School of Natural Sciences News

Past Stories 

16th July 2026

Congratulations to Mick Ryan on the successful defence of his PhD thesis entitled "A High-Cadence Optical Photometry Exploration of the Outer Solar System”, supervised by Professor Aaron Golden. Mick's work involved using the GUFI (Galway Ultra Fast Imager) camera hosted by the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope at the Mount Graham International Observatory in southern Arizona to study a range of dynamical planetary phenomena - bolide impacts on Jupiter, activity from several comets including the comet/asteroid hybrid Centaur 174P/Echeclus, and a rare occultation of a distant star by Weywot, the only known moon of the Kuiper-belt dwarf planet Quaoar - all of which link back to our understanding of how size-mass distribution equilibrium is maintained in our solar system.

Photo: From left to right, examiners Dr. Niall Smith (MTU) and Dr. Christian Ginksi, examination committee chair Dr. Liz Coleman, and successful PhD candidate Mick Ryan.

Academic promotion

Academic promotion round 14, August 2026: If you are planning to apply for promotion, please let the Head of School know, in order to arrange a meeting to best support your application.

Health & Safety Alert – Urgent Chemical Inventory Check

All academic staff, researchers and technical officers are required to carry out an urgent review of their chemical inventories, storage areas, cupboards and cabinets. Staff should check for specific high-risk chemicals, peroxide-forming chemicals, radioisotope materials or waste, and any old, legacy or out-of-date chemicals. If any suspicious or listed substances are identified, they must not be moved or opened and should be reported immediately to the Head of School, CTOs or the appropriate safety contact. Checks should be completed in pairs where possible and inventories reviewed against current labelling and storage requirements. Particular attention should be given to peroxide-forming chemicals and substances with H206–H208 hazard classifications. Staff are also asked to report any chemicals with missing, damaged or non-compliant labels. Please confirm to your Head of School or CTO team once your area has been checked. Further guidance is available in the attached chemical safety and storage documents. 1. Peroxide forming chemicals, 2.Lab Segregation Flow Chart 3. Chemical Handling Segregation and Storage.

1st July 2026

New Sustainability Strategy

Has been launched fund out more here

Key targets and actions include: 
• Embedding sustainability competencies in all educational programmes at the University 
• Achieving Green Lab certification for all labs on campus 
• Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by 2030 and moving ambitiously towards carbon neutrality 
• Securing Gold in the NTA Smarter Travel Mark 
• Implementing a new biodiversity action plan for a nature positive campus 
• Building on the successful elimination of single-use cups, removing remaining single-use plastic catering items 
• Achieving Platinum rating in the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS)

Reimagining Geospatial, Earth Observation & Data at the Ryan Institute – 17 July

Researchers and staff with interests in GIS, Earth Observation, remote sensing, spatial data, AI and environmental intelligence are invited to an open Ryan Institute workshop on 17 July in IdeasLab. The event aims to foster collaboration, share research interests and explore future opportunities in this growing area. Attendees can also give a short 2-minute flash presentation on their work.  If you would like to attend, and/or contribute a short flash presentation, please complete the MS Form here: Reimagining Geospatial, Earth Observation & Data at the Ryan Institute – RSVP. 

OHSI Conference Bursary Awards

Recently a number of staff and students attended the OHSI conference held in UCD and did an amazing job representing our University and programmes also recognizing   staff back in the 1990s who set up the programme here in Galway e.g. Dr Tom O Connor (Physics). A particular highlight was the success of our students Emma Casey and Loretta Amahia, who were awarded OHSI/HSA student bursaries, alongside Caoimhe Colgan, who represented the programme as a student ambassador. Group Photo.  Read article here.

PEACE-Air project.

A year-long air quality monitoring campaign has officially begun in Letterkenny as part of the PEACE‑Air project.  🔗Read more about it here https://lnkd.in/dueBkJWu

Rooted in the River Events

Congratulations to Dr Jessamyn Fairfield on two successful climate engagement events see post here.

Mary Robinson Climate and Nature Conference 2026. 
📍 Ballina, Co. Mayo | 🗓️ 9–10 July 2026 
🌾Theme: Food and Care - A Meitheal for Our Time 🔗 Buy your ticket and find out more here.

Seminar

Balancing energy consumption, IEQ, and occupant wellbeing, in the Nordic context" and is taking place in AS203 (River Room) on Friday 10th July from 2-3pm.

Irish Society for Parasitology Meeting 2026 a Great Success

The Irish Society for Parasitology Meeting 2026 took place on 11–12 June at Collins Barracks, Dublin, in collaboration with the National Museum of Ireland. The event brought together researchers and experts from across the field and was made possible through the support of the ISP President Dr Christopher Coates and the dedicated ISP Committee. Attendees enjoyed two days of scientific exchange, networking, and collaboration, with the Society already looking forward to next year's meeting.  See photo here.

ENLIGHT Sustainability Staff Week 2026  

The School of Natural Sciences was delighted to be represented at ENLIGHT Sustainability Staff Week 2026 by staff members Gesche Kindermann, Caitríona Carlin and Vikkie Henshaw, alongside students Romavida Byrne and Darragh Mullins. Their participation showcased SNS's commitment to sustainability, collaboration and student engagement, while contributing valuable insights and experiences to the international ENLIGHT community. See photo here.

17th June 2026

Student Support Wheel 

We want students to feel part of our university community, learn lots and truly enjoy your time here. We also acknowledge that student life comes with its own unique challenges that at times can be difficult and you may need help to respond to some of the challenges you will face. There are many supports in the university that you can access when you need them. We are here for you! Supervisors and course directors please pass on this information to your students undergraduate and postgraduate. 

Congratulations to Dr Zoe Popper 

Zoe was awarded a Postgraduate Diploma in Academic Practice on 11^th June 2026  

Congratulations to Dr Rabisa Zia  

On the conferring today of your PhD in Botany and Plant Science ‘Investigating the phyllosphere mycobiome of the Ramularia leaf spot-barley pathosystem’ supervised by Dr Zoe Popper and Dr Stephen Kildea Teagasc. Photo here. 

Congratulations to Dr Alexandra Valentine on her Successful PhD defence 

The title of the thesis is "Diversity and adaptation of Apis mellifera mellifera in Ireland” 

Supervised by Prof Grace McCormack, Alex made a few major contributions to our understanding of honeybees in Ireland. The first is that the population in Ireland should be recognised as a distinct ecotype, different from other populations of honey bees in Europe by morphology and genomics. Ireland is probably the last stronghold of the threatened subspecies of dark bee, and Ireland also boasts a widespread population of wild forms of this honeybee (now endangered in Eu27). Alex also showed that from a pathogen perspective wild colonies are not the threat to managed colonies believed by many, showing as she did that, they are not differentiated from managed colonies in numbers of types of pathogens present. Given that wild and managed colonies are intermixed on networks she suggests that in Ireland they are freely interbreeding.   Alex also confirmed using SNPS, wing morphometrics and via the colour of bees that the Irish population is under threat from hybridisation with imported honeybees and should be protected. 

Hedgehog sightings

The Great Big All-Ireland Hedgehog Count is now underway, with Hedgehog Conservation Ireland, led by Elaine O’Riordan (School of Natural Sciences) in collaboration with the University of Oxford, encouraging the public to record hedgehog sightings to help build a clearer picture of hedgehog populations across Ireland. More from Newstalk Breakfast, 2FM Mornings with Doireann Garrihy and Irish Central. Members of the public can submit sightings at https://www.irishhedgehogsurvey.com/. 

Giant Cockroaches 

Dr Michel Dugon participated on the Sean Moncrieff radio show on 5^th June at 2.40pm to discuss the seizure of thousands of giant cockroaches in Australia (https://www.irishexaminer.com/world/arid-41857242.html).  

Parasite Tales Display at the Dead Zoo 

Dr Christopher Coates finished a collaboration between the National Museum of Ireland and the Irish Society for Parasitology recently. Attached are images of the displays at the Dead Zoo  1 & 2 celebrating the parasite-related items in the Natural History collections and the latest work from members of the ISP.  Link to a LinkedIn post here.   

The link below is to the short blog about collaboration. 

https://www.museum.ie/en-IE/Collections-Research/Natural-History-Collections/Dead-Zoo-Lab-Book-(1)/Parasite-tales 

4th June 2026

Physics GRC Presentations

Physics PhD and Research Masters students delivered presentations to Physics staff in the Larmor theatre on Tuesday 26^th May as part of their GRC process. Many thanks to all our students for presenting on a wide array of innovative research topics.

 Physics GRC Presentations 26th May 2026.jpeg

Congratulations

PhD student Stephen Garry, supervised by Dr Adam Collins won best student Oral presentation in the ‘Curiosity and Discovery’ category at the CSE Research Day in the Galmont. His talk was titled ‘Fabrication and Optical Characterisation of Thermochromic Liquid Crystal Thin Films’. 

Printed Stents for Young Scientist Winners

Adam Collins (Physics) assisted Deepta Suresh and Janefrances Muoneke, students at Taylor’s Hill College, to 3D print flexible TPU stent prototypes for their project "From Vessel Support to Insulin Production: A Prototype Stent for Diabetes Complications”. The pair took 1st place in the Senior Group Health & Wellbeing category at the 2026 Stripe Young Scientist of the Year at the RDS and will go on to present at SciFest in ATU Galway. The collaboration began when Deepta participated in the University's TY Learning Experience Week last year. Congratulations to both. See photos here 1, 2, 3, 4.

20th May 2026

Congratulations to Colin Lawton on being featured on the RTÉ Kids Ecolution podcast this week. Colin spoke about his work in an engaging and accessible way for younger audiences, with the episode expertly edited into a lively discussion. It’s great to see School of Natural Sciences expertise reaching new and diverse audiences through national media 

https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/ep-104-squirrelled/id1487104096?i=1000767614518

Pine martin impact: Dr Colin Lawton (School of Natural Sciences) joined RTÉ’s Kids Podcast Ecolution to discuss how the resurgence of the pine martin over the past 50 years has led to a flourishing of red squirrels, once badly affected by the invasive greys.

Protecting Our Hedgehogs: Elaine O’Riordan (School of Natural Sciences) joined RTÉ’s Today @5.37 on 08/05/2026 to discuss what can be done to protect Ireland’s hedgehogs.

Congratulations The Botany Society was honoured at the national BICS | Board of Irish College Societies Awards 2026, receiving both Best Green Initiative and Best Departmental/Academic Society. Following their earlier success at the University of Galway Societies Awards, these national awards recognise the society’s outstanding commitment to sustainability, inclusivity, and engagement. The achievement reflects the dedication of the committee and the leadership of Auditor Freya Bohan, whose vision has created accessible and inspiring events for members at all levels of botanical knowledge.

Congratulations to Adam Collison (Physics) on achieving second place at the Threesis 2026 Grand Finale. Adam’s three‑minute presentation on air quality impacts of retrofitting schools and offices highlighted the real‑world relevance of physics research. The School of Natural Sciences also noted the third‑place project by Sienna Stucke, supported through mentoring from the Molecular Parasitology Lab, while Grace Barnes received First Place and the Audience Choice Award. See more here.

6th May 2026

Congratulations to Buddila Wijeyesekera on winning the AIB Student Impact award.  The award recognises individuals demonstrating leadership thereby creating positive changes within the student communities in Higher Educational institutes across Ireland.  See Photo here.

Óir na Farraige 

Congratulations to Alex Wan and Mark Johnson on the excellent Óir na Farraige project recently featured on Nuacht.  The coverage highlighted the strength of this EU‑funded work and the impact of seaweed innovation research.  Warm thanks to Liz Coleman for her outstanding efforts in bringing the project so clearly to screen.  A great showcase of the work of the School & Ryan Institute. See here for post.

ACTRIS Science Conference 2026! 

Jurgita and team attended the ACTRIS Science Conference 2026! 
Lu Lei shared exciting preliminary results from EPIC‑AIR on oxidative potential from stove and fireplace burning experiments. Vaios Moschos presented on long‑term decadal trends from Mace Head, with further insights from recent campaigns.  The conference also featured the launch of COAST‑VOC and CARES from last summer at Mace Head. See post here.

TY Week Videos

See some very nice videos produced by students that really showcase breadth of activities within the school. A big thank you to all the team members and those that provided workshops and supported the week.

 Team7-take2.mp4

 The Carbons.mp4

Field Trips 

Thanks to Declan Hughes (Asst Quarry Manager), Mary O'Brien (Health/Safety & Environmental) and Nicky Mulchrone (Operations & Compliance Supervisor) for hosting the 2nd Year Earth & Ocean Sciences students and 2nd year Environmental Science students at McGrath's Quarry in Cong. See photo here.

23rd April 2026

Congratulations to Ray Butler who has been appointed as the Head of Physics.

Congratulations to Alexa Parimbelli has successfully completed her viva, presenting impactful research on deep‑sea black‑coral biodiversity along the Northeast Atlantic margin. Her thesis combined predictive species‑distribution modelling with molecular species delimitation to better understand the environmental drivers and genetic diversity of Antipatharia corals. Under the supervision of Prof. Louise Allcock, Alexa assembled and annotated six new black‑coral mitogenomes and identified a highly variable mitochondrial region, offering new tools for species identification. Her findings highlight the limitations of morphology‑based identification and the value of molecular approaches for improving global species catalogues. The project was funded by the Hardiman Scholarship (Year 1) and the Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship 2022 (Years 2–4). See Photo.

Congratulations: Four final year Physics students (Nora Abdel Rahim, Holly Ryan O’Connor, Ava Henley and Marie O’Brien) attended the 10^th edition of the international theoretical physics competition, PLANCKS UK & Ireland, at the University of Kent. The event took place from Friday 20^th – Sunday 22^nd February 2026. PLANCKS encompasses the values of IAPS and the IOP, providing a unique opportunity that inspires students to develop their passion for physics, network with peers, and build skills and knowledge to take into the rest of their degrees and careers. See photo and press release.  Plancks 2.jpeg

Medical Physics: Over 60 Transition Year students attended a TY Taster Day presentation on Medical Physics this week.  Dr Michael Martyn delivered an engaging talk titled “Radiation, Research, and Real‑World Impact – A Career in Medical Physics.”  Students gained insight into how physics is applied in healthcare and cutting‑edge research.  The session sparked strong interest and lively discussion throughout.  It was an excellent opportunity to showcase STEM pathways and real‑world career possibilities. See Photo.

Seaweed Farming - A new project led by Óir na Farraige, in collaboration with researchers in the Ryan Institute, will assess the environmental and lifecycle impacts of seaweed farming to help validate its potential as a regenerative aquaculture solution. Dr Liz Coleman (Centre for Climate and Air Pollution Studies, Ryan Institute) discusses the project with Nuacht TG4 @8.53.

Increase in False Widow Spider - Dr Michel Duggan describes rising populations of the noble false widow spider as a key factor in increased bites and hospital admissions in the UK. More from ITV News, The Independent UK, The Express and The Mirror.