Algebraic Error Correction in Communications Networks

An investigation into the compatibility and effectiveness of linking Brazilian carbon mitigation and trading strategies with the EUETS (European Union Emissions Trading Scheme). 

An investigation of the activity of Mycosinate (a patented antimicrobial honey derived technology) in the treatment of campylobacter infections in poultry as a means of improving public health

Aquatic invasive species: Impacts on Eco System and Economy Water Quality Impacts and Management

Developing blood mitochondrial markers for athletic performance, optimal training and effective recovery regimes

Development of robust laser welding processes for bioresorbable and advanced low melting-point polymers

Enhanced delivery of ecosystem services through agri-environment management of farmland

Geotechnical infrastructure modeling for piled embankments, ground improvement and reinforced soil structures

Investigation of the Occurrence of Pharmaceutical and Personal Care products (PPCP) in Sludge & Wastewater samples using Chromatographic Separation Techniques with Mass Spectrometry Detection

Microbial Source Tracking: Molecular Biology Methods applied to tracking Indicator Microorganisms and pathogenic microorganisms in the environment.

Novel anti-tumour drug analysis in leukaemia patient primary cell lines, normal patient primary cell lines and commercial leukaemia cell lines

Potential of SRC willow for remediation of landfill leachate

Research in the monitoring, enhancement and control of polymer processes with a specific focus on the medical industry, particularly bioresorbable and drug eluting medical devices.

Treatment of Neuro degenerative disorders by  biological therapeutics to the central nervous system via retrograde transit through axons from terminal fields

The 1991 EU Nitrates Directive addresses water pollution from agricultural sources, including livestock manure and other fertilisers. One method of reducing the risk of environmental pollution from agricultural waste is to convert it to energy. This can be achieved by the anaerobic digestion of waste to produce methane gas which can be used as a fuel to generate electricity. This practice is most commonly used in the management of large scale livestock waste or in sewage treatment plants, but is not suitable for use on smaller farms.

Established in 2004, GreenFarm Energy (Ireland) Ltd. has a specific interest in the extraction of energy from farm waste, using an on-farm anaerobic digestion system that is suitable for small farms. In 2005, with the support of EU funding, GreenFarm Energy worked with South West College in Omagh to develop new technology solutions for the extraction of energy from waste on small farms. The work resulted in specifications for a pre-treatment system that would be integrated with an anaerobic digester for the extraction of energy from agricultural waste.

The Centre for Sustainability at the Institute of Technology, Sligo (IT Sligo) became involved as a collaborative partner to verify the capacity of the new pre-treatment digester by developing laboratory techniques to analyse farm waste and to characterise its energy potential. This was facilitated by the commissioning of two lab-scale bio-reactors at IT Sligo. The bio-reactors facilitated the investigation of the energy potential of farm waste, and ran on improved-energy potential farm waste produced by the pre-treatment digester. As a result of this cross-border collaboration, GreenFarm Energy (Ireland) Ltd. developed anaerobic digestion as a specialist area. A prototype has been developed and tested and the construction of the full-scale system is underway. It will be the first on-farm energyfrom-waste unit in Northern Ireland.

“IT Sligo provided the project partners with an efficient and high level technical service on which decisions on the direction of the project could be made. IT Sligo filled a significant knowledge gap in the area of environmental biology allowing the project to design and test new equipment. At every stage having IT Sligo as a project partner proved highly beneficial.”Aaron Black, South West College, Omagh

“The development of the collaborative research project has resulted in our company gaining a significant technical advantage within the marketplace for energy from waste systems. The assistance provided has assisted us in the planning, development, testing and construction of our demonstration energy from waste facility. Without this assistance offered by our project partners this would not have been possible.”Gary Hawkes, GreenFarm Energy Ireland Ltd., Director

Head of ResearchDr. John BartlettInstitute of Technology, SligoSligo, IrelandT: +353 (0)71 915 5314E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Project ManagerDr. John MooreSouth West College (Omagh Campus)2 Mountjoy Road, Omagh, BT79 7AHT: +44 28 8224 5433E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Research Lecturer, InnotechAaron BlackSouth West College (Cookstown Campus)T: 0845 603 1881 ext 4224E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Irish Prison Service (IPS) operates as an executive agency within the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. It strives to provide “safe, secure and humane custody for people who are sent to prison”.

The IPS wished to develop a new induction course that would be mandatory for new recruits to the Service. The aim of this course would be to equip new recruits with all the necessary skills to perform their duties, in line with the mission of the Service. 

The Department of Humanities at the Institute of Technology, Sligo (IT Sligo) has a strong record in the delivery of flexible learning  to ‘non-standard’ students, to communities and to public sector organisations, having previously developed programmes for the HSE, the Equality Authority and the Citizens’ Information Board.

IT Sligo was selected to develop the new induction course. In partnership with the IPS, a tailored programme of training was developed that incorporates a range of flexible and innovative teaching and learning strategies, including work- based and problem- based learning and distance education.

The Irish Prison Service and IT Sligo commenced delivery of the HETAC- accredited Higher Certificate in Custodial Care (HCCC) in September 2007. The programme is delivered over a two year period and provides a mix of professional and vocational training. A key feature of the HCCC is that of ‘co-delivery’, whereby IT Sligo staff lead in the academic delivery, while staff from the IPS lead in applying theory to practice. This ensures that the programme is applied to the complexities of modern prison work.

To date, 700 students have enrolled on the HCCC and are studying while working in the prison service. Almost 300 participants have graduated successfully with a recognised certification and an academic award from IT Sligo. Due to the success of this programme, IT Sligo is currently developing level 7 and 8 awards in this field for graduates of the HCCC who wish to continue their studies with IT Sligo. A level 6 award is also being developed to up-skill existing prison officers who are not required to undertake the HCCC. In addition, members of staff from both institutions are currently engaged in research activities that will assist in creating greater awareness of current practice in this wide-ranging field of study.

“The Irish Prison Service (IPS) has since 1 September 2006 been working closely with IT Sligo on the development and delivery of the Higher Certificate in Arts in Custodial Care (HCCC). What has emerged during this period of time is a model academic-employer partnership. As a third-level institution IT Sligo has demonstrated a number of key attributes that have also contributed to the development of this positive partnership. These include: Innovation, Flexibility and Commitment.”John McGuckin - Governor, Irish Prison, Service Training and Development Centre

“This partnership between IT Sligo and the Irish Prison Service has brought significant benefits to the Department of Humanities. It has broadened the areas of research being pursued by staff with the Department. So much so, that we are looking forward to hosting the prestigious North/South Criminology conference later this year. This is a great opportunity to showcase the findings of our research.”Dr. Perry Share - Head of Department of Humanities, Institute of Technology, Sligo

Head of ResearchDr. John BartlettInstitute of Technology, SligoSligo, IrelandT: +353 (0)71 915 5314E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Industrial Liaison ManagerMr. Niall McEvoyInstitute of Technology, SligoSligo, IrelandT: +353 (0)71 915 5385E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Programme Manager, Higher Certificate in Custodial CareFergus TimmonsInstitute of Technology, SligoSligo, IrelandT: +353 (0)71 915 5499E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Centre for Design Innovation (CDI) and IT Sligo works to support innovation through design, prototyping and manufacturing process simulation.  CDI provides innovation training, workshops, prototyping services, product and service R&D development support. The CDI also has specific expertise in applied research and industry support in the following areas:

Centre for Design Innovation secured over €3 million in competitive research funding from national and European sources. Outputs from the work of the CDI include an Innovation by Design Industrial Support Programme; Engagement with over 150 companies and 9 peer-reviewed publications. The work of the CDI is supported by Enterprise Ireland and FP7.

Dr David TormeyHead of DepartmentMechanical EngineeringInstitute of Technology, SligoT: +353 (0)71 9155496E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Environmental research at IT Sligo is concentrated on two main groups. The Centre for Sustainability is concerned with waste management; The Centre for Biomolecular Environmental and Public Health Research specialises in environmental and public health effects of environmental waste.

The Centre for Sustainability specialises in the following areas: 

Researchers at the Centre for Sustainability have received €2.6m in funding, published 21 peer reviewed papers and delivered 10 contract research reports. The Centre has been funded through Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions (PRTLI), Environmental Protection Agency and EU INTERREG Programme. 

The focus of research in The Centre for Biomolecular Environmental and Public Health Research includes the following:

The Centre is funded through EPA STRIVE and ERTDI Programmes, HEA Equipment Renewal Grant Scheme, Marrone Bioinnovations (MBI USA). It has a long-standing collaboration with John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. 

Dr John BartlettHead of Research & PICentre for SustainabilityInstitute of Technology, SligoT: +353 (0)71 9155314E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Dr Frances LucyPrincipal InvestigatorCentre for Biomolecular, Environmental and Public Health ResearchInstitute of Technology, SligoT: +353 (0)71 915 5355E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Geotechnical Research Group at IT Sligo carries out applied research to understand soil-structure interaction problems and to develop innovative design concepts for complex geotechnical problems.  Geotechnical centrifuge modelling is the most powerful investigative tool for revealing the mechanisms that govern the behaviour of complex soil-structure interaction problems. IT Sligo is home to the only geotechnical centrifuge in Ireland and one of only 3 drum centrifuges in the EU. 

Geotechnical research at IT Sligo focuses on specific challenges relating to the off-shore industry.  Research interests include:

The Group collaborates with a number of national and international partners. These include Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, University of Western Australia, Virginia Tech, USA.  Industry collaborators include Deep Sea Anchors, Norway; In Situ SI, UK; Maccaferri, Italy; Terram, UK; Linear Composites, UK.

To date, the group has been funded primarily through HEA and Enterprise Ireland and is currently working towards a financially self-sustaining centre of excellence for applied geotechnical research by 2013. The group has delivered 55 peer-reviewed publications, 2 Invention disclosures and has filed 1 patent application.

Dr. Conleth O’LoughlinPrincipal InvestigatorGeotechnical Research GroupInstitute of Technology, SligoT: +353 (0)71 9155289E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The €1mn Mitochondrial Biology and Radiation Research (MBRR) Group at IT Sligo is led by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Stokes Lecturer, Dr James Murphy. The research team is based in the School of Science in IT Sligo where the custom-built lab includes state-of-the-art proteomics and molecular biology equipment, a cell culture facility as well as a sunlight simulator and a high-energy VHF radiowave generator.

The ongoing SFI-funded research focuses on identifying subtle changes in mitochondrial dynamics, as well as mitochondrial function and mitochondrial DNA in skin cells following low-level, sub-lethal simulated sunlight exposure. The research is also part-funded by the Radiowave Therapy Research Institute (Western Australia). Collaborators include the Radiowave Therapy Research Institute, Perth Australia, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin Institute of Technology and McMaster University, Canada. The group has published 10 peer-reviewed publications since 2009.  Since 2008, James Murphy has been awarded €500,000 in funding form SFI.

Dr James MurphyPrincipal InvestigatorMitochondrial Biology & Radiation Research GroupInstitute of Technology, SligoE: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Dr. Frances Lucy is a full-time staff member and long-term researcher at the Institute of Technology, Sligo. There are two major strands to her  research activities. The fi rst focuses on environmental monitoring of Cryptosporidium, a human pathogen, in Irish surface waters and in waste water treatment plants. Secondly, she is an expert researcher on aquatic invasive species which continue to threaten our natural biodiversity and ecological communities.

Her early, highly regarded research on zebra mussels led to work on similar invasive species in many watercourses and also facilitated international collaborations through projects, conferences, publications and journal management.

While acting as a lecturer and Principle Investigator for a three-year Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) project on Zebra Mussels in Lough Key (2000-2003), Frances pursued and completed a PhD. During this period, she initiated successful international networking links with John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA.

This in turn led to the development of a new research programme using zebra mussels as bio-indicators of Cryptosporidium and other human pathogens in Irish waters. Since Cryptosporidium is a topical public health problem, further EPA support funded her PhD student, Angel Cheng, to trace pathogens through wastewater treatment plants using related technologies. Frances was also a research partner on a UCD led EPA STRIVE project on ‘Cryptosporidiosis: human, animal, and environmental interface’. Results of these projects will be instrumental in developing policy in the public health arena. She is considered a national expert in this research field and has many relevant publications.

Frances has also developed an aquatic invasive species management programme at IT Sligo. This builds on her own research and, more recently, on that of two PhD students supported by the IT Sligo President’s Bursary Award scheme. Sara Meehan’s PhD involves working on zebra mussel control and her research is co-funded by Marrone Bio Innovations, USA. Rory Sheehan’s PhD is on the Asian clam, co-funded by Inland Fisheries Ireland and Waterways Ireland. These students also assist undergraduate students on invasive species projects.

Frances was a founder Board Member of Inland Fisheries Ireland (2010-2013). She is editor-in-chief of two open access journals on Invasive species (www.reabic.net) and has published with many international experts.  She is a national representative for Ireland for EU COST action on Invasive Species Networks (TD1209), managing short term scientific missions and other core activities for the project. This COST Action is a pan-European foresight think-tank to address future co-ordination and research activities in this critical research area.

Since September 2013, she has directed the new Centre for Environmental Research Innovation and Sustainability (CERIS) at IT Sligo. As Director, Frances provides management, support and direction for environmental research in the institute.

Testimonial

“I acknowledge IT Sligo for supporting my research through the President’s Bursary Postgraduate Fund. The new Centre for Environmental Research Innovation and Sustainability will be hugely beneficial to all the researchers involved.”

Dr. Frances Lucy Institute of Technology,Sligo

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Dr. Frances LucyCentre for Environmental Research, Innovation and Sustainability (CERIS)Institute of Technology Sligo SligoIrelandT: +353-71-93 05693E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Medical Device Technology sector is a globally significant manufacturing activity that is of key economic importance to Ireland. The project described here is of relevance to a range of companies operating in this sector in the state.

Medical device technology is evolving toward a paradigm in which the devices play a therapeutic role in addition to a passive, structural role – so-called bioactive technologies. This is particularly true in areas where convergence of pharmaceutical and device technologies is a feature such as tissue engineering and targeted drug delivery. 

Bioresorbable polymers are set to play an increasingly important role in novel products in this arena and consequently industry needs to understand the effect that manufacturing steps – such as laser welding which is widely utilised in the medical technologies sector – will have on the biodegradation rates of the materials involved.

The Precision Engineering and Manufacturing (PEM) Centre at IT Sligo has a dedicated polymer welding workstation as well as access to a wide range of equipment for microscopic inspection, mechanical testing and chemical analysis. The Centre also possesses over 50 man-years of industrially focused research expertise in the areas of laser-based manufacturing, biodegradable polymer processing, engineering design and quality control. Through its network of industrial contacts in the medical technologies sector, the PEM Centre is well positioned to disseminate this expertise to industry in Ireland.

Research by the centre to date has involved fabricating coupons of bioresorbable materials. These coupons were laser-welded and the resulting assemblies were  degraded in an incubator under conditions similar to the biological environment found in the body. Quantitative indicators of the degradation process were made by careful mass-loss measurements and chemical analysis of degradation by-products. Microscopic inspection was also carried out at regular intervals, since, in implant applications, it is important to monitor the degradation/fragmentation process.

The research has been funded in the main through the award of an IT Sligo President’s Bursary to the student working on the project. Industry sector feedback has been provided to the project via an Industry Open Day organised by the PEM Centre and through bilateral interactions between relevant companies and the project team.

The research has provided clear information on a measurable effect that laser welding has on the degradation rate of a particular bioresorbable material. It has also enabled the development of a framework in which other materials can be assessed. The Centre envisages that the research activity will provide the basis for  focused collaborative projects with specific industry partners seeking to develop new products in this area. The team will be seeking to identify suitable industrial partners for the next phase of development.

Testimonial

“The global trend in medical technologies is strongly focused on the convergence of pharmaceutical and devices technologies. Ireland is recognised as an international leader in these areas and therefore it is essential that we stay at the forefront of innovation and new product development. Recent years have seen the establishment of many innovative SMEs in the area of medical device design and development. These companies will require support in terms of knowledge development and training to sustain their activities, so it is important that third level institutes should be proactive in their choice of research activities. Because of its direct applicability to manufacturing processes, this project - along with others in the area of bioresorbable polymer processing underway at the PEM Centre, has the potential to be a key enabling technology for novel product development.”

Dr. Richard Sherlock, Precision Engineering and Manufacturing Centre

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Dr. Richard SherlockPrecision Engineering and Manufacturing CentreInstitute of Technology Sligo SligoIrelandT: +353-71-915 5222E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.