Prof Norelee Kennedy. Image: Connor McKenna/SiliconRepublic.com
With this year’s Research Week currently underway at University of Limerick, we spoke to research leaders about what kinds of projects are being showcased.
Yesterday (29 April), University of Limerick (UL) kicked off its annual Research Week for 2024. Throughout the week, there are events to highlight the various research projects taking place at the university, with opportunities for researchers to engage with one another as well as with the public, with the goal of sharing insights into their research and fostering collaborations.
Many of these projects seek to provide actionable insights into a wide range of challenges and opportunities in both industry and society, from investigating health issues to exploring improved sustainability practices and more.
To learn more about Research Week 2024 and the types of projects being showcased, SiliconRepublic.com visited UL’s campus and talked with some of the university’s research leaders.
Securing the future
According to Prof Norelee Kennedy, UL’s vice-president for research, the aim of Research Week is to showcase the research happening at the university, while also providing researchers with the chance to “spark further research” through integrated discussions. With multidisciplinary projects ranging across multiple university departments dealing in topics such as AI, the future of work, food security and digital culture just to name a few, people both outside and within UL can get a glimpse of what sort of academic investigations are taking place there.
“[Research Week] allows that dynamic opportunity for one week, where we can have real time to focus our energy and look at showcasing and describing what we’re doing to an internal audience, but also an external audience,” says Kennedy.
The opportunity to engage with other researchers and the general public is greatly valued by Prof Maurice Collins, who specialises in materials science at the Bernal Institute. Collins is currently researching sustainable materials derived from waste resources and how these materials can be valorised – or reused – in advanced engineering applications such as energy generation, biomedical and thermoelectric.
Typically, the materials used in advanced engineering applications are fossil-based and are harmful to both the environment and human health as a result. Collins and his team at the Bernal Institute are trying to produce these materials from biological resources with better environmental and medical effects. Specifically, Collins and his team are focusing on waste materials found in forestry, such as lignin, a by-product of paper and pulp production.
Collins stresses that projects such as this are vital if we are to transition from to a circular bioeconomy.
“If we want to transition to a circular bioeconomy, we need to have sustainable materials,” he says. “Otherwise, we cannot do it because most materials are based on fossil fuels which are derived from oil, and this has biodiversity effects and climate effects.”
Breaking new ground
Another project that we looked at was that of Dr Hilary Moss, associate professor of music therapy, whose research looks at how music therapy can improve the quality of life for a person suffering from dementia. Through this research, Moss and her team have come up with a template for facilitating music groups for people with dementia.
Moss’ project involves the use of a technique she calls ‘Life review through song’, where a playlist is created comprising songs with personal connections for a person with dementia, which can then comfort them as well as keep them connected to loved ones.
She gave an example of working with patients with verbal restrictions as well as anxiety or behavioural issues as a result of confusion, where the presence of music helped to calm them, and even allowed a glimpse into their personalities and what they may have been like prior to developing dementia.
“The research really benefits health professionals as a training tool,” says Moss, “teaching music therapists, nurses and other health professionals to think about the experience of the person with dementia, to think about how they might use things like music to get in touch with who that person is as an individual.”
With projects such as those of Collins and Moss receiving much-needed spotlight this week, Kennedy reiterates the importance of hosting Research Week to benefit research efforts.
“We are delighted to be able to provide an environment that ensures that dynamic, creative, innovative approach to research is ultimately allowed to flourish and ensures that we can have a smart, healthy, inclusive and sustainable society for all.”
To find out about the events happening at UL this week, visit the UL website.
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