Zone Reports

Aluminium Zone Report November 2022

The Aluminium Zone ran from 7 November to 2 December 2022 and was funded by Science Foundation Ireland. The activity featured 30 scientists working across a variety of STEM fields. Download the Zone Report (pdf) ❯ Scientists 30 scientists created profiles in the Zone. See who took part ❯ The winner of the Zone was Vincent Monchal, who won €500 to deliver further engagement activities. Students 817 students from 27 schools logged into the Zone. 66% of active students were from priority schools: 25% from DEIS schools and 53% from underserved schools. Students can be from a school that is both DEIS and underserved. Live Chats 79 live Chats were booked in the Zone and 42 live Chats took place. On average, 4 scientists took part in each live Chat.

Posted on December 16, 2022 by modemily in 2022, Zone Reports | Comments Off on Aluminium Zone Report November 2022

I’m a Mathematician: Circle Zone Report October 2022

I’m a Mathematician was run for the first time in Ireland this October 2022. The Circle Zone ran from 26 September to 21 October 2022 and was funded by SFI and ran alongside Maths Week Ireland. The activity featured 17 STEM professionals in occupations that use maths, ranging from academic staff to actuaries and language coders. Download the Zone Report (pdf) ❯ Mathematicians 17 mathematicians created profiles in the Zone. See who took part ❯ The winner of the Zone was Daniel McAleese, who won 500€ to deliver further engagement activities. Students 485 students from 21 schools logged into the Zone. Impressively, 80% of active students were from priority schools: 27% from DEIS schools and 57% from underserved schools. Live Chats 44 live Chats were booked in the Zone exceeding the 40 live Chats target. 28 live Chats took place. On average, 3 mathematician took part in each live Chat.

Posted on November 11, 2022 by modemily in 2022, Zone Reports | Comments Off on I’m a Mathematician: Circle Zone Report October 2022

Sustainability Zone Report November 2021

The Sustainability Zone ran from 8 November to 3 December 2021 and was funded by the Science Foundation Ireland. The activity featured 16 scientists working across a broad range of fields. Download the Zone Report (pdf) ❯ Scientists 16 scientists created profiles in the Zone. See who took part ❯ The winner of the Zone was Min Yap, who won 500€ to deliver further engagement activities. Students 204 students from 7 schools logged into the Zone. Live chats 13 live chats took place during the activity which were booked by teachers. On average, 4 scientists attended each live chat.

Posted on February 15, 2022 by modemily in Evaluation, Zone Reports | Comments Off on Sustainability Zone Report November 2021

Magnesium Zone Report November 2021

The Magnesium Zone ran from 8 November to 3 December 2021 and was funded by the Science Foundation Ireland. The activity featured 32 scientists working across a broad range of fields. Download the Zone Report (pdf) ❯ Scientists 32 scientists created profiles in the Zone. See who took part ❯ The winner of the Zone was Gaël Lymer, who won 500€ to deliver further engagement activities. Students 603 students from 19 schools logged into the Zone. Live chats 29 live chats took place and were booked by teachers. Additionally, 4 live chats were scheduled, open to all students. On average, 7 scientists attended each live chat.

Posted on February 15, 2022 by modemily in Evaluation, Zone Reports | Comments Off on Magnesium Zone Report November 2021

Red Zone Report – November 2020

Read the report: Red Zone – November 2020 [PDF] The Red Zone was a general science-themed Zone, which ran from 2 to 27 November 2020. The activity ran for longer than previous I’m a Scientist Zones (4 weeks instead of 2). It also featured more scientists (over 30 instead of 6). This was to offer greater flexibility to teachers in how, and when, they can take part in I’m a Scientist. The Red Zone was funded by the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Discover 2019 programme. Scientists 32 scientists created profiles in the Zone. 30 engaged with students through live Chats and/or Ask questions. Scientists from a broad range of fields and career stages took part. For example: Aisling O’Connor – Research Officer at the VistaMilk SFI research centre Ayesha Sharif – PhD student studying nanoparticle conduction at NUI Galway Boris Galkin – postdoctoral researcher at the CONNECT telecommunications research centre … Continue reading

Posted on January 18, 2021 by modemily in 2020 | Comments Off on Red Zone Report – November 2020

Green Zone Report – Stay at home 2020

Read the report: Green Zone Report – Stay at home 2020 [PDF]

In March 2020, schools were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, creating uncertainty in education. Many STEM enrichment activities for students were cancelled.

The Green Zone (green.imascientist.ie) was part of the I’m a Scientist, Stay at home event.

The Zone ran over 6 weeks and was funded by Science Foundation Ireland.
■ 80 scientists created profiles in the Zone, and 66 engaged with students in live chats and answering questions. 40 of these were new to the I’m a Scientist activities.
■ Scientists from a broad range of areas and career stages took part. For example, Roisin Jones is a chemistry researcher at ThermoFisher Scientific, Simon Spichak works at University College Cork as a Neuroscientist, and Dimitar Shterionov is an assistant professor in computing at ADAPT Centre in Dublin.
■ 191 students from 15 schools all over Ireland logged into the Zone. 12 of these schools had taken part in a previous I’m a Scientist activity.
■ 82% of participating students came from DEIS or underserved schools.
■ 25 live chats took place during the event. 147 posted questions were approved and sent to the researchers who responded with 896 answers.
■ On average, 6 researchers attended each live chat session, providing students with a wide variety of roles and people to learn about.
■ Each week, students voted for their favourite Scientists of the Week, with four scientists announced as winners during the event. Continue reading

Posted on September 24, 2020 by modemily in 2020, SFI, Zone Reports | Comments Off on Green Zone Report – Stay at home 2020

Water Zone Report – November 2019

Read the report: Water Zone Report – November 2019 [PDF] The Water Zone was a themed zone supported by Science Foundation Ireland. It featured six scientists: Philip Schuler investigates groundwater flow in ‘karst’ and uses this information to understand and simulate water flow dynamics. Maxime Savatier investigates where water and nutrients flowing to the Irish sea comes from, and what happens when they mix with sea water. Jake Cunningham, who won this zone, is a PhD student looking at using ocean waves to generate electricity. Annette Wilson works with marine and environmental scientists from across Europe to communicate their research and results. Ann Reen takes water samples from houses, rivers, lakes, and the sea, to test them for bugs that cause disease. Amy Heather Fitzpatrick is finding new ways to detect the winter vomiting bug, norovirus, in water, sewage and shellfish.

Posted on January 15, 2020 by modemily in 2019, SFI, Zone Reports | Comments Off on Water Zone Report – November 2019

Sodium Zone Report – November 2019

Read the report: Sodium Zone Report – November 2019 [PDF] The Sodium Zone was a themed zone supported by Science Foundation Ireland. It featured five scientists: Souvik Kundu, the winner of this zone, is a research student working with VR and haptics to create robots with real-world applications in healthcare and cars. Sabine Giron works with factory workers to develop robots that can help solve their problems in the work environment. Maria McNamara is a paleobiologist studying preserved colours and biochemicals in fossils. John Butler is a neuroscience researcher building mathematical models to help understand how our brains work when we walk. Armin Shams is a research fellow trying to build smart and sustainable cities through digital transformation.

Posted on January 15, 2020 by modemily in 2019, SFI, Zone Reports | Comments Off on Sodium Zone Report – November 2019

Food Zone Report – November 2019

Read the report: Food Zone Report – November 2019 [PDF] The Food Zone was a themed zone supported by Science Foundation Ireland. It featured six scientists: Min Yap is researching how bacteria grows and interacts in the dairy production environment. Marcello Valente is a PhD student developing a sensor to detect dangerous mutation in living organisms. Katie Starsmore, the zone winner, is a technician researching how much methane gas cows burp, and how we can reduce this. Dheeraj Rathore is working on improving crops to suit changing climates and fight disease. Israel Ikoyi looks at microbes in the soil to understand how they can help plants grow better, and how farmers can create the conditions for them to do so. Aoife McHugh is looking at microbes that can survive dairy processing, from milk collected on the farm through processing to dairy powder.

Posted on January 15, 2020 by modemily in 2019, SFI, Zone Reports | Comments Off on Food Zone Report – November 2019

Energy Zone Report – November 2019

Read the report: Energy Zone Report – November 2019 [PDF] The Energy Zone was a themed zone supported by Science Foundation Ireland. It featured six scientists: Jessica Franklin, the winner of this zone, a geologist looking for new ways of predicting the location of oil and gas reservoirs. Jenny Andreasson is a technology analyst whose job is to look for new technologies and smarter ways to use energy. Jason McGuire is a PhD student working with the government to change policies that will help Ireland reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. Janis Aleksans models geological processes in the Earth’s crust and finds out what implications this could have for geothermal energy applications. Mohamed Daoud is an electrical engineer who converts energy from one form into another. Catriona Sheridan is a researcher who helps plan the electricity network for future generations, and investigates how to make it more sustainable.

Posted on January 15, 2020 by modemily in 2019, SFI, Zone Reports | Comments Off on Energy Zone Report – November 2019