THE CEIFIN CENTRE

 Sarah Knight, Communications and Outreach Officer, Environmental Change Institute, NUI Galway. 

 A native of Canada, Sarah moved to Ireland seven years ago, and has recently completed a Ph.D. in Marine Chemistry at NUI Galway.  Her research focused on using variations in copper concentrations in coastal waters to identify and trace different sources of (contaminated) freshwaters.  Her interest in communicating not only her own research, but science in general, to her peers and to the community, led her to her current role as Communications and Outreach Officer for the Environmental Change Institute (ECI) at NUI Galway.  In this capacity, she endeavours to continually gain and share knowledge about environmental change, and to motivate adults and children to work towards green goals.

 Maria-Alejandra Gonzalez-Perez, Researcher, Community Knowledge Initiative, NUI Galway

 Maria-Alejandra Gonzalez-Perez is the researcher for CKI since February 2007. Alejandra has a multi-disciplinary background. Her PhD analyses social responsibility networks (SRN) and their role improving the working and living conditions of workers in the banana industry. She has over five years experience working in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), two of them as a practitioner for a major multinational company (Chiquita Brands Int.) in Latin America.
Alejandra is a qualified Clinical Psychologist and holds a M.B.S in Industrial Relations and Human Resources Management from NUI Galway. She is member of the Global Studies Association (GSA), International Industrial Relations Association (IIRA), Global Development Network (GDN), the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD), and the Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE).
 

Speakers

Dr. Rowan Fealy, Irish Climate Analysis and Research Unit, NUI Maynooth

Dr. Rowan Fealy is a senior researcher with the Irish Climate Analysis and Research Units (ICARUS), attached to the Department of Geography, National University of Ireland Maynooth. Over the past 6 years he has published or contributed to over 21 papers and chapters in various forms (5 reports, 7 scientific papers, 5 proceedings, 4 chapters in edited volumes), on all aspects of climate, climate change and its impacts. His particular area of expertise is in regional climate modelling and the uncertainties associated with ‘downscaling’ global climate scenarios to the regional or local level. He is currently the chairperson of the Institute of European Affair’s working group on the Science of Climate Change and is a committee member of the Royal Irish Academy’s Irish Committee for Climate Change. He has participated in the Irish delegation reporting to a United Nations expert panel to fulfil Ireland’s requirements under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as well as acting as an Irish representative/negotiator at international climate meetings (IPCC). He is also listed as an expert reviewer for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 4th Assessment Report (AR4) published this year.

Peter Keavney, Director, Galway Energy Agency Ltd

Qualified as an Energy Engineer at South Bank University, London and after graduation worked as an Energy Engineer with many Building Services and Environmental Consultants in London and Home Counties. Went on to hold the position of Chief Energy Management Consultant and Lecturer at Centre for Energy Studies, (R&D Centre) South Bank University, London, and assisted with the establishment of the centre, which today plays a key role in R&D projects in the fields of Fuel Cells, Heat Recovery, Wind & Solar Technologies and Energy from Waste.

Engaged as an Energy Consultant and Director of the Galway Energy Agency Ltd in May 1997  Part of the agency role is to provide an Energy Management Service to both Local Authorities in Galway, including the design and refurbishment of low energy housing. He is also  Project Co-ordinator of 6 SEI House of Tomorrow projects and was a regional partner in a recent SEI national “Energy Performance Survey in Irish Housing”.

Group Member of the Institute of Energy (UK), a Council Member of the Irish Wind Energy Association (IWEA), Training & Development Officer of the Association of Irish Energy Agencies (AIEA) and a correspondence member of the EU ManagEnergy network.

Dr. Chris Shaw is Professor in Drug Discovery in the School of Pharmacy, Queen University Belfast

Prof. Shaw's exciting work involves the discovery and characterisation of biologically active agents within nature, most notably from amphibian venoms that are harvested worldwide.

High-throughput molecular technologies involving de novo peptide sequencing, "shotgun" cDNA cloning and pharmacological screening is directed towards the functional genomic understanding of peptidomes, thus allowing rapid acquisition of structural data and the generation of peptide molecular libraries for novel drug leads.