Dunsink Observatory, part of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS), sealed its status as one of Ireland’s most important scientific sites today (23.06.18), when it was recognised by the European Physical Society as a “site of historical significance”.
The Observatory is the first location in Ireland to receive this accolade, joining similarly significant locations across Europe, such as Einstein’s house in Bern and Marie Skłodowska Curie’s laboratory in Paris.
A plaque to commemorate the designation was unveiled at Dunsink Observatory today (23.06.18) by Mary Mitchell O’Connor TD, Minister of State for Higher Education, and Professor Rüdiger Voss, President of the European Physical Society.
Legacy of William Hamilton
Dunsink Observatory was selected by the European Physical Society as a site of historical significance in recognition of the genius of Sir William Rowan Hamilton, who lived and worked at Dunsink from 1827 until his death in 1865.
Considered Ireland’s greatest ever mathematician, Hamilton contributed to the development of optics, dynamics and algebra, discovering the algebra of quaternions. His work had a significant influence on the development of quantum mechanics, and the Hamiltonian circuits in contemporary graph theory are named in his honour.
Dunsink Observatory now functions primarily as an outreach centre, attracting over 4,000 visitors a year. It has been part of DIAS since 1947.
Commenting at today’s plaque unveiling today, Dr. Eucharia Meehan, CEO and Registrar of DIAS, said: “It is a huge honour for DIAS to have Dunsink Observatory designated as Ireland’s first site of historical significance by the European Physical Society.
“Ireland has a rich history when it comes to mathematics, astronomy and the advancement of knowledge. In the 1700s and 1800s, we were at the forefront of the movement seeking to better understand our universe through mapping the sun, moon, stars, planets and other non-Earthly bodies.
“This accolade from the European Physical Society recognises the impact William Hamilton had on mathematics and astronomy. It is a fitting testament to his legacy.
“In an interesting connection, the Hamiltonian is a fundamental part of the Schrödinger equation, Professor Schrodinger being the first director of Theoretical Physics at DIAS during the 1940s and 1950s.
“We are delighted to have leading academics in DIAS to this day, who are continuing to build on the work of such luminaries as Hamilton and Schrödinger.”
Summer School and Retirement of Professor Luke Drury
Today’s plaque unveiling took place against the backdrop of the DIAS Summer School in High Energy Astrophysics, which has been running throughout this week. Over 80 delegates from 16 countries have been attending the school.
Attendees include Xavier Barcons, Director-General of the European Southern Observatory, Joseph Silk Homewood, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Johns Hopkins, and Marica Branchesi, Assistant Professor at the Gran Sasso Science Institute, who was named on the “2018 TIME 100”, its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
The programme of events at DIAS today also included a ceremony to mark the retirement of Professor Luke Drury, outgoing Head of Astronomy and Astrophysics at DIAS.
One of Ireland’s most accomplished astrophysicists, Professor Drury specialises in particle theory and interstellar gas dynamics. In addition to his research on diffusive shock acceleration theory and its applications, he has been active in building up the Irish national computational research infrastructure and is a member of the Scientific Steering Committee of PRACE, the pan-European supercomputing consortium.
He has also served extensively on the advisory structures of the European Space Agency and was chair of its Astronomy Working Group from 2014 to 2017. He was elected a Member of the Royal Irish Academy in 1995 and served as International Relations Secretary from 2003 to 2006 and as President from 2011 to 2014. He was elected to membership of the Academia Europea in 2005.
Commenting on his retirement, Professor Vincent Cunnane, Chair of the Council of DIAS, said: “Luke Drury has demonstrated exemplary commitment to DIAS and to the advancement of science in Ireland and internationally.
“He is an accomplished academic with his research in diffusive shock acceleration theory and its applications, and an excellent colleague, selflessly sharing his knowledge and time to ensure future generations will continue his work at DIAS and beyond. Most notably, he has also been an ambassador for Irish science internationally and has done Ireland some service.”
ENDS
For further information, contact: Eva Dowling / Niamh Breathnach Alice PR & Events. Tel: 01-5582151 / 083-1496045 / 085-1461231, email: media@alicepr.com
Notes to Editors:
About DIAS
DIAS was founded by Éamon de Valera in 1940 as a centre of excellence for advanced scholarship focused on three disciplines: Celtic Studies, Theoretical Physics and Cosmic Physics (encompassing Astronomy/Astrophysics and Geophysics). As the world’s second, and the Ireland’s only, Institute for Advanced Studies, it is a globally embedded institution which attracts scholars and academics from around the world. It conducts and publishes advanced research, and also leads Ireland’s participation in a number of international research endeavours which focus on big unanswered questions for mankind. Dunsink Observatory is part of DIAS and DIAS coordinates a range of national initiatives on behalf of government. Further information is available at www.dias.ie.
Follow DIAS on social media:
23rd June 2018: Dunsink Observatory designated Ireland’s first European site of historical significance
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Last Updated: 3rd September 2018 by mary
Dunsink Observatory, part of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS), sealed its status as one of Ireland’s most important scientific sites today (23.06.18), when it was recognised by the European Physical Society as a “site of historical significance”.
The Observatory is the first location in Ireland to receive this accolade, joining similarly significant locations across Europe, such as Einstein’s house in Bern and Marie Skłodowska Curie’s laboratory in Paris.
A plaque to commemorate the designation was unveiled at Dunsink Observatory today (23.06.18) by Mary Mitchell O’Connor TD, Minister of State for Higher Education, and Professor Rüdiger Voss, President of the European Physical Society.
Legacy of William Hamilton
Considered Ireland’s greatest ever mathematician, Hamilton contributed to the development of optics, dynamics and algebra, discovering the algebra of quaternions. His work had a significant influence on the development of quantum mechanics, and the Hamiltonian circuits in contemporary graph theory are named in his honour.
Dunsink Observatory now functions primarily as an outreach centre, attracting over 4,000 visitors a year. It has been part of DIAS since 1947.
Commenting at today’s plaque unveiling today, Dr. Eucharia Meehan, CEO and Registrar of DIAS, said: “It is a huge honour for DIAS to have Dunsink Observatory designated as Ireland’s first site of historical significance by the European Physical Society.
“Ireland has a rich history when it comes to mathematics, astronomy and the advancement of knowledge. In the 1700s and 1800s, we were at the forefront of the movement seeking to better understand our universe through mapping the sun, moon, stars, planets and other non-Earthly bodies.
“This accolade from the European Physical Society recognises the impact William Hamilton had on mathematics and astronomy. It is a fitting testament to his legacy.
“In an interesting connection, the Hamiltonian is a fundamental part of the Schrödinger equation, Professor Schrodinger being the first director of Theoretical Physics at DIAS during the 1940s and 1950s.
“We are delighted to have leading academics in DIAS to this day, who are continuing to build on the work of such luminaries as Hamilton and Schrödinger.”
Today’s plaque unveiling took place against the backdrop of the DIAS Summer School in High Energy Astrophysics, which has been running throughout this week. Over 80 delegates from 16 countries have been attending the school.
Attendees include Xavier Barcons, Director-General of the European Southern Observatory, Joseph Silk Homewood, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Johns Hopkins, and Marica Branchesi, Assistant Professor at the Gran Sasso Science Institute, who was named on the “2018 TIME 100”, its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
The programme of events at DIAS today also included a ceremony to mark the retirement of Professor Luke Drury, outgoing Head of Astronomy and Astrophysics at DIAS.
One of Ireland’s most accomplished astrophysicists, Professor Drury specialises in particle theory and interstellar gas dynamics. In addition to his research on diffusive shock acceleration theory and its applications, he has been active in building up the Irish national computational research infrastructure and is a member of the Scientific Steering Committee of PRACE, the pan-European supercomputing consortium.
He has also served extensively on the advisory structures of the European Space Agency and was chair of its Astronomy Working Group from 2014 to 2017. He was elected a Member of the Royal Irish Academy in 1995 and served as International Relations Secretary from 2003 to 2006 and as President from 2011 to 2014. He was elected to membership of the Academia Europea in 2005.
Commenting on his retirement, Professor Vincent Cunnane, Chair of the Council of DIAS, said: “Luke Drury has demonstrated exemplary commitment to DIAS and to the advancement of science in Ireland and internationally.
“He is an accomplished academic with his research in diffusive shock acceleration theory and its applications, and an excellent colleague, selflessly sharing his knowledge and time to ensure future generations will continue his work at DIAS and beyond. Most notably, he has also been an ambassador for Irish science internationally and has done Ireland some service.”
ENDS
For further information, contact: Eva Dowling / Niamh Breathnach Alice PR & Events. Tel: 01-5582151 / 083-1496045 / 085-1461231, email: media@alicepr.com
Notes to Editors:
About DIAS
DIAS was founded by Éamon de Valera in 1940 as a centre of excellence for advanced scholarship focused on three disciplines: Celtic Studies, Theoretical Physics and Cosmic Physics (encompassing Astronomy/Astrophysics and Geophysics). As the world’s second, and the Ireland’s only, Institute for Advanced Studies, it is a globally embedded institution which attracts scholars and academics from around the world. It conducts and publishes advanced research, and also leads Ireland’s participation in a number of international research endeavours which focus on big unanswered questions for mankind. Dunsink Observatory is part of DIAS and DIAS coordinates a range of national initiatives on behalf of government. Further information is available at www.dias.ie.
Follow DIAS on social media:
Category: DIAS, News
...obituaries of prominent individuals The manuscript has been preserved in the @Library_RIA since 1883. (3/3) @HistFest #DIASdiscovers #connacht #books
The Annals of Connacht is a vellum manuscript that was written in the mid-16th century. The contents were derived from older annals compiled for the O’Conors of the Connacht and contain an annual record of significant events over 320 years, and... (2/3)
Date: 19 October 1944 Paper: The Irish Press Synopsis: DIAS has been publishing books since it's founding. One such early publication is the edited manuscript of the Annals of Connacht (Annála Connacht) which was edited for the first time by Martin Freeman of DIAS. (1/3)
This work was to help towards the preservation of the Irish Language, to maintain it's continuity with the past, and was to become a resource for teachers to check pronunciation #DIASdiscovers #Irish #Irishlanguage #CelticStudies #Gaelic
The researchers used the International Phonetic Alphabet, slightly modified to represent vowels and consonants of living speech. At that time there were concerns over the deterioration of the Irish language due to the "overpowering influence of English"
Date: 02 June 1943 Paper: The Irish Press Synopsis: In 1943, a phonetic investigation led by Brian Ó Cuív, Risteárd B. Breathnach and Tomás de Bhaldraithe of DIAS would begin the first systematic scientific recording of the varied sounds of modern Gaelic speech.
Happy Birthday! twitter.com/thecelticist/s…
The papers were 1) Affine Field Theory: conservation identitites and relation to Weyl and Eddington 2)The Union of the three fundamental fields (Gravitation, Menson, Electromagnetism) Which went on to secure worldwide acclaim. #DIASdiscovers
Date: 01 December 1943 Paper: The Irish Press Headline: Two Papers by Dr. Schroedinger Synopsis: 1943 was a busy year for Schroedinger. Not only did he deliver the "What is Life?" Lectures in @tcddublin in February in November he delivered two papers in the @RIAdawson (1/2)
Available to buy on the DIAS bookshop: books.dias.ie/index.php?main… (5/5) #DIASdiscovers #celtic #studies #twopatricks
"In the lives of St. Patrick, the two saints are invariably fused into one", said Prof. O'Rahilly in his lecture. The lecture was a condensation from O’Rahilly’s book “The two Patricks: a lecture on the history of Christianity in fifth-century Ireland”. (4/5)
He was known by his first name Patricius, which in later times would lead to confusion as he was succeeded by another apostle of the same name (Saint Patrick or Patricius in Latin). (3/5)
He spoke on "Palladius and Patrick". Palladius was the first bishop of the Christians of Ireland. (2/5)
Date: 21st March 1942 Paper: The Irish Press Headline: Palladius and Patrick | School Of Celtic Studies Lecture Synopsis: The first public lecture under the auspices of the School of Celtic Studies was delivered in Trinity College by Professor T. F. O'Rahilly in 1942. (1/5)
As part of our ongoing participation in the @HistFest we decided to take a look into the Irish Newspaper Archives and see where DIAS made it into print over the last 80 years. There were so many articles, the hardest part was selecting what we would post. We hope you enjoy!
@AReillyFailte @CultureNight @VisitDublin Thanks Antoinette! Glad you enjoyed 😊