with Professor Fiona Regan.
Left: MBio system
Autumn 2013 MESTECH Bulletin
Smart-Bay Dublin Project highlighted at SENSORCOMM
Dr Sullivan attended SENSORCOMM 2013 (The Sixth International Conference on Sensor Technologies and
Applications), August 25 - 31, 2013 - Barcelona, Spain. He presented a paper entitled “A Smart City- Smart Bay Project: establishing an integrated water monitoring
system for decision support in Dublin Bay”. This paper summarises sensor research within MESTECH to date
in the context of Dublin Bay. SENSORCOMM is a multi-track event covering related topics on theory and
practice on wired and wireless sensors and sensor networks that serves as a forum for researchers from the academia and industry, professionals, standard
developers, policy makers and practitioners to exchange ideas. Tim was also one of four invited panelists for
open discussions on the topic of “Advances in Sensor-based Applications and Systems: Next Challenges”.
MESTECH wins IARIA award for research
paper
The paper “A Smart City-SmartBay Project – Establishing an Integrated Water Monitoring System for
Decision Support in Dublin Bay” has been awarded as one of the top papers at SENSORCOMM by
International Academy, Research and Industry Association (IARIA). The paper, delivered by Dr Tim
Sullivan at the event has been invited for publication in of the IARIA Journals. IARIA initiates a series of
online journals especially dedicated to promote outstanding papers in IARIA conferences.
Dr Tim Sullivan Attends
OCEANS 13 Conference
Dr. Tim Sullivan attended the prestigious OCEANS 13 Conference,
jointly sponsored by the Marine Technology Society (MTS) and the Oceanic Engineering Society of the institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE/OES). This conference is a major
international forum for scientists, engineers and responsible ocean users to promote, disseminate and exchange their knowledge, ideas,
applications and scientific-technical advances in Oceanic Engineering and Marine Technology. This is done with the purpose of raising
awareness regarding the important role played by the sea in our lives and our environment and the use of technology to preserve it. Tim presented a paper entitled “Improving Data Driven Decision Making
Through Integration Of Environmental Sensing Technologies”. Tim was sponsored by a networking initiative grant from the Irish Marine
Institute to attend this event.
Above: Image analysis of biofilm on sensor surface - research is underway in
collaboration with Dr Yann Delaure in engineering at DCU to develop novel materials for prevention of biofouling. Surface characterisation and image analysis enables the
bio-inspired design of materials from marine organisms. More in the next bulletin.
MESTECH Bulletin Autumn 2013
MESTECH researchers at
Lough Hyne
MESTECH has been collaborating with scientists
at UCC for the past three years on research at Lough Hyne, a semi-enclosed marine lake west of
Cork City. Dr Rob McAllen and Prof John Davenport have collaborated combining their
significant historical knowledge of Ireland‟s only marine reserve with research our continuous monitoring of pH, temperature and other
environmental parameters.
Gillian Duffy, a recent graduate from Analytical
Science in DCU has started her PhD at MESTECH working on the optimisation of phosphate and nitrate
sensors for the monitoring of nutrients in freshwaters. The project is in collaboration with Prof Jennifer Tank at the Environmental Change Initiative at the
University of Notre Dame and the project will involve the deployment of these sensors at both DCU and
Notre Dame field sites. The research is important for quantifying the influence of agriculture on freshwater
and also for effective water management throughout Irish, European and American river basins. As part of this prestigious fellowship, Gillian will spend a year at
Notre Dame during her PhD.
Naughton fellow Gillian
Duffy – MESTECH PhD
Student
It is envisaged that a more long-term project will
evolve from the collaboration so far which we believe has international significance as a place to study change in pH and temperature in a unique
environment.
It is believed that the lough was a freshwater lake up to 4,000 years ago when a rise in sea levels
joined it with the sea. Lough Hyne was designated Europe‟s first Marine Nature Reserve in 1981. The
lough supports many different marine habitats and environmental conditions and has been protected
for over 30 years with scientific research in the area ongoing for well over 100 years.
Left to right: Prof Fiona Regan, Gillan Duffy and Prof Dermot Diamond
Lough Hyne pictured left and below
MESTECH Bulletin Autumn 2013
Contact Us General Enquiries:
Mary Comiskey NCSR Administrator
mary.comiskey@ dcu.ie 01 700 8898
Further enquiries:
Prof. Fiona Regan Director, MESTECH [email protected]
Follow us on Twitter: @SensingResearch
Bulletin produced by Colm O‟Hehir colmohehir.dcu@ gmail.com
Next Issue:
ICES and Martech conferences SmartOcean Forum 2013
EU Framework 7 Successes
SmartBay NIAP Activity II projects
announced
Welcome to Colm O’Hehir –
MESTECH Communications
Officer
SmartOcean Forum –
Titanic Belfast, Nov 5th
& 6th
The annual SmartOcean Forum will take place this year on November 5th and 6th in
Titanic Belfast situated on the Harland and Wolff dockyard. The all-island event is designed to highlight the potential of our
ocean resources and foster collaboration and growth in the marine sector.
The forum will focus on areas such as blue growth, marine data and knowledge, renewable energy and ocean
observation. It features speakers from industry, academia and state agencies from locations across Ireland, the US,
Canada and Europe.
Colm O'Hehir, a recent MSc in Science Communication graduate at DCU, started working with MESTECH as the
Communications Officer in July 2013. He has experience working in industry, funding bodies and most recently in
Science Gallery where he experienced his first role as a science communicator. At MESTECH his activities include publicity, event management, working with social media and also
working with Dr Edel O'Connor from the Marine Institute on the SmartOcean cluster.
www.mestech.org