Developing Links Between Ireland's Technology Heritage Museums

The Communications and Computer Museum (which I helped establish it as part of my Outreach work) at DERI NUI Galway intends to establish links with the telecommunications museum at the Alcatel-Lucent plant in Dublin.

I held discussions yesterday with the corporation’s Toby Joyce with a view to developing an ongoing working relationship between the two technology learning facilities that are unique to Ireland with the aim of promoting an awareness of technology innovation particularly amongst young people.

Toby is an ex-employee of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) Galway and attended the DEC Reunion that was held in DERI last February.

Alcatel-Lucent’s R&D element is the New Jersey-based Bell Laboratories whose proud ancestry goes back to Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone who founded a research centre to focus on the analysis, recording and transmission of sound.

Bell Laboratories was one of the greatest communications research facilities of modern times, developing a wide range of revolutionary technologies that have helped change the world including the transistor, the laser, solar cell battery, synchronous sound motion pictures, the UNIX operating system, C & C++ programming languages. 7 Nobel Prizes were awarded for work at Bell Laboratories.

The corporate’s Blanchardstown plant has a museum that exhibits many of these inventions including a replica of the first telephone (1876),

a 1915 air-to-ground two way voice radio communications apparatus (consisting of a leather pilot helmet with built-in radio receiver and a microphone)

a 1923 Loop Antenna (Western Electric engineers used a similar device to send the first transatlantic telephone signal 1915);

an early fax tele-photograph machine (1925)

a 1926 Vitaphone record and project system (first talking movie).

Telstar model (somewhat smaller than the original) with Toby Joyce

My favourite artifact was the tiny solar-powered Telstar (first communications satellite) to relay television signals, telephone calls and fax images (1962).

There was also a fine collection of early telephones including a 1926 telephone switchboard contained in a beautiful carved wooden cabinet. The unit was from Newbliss County Monaghan and had only 3 customers (Garda Siochana, Post Office and Tyrone Guthrie) when it was installed was operated non-stop for 60years by one man Patrick McCabe. When it was replaced by an automatic service Patrick was made redundant at the ripe old age of 90years!

Huge Crowds show Galway Public Has An Insatiable Appetite for Science & Technology!

Pupils from Gaelscoil de hÍde demonstrating science experiments to an audience of all ages

Lt 'Owen' Uhura & 'Lukasz' Spock held captive by Borg & Klingons from the
Educate Together's 'Federation of Nasty Aliens'!

Toms, Yolanda & Kyrstian at the busy DERI stand

Pupils from Scoil Bhride Mionloch with their DERI supported 'Google Mapping' project

The two week long Galway Science & Technology Festival that ended on Sunday last was the most successful ever in its 13 year history, with a programme that endeavored to promote an awareness of science and technology amongst both young children and the school-going teenage population.

The brilliantly colourful 'Aquatic Science' exhibit from Scoil Bailemanach (Ballymana)

During the period of the Celtic Tiger and before, our youth were attracted in their droves to careers in the professions such as legal, construction and financial that were thought to be safe, lucrative, 9-5 and relatively stress free. The nation applauded and seemed to be entranced by the private jet-setting lives of property speculators, bankers and lawyers. We turned towards the easy money of building/land sales attempting as it seemed as if the whole island was being converted into one vast building site to the detriment of sustainable sectors such as product innovation, manufacturing, organic agriculture, tourism and natural energy sources.We imported cheap labour to do the menial jobs that we used to do ourselves.
Now that the boom is over and the country is economically on the rocks, we are slowly experiencing the harsh lessons of a 'reality check' and are painfully coming to undertstand that we must 'make things' again based on our own human and natural resources if we are to become a major player in the new unfolding Global Village.

Principal Máire Regan-Walsh and the pupils from Bawnmore National School
displaying their Computer Animation project work

St. Augustine's School Clontuskert launch Robotic Ireland's programmable Lego

As well as introducing these pupils to adult science experts, providing them with valuable Role Models and mentors from amongst the third level student science community, the Festival also gave them a rare prestigious public platform to show off and demonstrate their own prowess in Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Engineering, Technologies & the Web. One that they took too with relish!

One of my tasks was to encourage and coordinate schools in taking stands at the exhibition. The response was terrific. Based on the exhibit space available, I secured 15 schools and had to turn many more away.

Scoil Náisiúnta Baile Chláir na Gaillimhe explaining the engineering concepts of the ancient catapult

A lot of the credit most go to great efforts of so many individual teachers who time and time again go over and above the call of duty in their efforts to help their pupils.

It seems like all the pupils of Coolarne turned up at the exhibition to demonstrate their scientific experiments based on Sound

Scoil Chiaraín Naofa Doorus teacher & pupils are rightly proud of their Lungs & Heart projects

Highlights of the festival included a lecture by Craig Barrett, (former Intel chairman) on Education for Innovation where he told the audience that it was up to the Irish themselves to pull the country out of recession; visits to schools by an array of attractive interactive science shows (Cosmic Explorers, Armagh Planetarium, Mad Science, Big Bug Show, K’nex Roadshow, True Physics Rocket Workshops, Weather Show, Science Magic, Magic Mathworks, Galileo’s Greatest Mistake…), a national conference of applied mathematics in NUIG, guided tours of the university’s science labs/institutes and its 3 science museums (geology, zoology & computing), science talks (e.g. anatomy, energy) science workshops, quizzes, debates…

Happy Smiling Volunteers at the DERI Stand

Within the Digital Enterprise Research Institute (DERI) at NUI Galway, we hosted school visits, re-opened an exciting revamped Gary McMahon(R) from Galway City Council enjoying the vintage Apple Computer display in the Communications & Computing Museum that was transferred from DERI to the Áras na Mac Leinn for Sunday's Exhibition

Communications/Computing Museum (with eGalway) and started a weekly Computer Labs (computer programming/maintenance) initiative in a local post-primary school (St. Mary’s College).

Pupils from Fohenagh experiencing a 1960s classroom at the DERI BEO exhibit in Communications & Computing Museum

General Manager SAP and Bernard Kirk Galway Education Centre holding the ultimate Yuppie accessory from the 1980s - the 'brick' cell phone in the Communications & Computing Museum

This was due to the wonderful involvement of young researchers from the Institute such as Laura, Pierre, Lukasz, Jacik, James, Geariod and of course experts such as Alan Fitzpatrick who volunteered their time and effort for the greater good.

Toys 4 Boys!

Fathers & boys enjoy classic 1970s computer games in the Communications & Computing Museum

Distinguished Guests- Paul Nugent (St. Dominic's High School, Dublin) & Eoin Gill (Calmast Waterford Institute of Technology) were delighted with the different exhibits at the Communications & Computing Museum

Communications & Computing Museum Supervisors - DERI's Owen & Lukasz

30,000 Visitors to one-Day Science & Technology Festival at Galway University

Long queues were a feature of Sunday's Science & Technology Exhibition

The Exhibition, the festival finale, was held for the first time in Galway University (NUI Galway) and was officially opened by Maire Geoghegan Quinn EU Commissioner for Science, Research & Innovation, supported by Dr. James Browne NUIG President, Gerry Kilcommins (General Manager Medtronic), Noel Treacy TD and Tom Hyland (Chair & former IDA West Chairman).

With a visionary unity of purpose that united businesses, third level colleges, schools, government agencies and the public, the number of visitors exceeded all our expectations. Average attendances in previous years was in 10,000-16,000 category. This year the media estimated that 50,000 turned up to NUIG for the event (though I believe it was closer to 30,000). The queues started at 12.00 and were still there at the closing time of 5.30pm!

Thank God for Children’s Power as the young ‘uns dragged their parents along!
It was the biggest gathering of people that ever appeared in our university.

Demonstrating the Programming of Robotic Lego

Of course, it must be admitted that we the organisers must do better next year to handle such huge numbers and do our upmost to reduce the waiting time for entry to the exhibition centre. But we were caught unawares and will be better prepared next year by possibly securing a second large adjacent building on campus.

A fantastic achievement and a welcome sign that young Irish people have a serious and growing interest in experiencing the challenges of the sciences, the technologies and innovation. Long may it be nurtured.

KNEX kits at the Athenry Boys' School stand

Something Fishy project at the St. Joseph's School Oranmore stand

Brother Niall Coll, a veteran of school science exhibitions with pupils from St. Patrick's National School Galway City promoting their Invasive Species project

Star fleet officers, Borg & Klingons from Educate Together School Galway City with their excellent project on how the 1960s science fiction Star Trek television series inspired many of today's technologies such as the iPad and the mobile phone

Fohenagh National School gave visitors an insight into how modern computing technologies can bring local history alive by the use of Digital Archiving

Women in Technology - A Hidden History

Below is an outline for an article & poster that I am producing assisted by my colleague Myriam Leggieri as part of my work as a university outreach officer on the 'Hidden History of Women in Technology' that will be used to provide Role Models for Irish post-primary female students.

Science & Technology, as with so much in societies past & present, was/is dominated by men with educational, religious & cultural barriers being established to deny women equal access.

In the 20^th century, women were denied entry to many professions, were only granted academic degrees at Oxford & Cambridge in the 1920s and secured the right to vote in Switzerland as late as 1971. In Ireland, there only 91 women at university in 1901, only 5% of married women had jobs outside the home in 1966 & only in 1973 was the ban on married women working in the Irish Public Service lifted.Even today in the Western world, there are few women involved in innovation, high level scientific research management, the corporate boardrooms or political governance.

Yet in the past some brave females still managed to overcome these obstacles to make significant contributions to advances in communications technology.

The Aristocrat - World’s First Computer Programmer

Augusta Ada King Countess of Lovelace, daughter of the British Romantic poet Lord Byron, is recognised as the world’s first computer programmer. In 1842 she wrote the first ever algorithm for processing numbers on Charles Bannage’s early mechanical general purpose computer or analytical engine who, so impressed by her mathematical skills, referred to her as ‘ The Enchantress of Numbers”. The computer language ADA was named after her.

24 March is commemorated as Ada Lovelace Day, a day to celebrate the achievements of women in technology and science

The Hollywood Goddess - Military Inventor

Austrian-born Hedy Lamarr, née Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler, one of the legendary stars of Hollywood’s ‘Golden Age’, famed for her roles in such films as Algiers, Samson & Delilah and White Cargo, co-designed in 1941 a radio guided torpedo system based on ‘frequency hopping’ (changing) which became known as spectrum spread, a key element later used in the anti-jamming devices used by US military satellite communications systems and later still in digital mobile phone wireless technology.  

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The All-Female Programming team

ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer), launched in 1946, was probably the world’s first general-purpose electronic digital computer. Eniac’s key 6 member programming team were all women, including Kathleen (Kay) Rita McNulty who was born in the Donegal Gaeltacht Ireland in 1921. Her family later emigrated to the USA and she qualified with a Mathematics degree in 1942. In 1946 she married John Mauchly, the co-inventor of Eniac, and worked on the software design of his later computers including the BINIAC and UNIVAC.

Ladymarine - The Naval Commander & Mathematician

Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper (Mother of Cobol) is one of America’s most famous pioneers in computer science. In 1944, she was one of the first programmers of the Marvard Mark 1 electro-mechanical computer, and developed in 1952 the first compiler for a computer programmer language. She conceptualized the idea of machine-independent programming languages, which led to the development of COBOL, one of the first modern programming languages. She is also credited with popularizing the term “debugging" for fixing computer glitches (motivated by an actual moth removed from the computer).

Lady Operator - World’s First Mini-Computer Operating System

Mary Allen Wilkes was a key member of the MIT Lincoln Center in Massachusetts from 1958-1963 where she was the designer of an operating system for the LINC, the world’s first minicomputer. In 1965, she used a LINC computer in her private house, which could be considered the world’s first ‘home’ computer.

The Macintosh Girl - 'Iconic' Trendsetter

Susan Kare was a member of the team that designed the pioneering Macintosh computer in the early 1980s, creating many of its user interface icons (Paint Bucket, Happy Macintosh) and fonts (New York & Geneva). She later designed icons for Microsoft Windows 3.0.

The Ladybell - Inventor of Computerised Phone System

Erna Hoover created a computerized telephone switching system whilst working at Bell Laboratories New Jersey. She designed the stored programme control that monitored incoming calls, prioritized incoming phone traffic and eliminated overloading problems which had previously led to switchboards freezing up.

The Language Lady - First Popular Programming Language

Jean E. Sammet graduated with an MA in Mathematics in 1949. In 1961, she became manager of IBM’s Programming Center in Boston and oversaw the development of FORMAC (FORmula MAnipulation Compiler), the first widely used general language and the first to manipulate symbolic algebraic expressions.

'Star Trek' Communications Officer- A Real Role Model for Women & African Americans

The fictional character, Lieutenant Nyoto Uhura who was Chief Communications Officer on the USS Enterprise in the science fiction series Star Trek that originally appeared in 1966. Though not a real character, nevertheless her appearance in this very popular television series during the 1960s broke important sexual and racial barriers, showing women of the future as proficient in engineering with positions of responsibility and command involving high technology. Uhura became an important Role Model for Black Afro-American women in particular.

For instance the well known American actress Whoopi Goldberg, who appeared in the later series Star Trek the Next Generation, stated that Uhura was a role model for her when she was a young telling her family, "I just saw a black woman on television, and she ain't no maid!"

Nichelle Nichols, who played Uhura, was used by NASA in a campaign to encourage African Americans to join the service. Dr Mae Jemison. the first black American to fly aboard the Space Shuttle. said that Star Trek was a major influence in her decision to join NASA.

The name 'Uhura' comes from the Swahili word 'Uhuru' meaning 'Freedom'.