An address by former President of Ireland Mary Robinson; a fun-filled family day at DIAS Dunsink Observatory; and a lecture by the ‘father of quantum’, Chinese physicist Professor Jian-Wei Pan, are amongst the highlights of a year-long programme of events to mark 80 years of discovery at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS).

Launching the DIAS 2020 programme today (26.01.20), Dr. Eucharia Meehan, CEO and Registrar of the Institute, said: “When DIAS was founded in 1940, it was only the second advanced studies institute in the world.

“Its rich legacy since then includes ground-breaking and seminal discoveries, ranging from work by Nobel prize-winner Erwin Schrödinger, our first Director of Theoretical Physics, which inspired the discovery of DNA, to work by Professor Emeritus Denis O’Sullivan on the first moon rocks following the Apollo 11 and other space missions. We’ve also had the publication of D.A Binchy’s ‘Corpus Juris Hibernia’, the key work on Brehon Laws to this day, and work by geophysicist Brian Jacob, which ultimately led to the expansion of Ireland’s national territory.

“Looking to the future, DIAS will continue to push the boundaries and, in 2020, we’re throwing open our doors to mark our achievements and current work with events focused on topics such as space exploration, the maths of the universe, how the earth is changing, and ancient Celtic customs and laws. We want to encourage and inspire the public’s interest in big unanswered questions about us as a people, our island, our planet and our universe – questions that are at the core of what we do at DIAS and that are important for all of mankind.”

DIAS 2020 events will kick off in mid-February, with additional events to be added to the programme throughout the year. The highlight of the year will be the DIASFest, which will culminate on 19th June 2020, 80 years to the day since the Institute for Advanced Studies Act was enacted.

See www.dias.ie/dias2020/ for more information.