The first Bernal Industry Day took place on January 16th at the University of Limerick. Representatives from 112 industries attended the event, which was sponsored by Analog Devices, Boston Scientific, Stryker, BD, Lab Unlimited, NSP Lab Solutions, Accuscience, Labplan and Regeneron, and 180 delegates attended the event.
The conference highlighted the innovative research undertaken by Materials Scientists and Engineers and the world-class characterisation, modelling and manufacturing facilities at the Bernal Institute and provided a clear account of national and European R&D funding available.
Munster Rugby Player Development Manager Marcus Horan set the tone for the conference with a candid keynote speech on the importance of influencers, team building and a human touch. Marcus shared memorable stories about playing rugby for Ireland and strategies employed by the team to win matches.
Speakers included representatives from Science Foundation Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, Horizon 2020 and Irish Research Council, Mike Morrissey, Director of the Analog Devices Catalyst Centre and, Kurt Francis Chief Technology Officer Molecule. A spokesperson from each of the four Bernal research clusters explained their research activities, findings and initiatives to address grand challenges in health, energy, and environment. A cluster is defined as having a critical mass of researchers, at the centre of which are leading scientists and engineers. Bernal’s four clusters are: Molecular & Nano Materials, Bio Materials, Composite Materials and Process Engineering.
Leaders from the four national translational research centres hosted at Bernal; i.e. DPTC, IComp, PMTC and SSPC gave an overview of their operation and how they collaborate on industry relevant research to advance materials, active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and technologies.
The conference concluded with guided tours of the facilities and an opportunity to connect with instrument scientists and researchers to discuss problems.