– DIAS Professor Tom Ray appointed by Government to represent Ireland on the ESO Council –
Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) has hailed Ireland’s joining of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) as “hugely significant for future generations of Irish scientists”.
The ESO is Europe’s intergovernmental astronomy organisation and the world’s most productive astronomical observatory.
Ireland will officially join the ESO on 1st October this year, after an accession agreement was signed today (26.09.18) by ESO Director General Xavier Barcons and John Halligan TD, Minister of State for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research and Development. Professor Tom Ray of DIAS has been appointed by the Government as the astronomer representing Ireland on the ESO Council.
Commenting today, Dr. Eucharia Meehan, CEO and Registrar of DIAS, said: “Ireland’s membership of the ESO has been a strategic aim of DIAS for many years. We are delighted Ireland will officially join the ESO from 1st October, and we are honoured that our own Professor Tom Ray will represent Ireland on the ESO Council.
“Tom is joining the ESO at a very exciting time, when they are building the largest telescope in the world – the Extremely Large Telescope or ELT. This 39-metre telescope is being built on top of a mountain high up in the Chilean Andes, and is intended to become ‘the world’s biggest eye in the sky’. Tom’s membership of the ESO will ensure Ireland can play a central role in this exciting development.”
Professor Tom Ray said: “Membership of the ESO is a wonderful development for Irish astronomy and is hugely significant for future generations of Irish scientists.
“It means we now have access to world-class facilities and we can lead programmes on such topics as the physics of the gas and dust in our galaxy; the birth of stars and planets; the interaction of black holes with exotic stars in binary systems; and the formation of the first galaxies.
“Access to the ESO means that, from now on, Irish astronomers – as members of a consortium and in collaboration with industry – can be at the cutting edge of astronomical developments globally.”
Further information about the ESO’s work is available at www.eso.org.
DIAS welcomes ESO membership as “hugely significant for future generations of Irish scientists”
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Last Updated: 11th March 2019 by Niamh Breathnach
– DIAS Professor Tom Ray appointed by Government to represent Ireland on the ESO Council –
Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) has hailed Ireland’s joining of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) as “hugely significant for future generations of Irish scientists”.
The ESO is Europe’s intergovernmental astronomy organisation and the world’s most productive astronomical observatory.
Ireland will officially join the ESO on 1st October this year, after an accession agreement was signed today (26.09.18) by ESO Director General Xavier Barcons and John Halligan TD, Minister of State for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research and Development. Professor Tom Ray of DIAS has been appointed by the Government as the astronomer representing Ireland on the ESO Council.
Commenting today, Dr. Eucharia Meehan, CEO and Registrar of DIAS, said: “Ireland’s membership of the ESO has been a strategic aim of DIAS for many years. We are delighted Ireland will officially join the ESO from 1st October, and we are honoured that our own Professor Tom Ray will represent Ireland on the ESO Council.
“Tom is joining the ESO at a very exciting time, when they are building the largest telescope in the world – the Extremely Large Telescope or ELT. This 39-metre telescope is being built on top of a mountain high up in the Chilean Andes, and is intended to become ‘the world’s biggest eye in the sky’. Tom’s membership of the ESO will ensure Ireland can play a central role in this exciting development.”
Professor Tom Ray said: “Membership of the ESO is a wonderful development for Irish astronomy and is hugely significant for future generations of Irish scientists.
“It means we now have access to world-class facilities and we can lead programmes on such topics as the physics of the gas and dust in our galaxy; the birth of stars and planets; the interaction of black holes with exotic stars in binary systems; and the formation of the first galaxies.
“Access to the ESO means that, from now on, Irish astronomers – as members of a consortium and in collaboration with industry – can be at the cutting edge of astronomical developments globally.”
Further information about the ESO’s work is available at www.eso.org.
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Big thank you to @MartinaPQuinn of @helloalicepr for moderating the discussion, and of course to our panel @NeasaMcG @CormacORafferty and @laoneill111
@CormacORafferty "to cut yourself off from fundamental research means you could miss out on some of the biggest ideas"
@laoneill "it's our job as researchers to keep reminding governments how important basic research is" "For Dev basic research being carried out in Ireland was a badge of pride"
@NeasaMcG Schrödinger's work in causality was not well received by the religious authorities at the time At the same time DIAS did have Catholic priests working on research projects in the early days, so there was not the conflict you might think between science and religion
@laoneill111 Schrödinger was very popular in social circles in Dublin, a bit of a renaissance man
@CormacORafferty Schrödinger was gifted at explaining difficult concepts
@CormacORafferty on how unsuccessful work, in Schrödinger's case, unified field theory, is just as important part of science. And no one has managed to crack it yet! And not forgetting the cat
@laoneill111 how Schrödinger's book inspired scientists to change fields and result in the finding of the double helix.
@NeasaMcG explaining how DIAS came about and how Schrödinger was attracted to Ireland #DIASdiscovers
Panel Discussion getting underway! @laoneill111 @CormacORafferty @NeasaMcG @MartinaPQuinn
We're half way through the documentary... Join us for the rest and the fascinating discussion to follow DM for link
@Stella15882 @NeasaMcG @HistFest @lukeoneil47 @CormacORafferty @MartinaPQuinn Stella, send me an email. I'll get a link to you communications@dias.ie
Starting in just over an hour we have limited tickets left for tonights broadcast and panel discussion. Get your free ticket now twitter.com/DIAS_Dublin/st…
Culture Night 2020 Booking Links! - Virtual Tour of DIAS Dunsink Observatory: eventbrite.ie/e/118043576515 - Earthquakes and other Geohazards: eventbrite.ie/e/earthquakes-… - Taifeadaí Cartlainne ó Scoil an Léinn Cheiltigh: eventbrite.ie/e/taifeadai-ca… Join us from 5pm! #CultureNight2020
@dias_geophysics have developed something special for @galway2020 in collaboration with composer David Stalling. It is an audio-visual composition “Palace of Ships,” based on sounds, images and seismic data from DIAS’ @SEA_SEIS Expeditions. More: dias.ie/2020/09/14/dia…
Meet some of our panelists for tomorrows discussion on the impact and legacy of the work carried out by Erwin Schroedinger during his time in Ireland as our first Director of Theoretical Physics Grab a free ticket here: eventbrite.ie/e/115984908985