Dr Niamh Shaw back in Wexford for Wexford Science Festival

Irish engineer, scientist, explorer and writer, Dr. Niamh Shaw, is back in the county for Wexford Science Festival and says she’s particularly looking forward to meeting with a group she worked with on a creative project just last year…

Recently voted one of Ireland’s leading science communicators and STEM specialists, merging science, technology, engineering and maths, Dr Shaw believes in ‘Dreaming Big’ and is on a mission to get to Space.

Dr Shaw is among many guest speakers to address this year’s Wexford Science Festival which runs from November 7 to 17 and includes over 70 free events for adults, children and all the family libraries, schools, Wexford Opera House and more. Places for all of the events are free but are booking up fast on www.wexfordsciencefestival.ie

Dr Shaw will be in Wexford for a Schools talk in Gorey Library on Friday 15th morning and in Wexford Library from 2.30pm until 4pm the same day. While all of the events are free, pre-booking is essential and places are limited.

“I will be talking about my Antarctic Voyage, a women in STEM voyage that took place in November of last year which really just was profoundly affecting and I’m still processing it. I very excited to be sharing slides about that.

“I’m particularly interested in engaging with the Wexford community because I worked with a group of women in Gorey. We made a quilt honouring Irish women in STEM from history that have been overlooked over the years.

“I brought that with me on the Voyage and actually brought it with me on the day we landed on the Antarctic Peninsula, the continent itself. So I’m really looking forward to sharing that story with audiences in Wexford.”

Dr Shaw added that all of her work is essentially about sustainability and regeneration, key themes in this year’s Wexford Science Festival:

“When your day to day infrastructure is taken away, when you’re living in extreme environments such as the Kalahari Desert for a Mars Science Field Trip or spending 15 days in the Utah Desert at a Mars research facility to mirror what it would be like on Mars, it really makes you reflect on how lucky we are that we have water here, that we have oxygen and food. It all helps me understand the important message of climate action.”

“All of my work is about connecting our relationship with the planet and what needs to change from an infrastructure point of view, not just based on a personal level. That I’ve learnt is that when we talk about climate change and sustainability and trying to protect the planet, we’re essentially trying to protect ourselves. Our planet is going to be fine. It is a very strong place and it is well able to adapt to the weather. All the changes in temperature are brought about by our decisions, the way we use fuel. We need to understand this.”

CALMAST co-founder and co-director, Dr Sheila Donegan, said having role models like Dr Shaw involved again this year augurs well for their ongoing drive to encourage more in girls to consider a career in STEM.

“By engaging with schools, through our libraries, community groups and organisations we are reaching a broad, varied audience and are showcasing how important and relevant all things science, technology, engineering and maths are in our everyday lives. Dr Niamh Shaw is a fabulous role model and her work as a scientists, an educator and in her general activity ties in very closely with our mission to get more girls interested in STEM. We’re really looking forward to working with her.”

For information on all Wexford Science Festival events and to secure your free place, log on to www.wexfordsciencefestival.ie