SMALL PRINT:TACKLING SCIENTIFIC questions today can often mean working on exciting projects with researchers around the world, and that will be a strong theme in a talk later this month by Irish scientist Prof Margaret Murnane (pictured right), who is to receive the 2011 RDS Irish TimesBoyle Medal for Scientific Excellence.
Murnane, who is professor of physics at the University of Colorado at Boulder, is to receive the medal on November 29th at the RDS in Dublin, an honour that recognises scientific research of exceptional merit.
Her research has focused on the development of fast lasers and she designed the first laser able to pulse in the low trillionths of a second range.
Murnane also developed a table-top X-ray laser that uses very short laser pulses to generate coherent beams that have the directed properties of a laser.
She will be the 39th scientist to receive the award since its inception in 1899 – in 1999 the awarding of the medal became a joint venture between the Royal Dublin Society and The Irish Timesand it is now awarded biennially – alternating between a scientist based in Ireland and an Irish scientist based abroad.
Following the conferral, Murnane will give a talk, People, Places and the Joy of Discovery: Fast X-Rays from Fast Lasers.
“Science today is very different from in the past,” says Prof Murnane, telling how science provides a language for people from all backgrounds to work together. “To solve challenging questions about nature and our world, often it takes several scientists with different backgrounds working together as a team. Frequently, the expertise needed spans more than one subject, institution, country or even continent.”
The event at the RDS Concert Hall takes place on Tuesday, Nov 29th at 7pm. Admission is free, but advance booking is essential.
Contact the RDS Science Department at 01-2407263 or science@rds.ie. For further details see rds.ie/boylemedal.
