WIT Press Release
Title: Major EU prize for science communication won by Irish duo
Release date: Thu, Mar 08, 2007
Dr Sheila Donegan and Eoin Gill from Waterford Institute of Technology’s Centre for the Advancement of Learning of Maths, Science & Technology (CALMAST) were named as Descartes winners today (Wednesday, March 7) as part of celebrations in Brussels attended by European Council President, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, and the European Commission President, José Manuel Barroso.
The judges for the Descartes Prize for Science Communication hailed Dr Donegan and Mr Gill for the exceptional talent and commitment shown to communicating complex scientific issues to a wide public. A high level expert panel of leading scientists and media professionals, chaired by Suzanne de Cheveigné of the prestigious French research institute CNRS, examined projects from across Europe.
The success for the Irish team came in the 'Popularising science through the written word' category and related to 'Eureka!' a schools science magazine that CALMAST produced for publication with the Irish Independent. This beat off competition from the other shortlisted projects in this category from Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and France. Eoin Gill and Sheila Donegan had previously won the Waterford Crystal Gal Greine award and this allowed them go forward for the Descartes award.
Speaking from the awards presentation in Brussels, Prof Kieran R Byrne, Director, Waterford Institute of Technology paid tribute to Dr Donegan and Mr Gill who jointly manage CALMAST.
"Sheila and Eoin believe passionately in the importance of stimulating public interest in mathematics, science and technology and do Trojan work in the whole area of science communication; work that is clearly valued by their partners in industry who are acutely conscious of skills shortages in these fields. CALMAST’s track record and, the significant contribution they made to the promotion of science in Ireland make them very appropriate winners of a Descartes Prize for Science Communication.
"One gets a sense of just how prestigious the Descartes Prizes are when considering some of the previous winners. These include author Bill Bryson in 2005 and filmmaker Sir David Attenborough in 2004. In addition, their importance is reflected in the presence of Chancellor Merkel and EC President Barroso earlier today while HRH Prince Philippe of Belgium; the German Federal Minister for Education & Research, Anne Schavan and EU Commissioner for Science & Research, Janez Potočnik are hosting a celebration this evening along with leading European scientists and science communicators."
A delighted Dr Donegan said, "We’re thrilled to receive this recognition at EU level for the work on 'Eureka!' and the wider maths, science and technology promotion agenda. The prize is of course named after René Descartes, the French mathematician, philosopher and scientist who was himself a champion of scientific literacy and awareness."
Eoin Gill added, "Descartes Prizes are the European Union's highest awards for outstanding transnational scientific research and science communication and this is a highly prestigious win for CALMAST and Waterford Institute of Technology. It is also an endorsement of our work which is to excite young people about the world they live in and stimulate a spirit of enquiry and discovery.
"In accepting the award, we also gratefully acknowledge the role played in the Eureka! success by John Walshe, Education Editor, and his colleagues in the Irish Independent; our colleagues in Waterford Institute of Technology; the Institute's Director, Prof Byrne for his continued support and Colin McGookin of Waterford Crystal who nominated us for the original Irish award that was the springboard to this European honour. We would also like to thank the industries we work with, the educators but - perhaps above all - the young people that CALMAST works with. We learn a great deal from them."
Recognising the importance of communicating science to the public, the Descartes Prize for Science Communication was introduced in 2004, and is designed to reward outstanding achievements in bringing science and technology to wider audiences in Europe. Five category winners - including CALMAST - and five runners-up share the €275,000 prize fund.
The Descartes Prizes are among the activities supported by the European Commission within the Research Directorate-General. Today’s events in Brussels also marked the launch of the 7th Framework Programme for Research and celebrated 50 years of European research since the Treaty of Rome was ratified in 1957.
