Galway- Potential to become Europe’s ‘Silicon Valley’

I was privileged to be granted recently the Galway Science Person of the Year 2012 award

So I decided to take advantage of this recognition by encouraging the relevant local stakeholders to work together to promote the city and environs as a Digital Galway Bay or as a European version of Silicon Valley, a concept that is perfectly achievable and that could easily capture the popular imagination.

The following is an article that I submitted to the media on why this concept is based on solid foundations

"A well known local science advocate believes that Galway should emulate its international status as an arts city by striving to become the European equivalent of California’s Silicon Valley.

Presented with the ‘Galway Science Person of the Year’ 2012 Award at the recent Galway Science and Technology Festival for delivering a range of pioneering science and technology learning initiatives to schools, colleges and to communities, Brendan Smith believes passionately that the city possesses many of the key ingredients needed to transform the region into a leading global hub for smart technologies’ innovation and development.

According to Brendan Smith, “Silicon Valley is located in the San Francisco Bay area and is home to many of the world's largest information technology corporations as well as thousands of small start-ups who have established a symbiotic relationship with third level colleges in the vicinity that provide the stream of young enthusiastic inventors, innovators, entrepreneurs, engineers and scientists needed to sustain their existence and success. Companies such as Hewlett Packard and Google grew out of the research work being undertaken by neighbouring university and research institutes.

Whilst it is the digital products and business aspects that largely define the identity of the Silicon Valley and environs, nevertheless there are other elements of the San Francisco Bay area that clearly played a crucial part in its evolution as the world’s premier powerhouse of technology innovation.

Located on the west coast of the United States, the area is famed for its natural beauty that has engendered a 'quality of life' ethos amongst the inhabitants. The city of San Francisco has also long being characterized by political, environmental and social liberalism; possessing a strong progressive artistic, music, cultural and community solidarity dynamic with a youthful, student, cosmopolitan and outward-looking population.

Galway therefore bears an uncanny resemblance to San Francisco possessing many of its main traits in abundance. Our president Michael D Higgins could be said to be the personification of this image of Galway as visionary, vibrant, artistic, socially just and technology-savvy.

Many of the leading corporations in the biomedical and information technology sectors such as Avaya, Boston Scientific, Cisco, Electronic Arts, Hewlett-Packard, Medtronic, SAP and Valeo, are already based here with established links to research institutes located in GMIT and NUIG such as DERI, Ryan and REMEDI which are providing the scientific expertise to sustain their presence in Galway and underpin their status as leaders in cutting edge product development. DERI for instance has over one hundred and forty young experts from thirty three countries developing the next generation of the World Wide Web known as the Semantic Web.

There is also the presence locally of indigenous high tech manufacturing and services industries comprising Irish-owned companies such as Creganna and Storm Technologies.

But what is also an abiding feature of Galway is the deep sense of ‘community solidarity’ as well as the high level of volunteerism that exists amongst many of the prime ‘movers and shakers’ in the industrial, political, educational and local government sectors who have over the years collaborated under the auspices of the Galway Education Centre, Junior Achievement and the Galway Science and Technology Festival, to deliver important learning initiatives in schools and colleges across the Western region.  In a modern industrial urban version of ‘Meitheal’ that was once the hallmark of traditional Irish rural community support, these visionaries have promoted and harnessed an army of young professional mentors from industry and third level colleges who give their time and energies to teach in primary and post-primary classrooms delivering science courses whilst acting as positive ‘role models’ for our young generation. 

Such courses will equip our children with a range of skills, from using mathematics to fostering critical thinking, necessary for transforming Ireland from being a nation of ‘digital users’ into a nation of ‘digital creators’ that would export worldwide a series of beneficial Irish-made smart tech products and services.

These formal learning programmes are now being complimented by the activities of electronic and computer coding volunteer clubs such as 091 Labs and Coderdojo which are often established by young people themselves to provide informal after-school digital maker’s environments where participants are encouraged to be creative and to experiment in new processes and ideas, writing software for instance for online games or to control the movements of robots.

The success of these initiatives is best shown by the dramatic uptake by schools in these mentoring courses as well as by the tens of thousands that attend the science shows and exhibitions during the annual two week Galway Science and Technology Festival.

Galway can rightly claim to be the country’s first and premier ‘Digital City’, building on an unbroken tradition of computing innovation that dates back to 1971 when Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), then the world’s largest minicomputer company, opened its first European manufacturing facility in Mervue. This proud technology heritage is exemplified by the fact that the ‘Computer and Communications Museum of Ireland’, which pays tribute amongst other things to the oftentimes hidden role of Ireland, women and youth in communications development, is based in the city at DERI in NUI Galway.

Brendan Smith is the Education and Community Outreach Officer at the Digital Enterprise Research Institute (DERI) in NUI Galway. For over twelve years, he has coordinated an array of successful medical, environmental, digital heritage and web science projects for schools and communities through his work with DERI, Medtronic, Waterways Ireland, the Galway Education Centre, Galway County Council and the Galway Science and Technology Forum. He is co-founder of Coderdojo Galway, Conservation Volunteers Terryland Forest Park, Cumann na bhFear (Men's Shed Galway city), Ballinfoile Mór Community Organic Garden and curator of the ‘Computer and Communications Museum of Ireland’.

As well as being a previous recipient in 2006 of the Galway ‘Science Person of the Year’ Award, Brendan has also earned other accolades including the Galway City Mayoral Community Award, the ITAG ‘Computing in Schools’ Award and the Apple Distinguished Educator(ADE).

Steve Job: The Man that Brought Technology to the Masses and Defined a Generation

Steve Jobs. who died last week at the young age of 56, was one of the most inspirational, innovative and entrepreneurial geniuses of the last century, who popularised and revolutionised communications technology in a way that so few others have dared to do.

A child of the counterculture of 1960s California, he was never ever afraid to take on the status quo, to pull down walls of conservative scientific thought and throughout his life he challenged convention time and time again. His lifework was about combining art and creativity with science and engineering.
His products emancipated technology placing powerful computing technologies onto the people's kitchen/office table during the late 1970s with the launch of the desktop Apple 11 and into people's hands with iTunes and iPods from the early 2000s onwards.
The master of gadgets, his products were powerful, aesthetic, radical and colourful, that captured the public imagination on so many occasions.

For me, his philosophy is best exemplified in Apple's American television commercial (directed by Ripley Scott) entitled 1984 that launched the Apple Macintosh personal computer onto an unsuspecting world as a commercial broadcast during a break in American's football Super Bowl final. Based on George Orwell's novel, the theme was about individual expression overcoming the power of authoritarianism.   Click on image above for a view of this fantastic video.

Into the Future

With every new product released by Apple, from the Apple 11 to the iPad, he pushed the boundaries of change forward. It was, as one commentator said on the day of Steve's death,  as if he disappeared into a Time Machine to journey into the future, and always came back with something new and exciting for all of us to enjoy. 

Steve Jobs along with his colleague Steve Wozniak and Bill Gates of Microsoft were part of small group of young innovators who were instrumental in creating the Age of the Microcomputer in 1977, the first two with a computer known as Apple 11 and the latter with the inclusion of MBasic on the Commodore Pet. They did so much to take the computer out of the laboratory and corporation headquarters and into the home and small office. 1977 was the same year that the owner of the world’s largest minicomputer company stated that he saw no reason why anyone would want a computer in their home!

So many products from Apple defined a generation – Apple 11 (Visicalc – world’s first electronic spreadsheet); the Lisa/Macintosh (world’s first  popular computer to use the graphic icon, windows and mouse interface), the iMac (world’s first computer to be marketed as a window into the Internet rather than a stand-alone isolated desktop), MacPublisher (world's first desktop publishing system) (the iPod/iTunes (personal downloadable portable music), iPhone, iPad……

His time with Pixar represented a milestone in  cinematic industry with the launch of Toy Story the first ever feature film to be made entirely with CGI (Computer Generated Imagery).

Apple in Ireland 

 I have a personal affinity with Apple. 
The company established their first overseas manufacturing facility in Ireland in 1981. From this plant in Cork, they exported computers across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. 30 years on, Apple is still there.
My first permanent job after leaving university was to set up and manage a computer store. I was quite successful and by selling so many Apple 11s became  Apple’s first ever Salesman of the Year for Ireland (the award was an all expenses trip for two to Morocco!).  I installed the Apple 11 into circa 500 schools across the West of Ireland, which represented the first introduction for teachers and students to this new technology that was about to change the world forever.
A few years later I helped in the introduction of the Lisa and Macintosh into Ireland.

Part of the Apple exhibit at the National Computer and Communications Musuem in DERI, NUI Galway

Steve has been a hero and inspiration to me and millions of others for decades.  His legacy is powerful and beneficial.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam

Star Trek's Science Fiction Inspired Today's Technologies

“…To Explore…Seek Out…To Boldly Go

Where No One Has Gone Before…”

Science Fiction has motivated generations of young people to invent future technologies from robots to space stations. This is commented on by the European Space Agency (ESA) in their Science Fiction, Science Fact video, part of the Space-in-Byte  educational schools series,  which discusses the impact of science fiction writers such as Arthur C. Clarke, H.G. Wells and Jules Verne on the development of space travel. 
But none has had more universal appeal and greater inspirational success than the Gene Roddenberry's original 1960s Star Trek television series which was the catalyst for many of today’s gadgetry such as hand-held medical scanners, iPad, video conferencing screens & the mobile phone.

(I put together the following article which will form a) the framework for a permanent exhibit in the DERI-based Communications & Computer Museum of Ireland and b) for project work with schools for the primary purpose of motivating and inspiring young people to consider careers in science, technology, creative arts, entrepreneurism and innovation).

"On Screen, Mr Spock"

CISCO’s CEO John Chambers stated in 2007 that its Telepresence technologies were inspired by the large video communication screens used on the USS Enterprise, which were a far cry from the small monitors of previous science fiction programmes.

Mobile ‘Phone - "Beam Me Up Scotty!"

Dr. Martin Cooper, inventor of the modern mobile phone, credits the Star Trek hand-held communicator as being his inspiration for the technology

Vic-20: First Computer with 1 million+ Sales

World’s first million selling computer, Commodore VIC-20, was popularised by 1982 TV commercials featuring William Shatner (‘Captain Kirk’ of Star Trek) which successfully encouraged parents to recognise its advanced learning applications.

Handheld Scanners

In 2007, Purdue University’s Graham Cooks demonstrated a portable instrument for immediately identifying any substance which he compared to Star Trek’s handheld Tricorder that could scan, analyze and determine the precise chemical composition of a substance non-invasively.

Georgia Tech in 2008 launched a hand-held multi-spectral imaging device, which aids in the detection of internal injuries and was also compared to the Tricorder.

World’s First Microcomputer- from a distant galaxy

With its computer bus design and Microsoft first’s Basic programming language, the Altair 8800 computer kit was the world’s first personal computer. It was sold in 1975 through the Popular Electronics magazine whose editor’s 12 yr old daughter responded to his request for a name by suggesting Altair as that was the galaxy that Star Trek's Enterprise was going to that night.

iPad

Not surprisingly Apple used Star Trek footage in their official iPad launch as a flat, hand-held keyboard-less portable control panel was a regular item used in all Star Trek series, particularly from The Next Generation when the thin touch screen table computer was known as the PADDs (Personal Access Data Display).

Computer Chess

The Fidelity Chess Challenger was the first chess electronic unit available to the generl public. Based on a Z80 8-bit micro-processor, it started production in 1977 with its most popular model, the Fidelity Chess Challenger 7, selling over 600,000 units. Its inventor Sidney Samole got the idea for computer chess after watching an episode of Star Trek in 1976 where Spock played chess against the starship's computer. 

Universal Language Translator - 'First Contact'

“Our universal translator hasn't reached all the capabilities you know from Star Trek quite yet but we're definitely headed in that direction. Universally accessible and accurate translation is a lofty goal, but we're committed to it.”

Franz Och, Principal Scientist, Google Translator

Star Trek also used futuristic technologies that are now commonplace in the 21st century including Global Positioning System (GPS), wireless earpiece, voice generated computing, laser beams and virtual reality.

Public Popularity of Star Trek Influenced Space Shuttle programme
The  Space Shuttle was NASA's most successful and longest running programme. It was based around a fleet of manned re-usable orbital spacecrafts that flew 135 missions between 1981 and 2011.
The first orbiter commissioned in 1976 was to be called the Constitution in recognition of the 200th anniversary of the American Constitution. But the US President Gerald Ford changed the name to Enterprise as a result of a mass letter writing campaign by fans of the Star Trek series who wanted it called after Kirk's starship.  

The space shuttle Discovery's last mission ended in March 2011. On the final day of their stay at the International Space Station (ISS), the crew were woken up by the sounds of an amended version of the Star Trek theme.   William Shatner, who played Captain James T. Kirk, provided a special message to the crew editing the original introduction to, "Space, the final frontier. These have been the voyages of the Space Shuttle Discovery. Her 30 year mission: To seek out new science. To build new outposts. To bring nations together on the final frontier. To boldly go, and do, what no spacecraft has done before."
The Discovery's last mission was the first time that the public had been given the opportunity to vote for the wakeup songs. Such has been the enormous influence of this science fiction series on the attitude of the American people to science and space exploration, that the theme from Star Trek received the second highest number of votes.

Role Model for Females in Science & Technology

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.

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'.

Vision of a Better More Equitable Future

The original series of Star Trek appeared in 1966, in an America and a world vastly different than today. The Cold War between the USA and the Soviet Union was at its height with space exploration being seen as a race with military overtones between these two superpowers; street opposition to the Vietnam War, race riots and a growing feminist movement were symptomatic of a divisive America where racial and sex segregation were part of everyday life.

So the crew and the mission of the spaceship from the future must have come as welcome news to progressive forces and a slap in the face to large elements of the establishment in 1960s United States.

The USS Enterprise foretold of a time when wars between nations of Earth would be a dim and distant memory, when all races and sexes would be treated with respect and equality.

Its mixed crew comprised many different nationalities including bitter former (Japanese) and present (Soviet Union/Russia) enemies commanded by officers that included women and blacks, all following the so-called 'prime directive' which meant non-interference in the affairs of less developed civilisations that represented the very antithesis of the history of humanity.

Borg: Internet & Cybernetics

The Borg, a race of cybernetic aliens, show how electronics components can be integrated within living organisms to become part of the body's functions, a common occurrence today via body sensors and heart pacemakers.

Another interesting aspect of the Borg was their communications technologies with all individuals being interconnected through an electronic wireless network that allowed the 'collective' to know where each and every member was located. This has mirrored recent developments in the Internet & Online Social Networks.

However it should also alert us of the dangers that it could have on the loss of individualism, personal control and threats to privacy. Assimilation is not the way forward for humanity!

Children from Galway Educate National School dressed up as Klingons and Borg at their very popular Star Trek stand in the National Computer and Communications Museum of Ireland that was temporarily hosted in Áras na Mic Léinn NUI Galway during the 2010 Galway Science & Technology Festival exhibition. The facility is housed permanently at the Digital Enterprise Research Institute (DERI).

Science Fiction Becomes Today’s Reality