Doing STEMM – with international panellists

Wednesday 8 July, 7 – 8pm

Words by Hayley Krippner 2017 Alumna

The 2020 Innovative Young Minds programme participants heard from a variety of leading female scientists during the ‘Doing STEMM’ session. Continuing from the previous evening, physicist-turned-writer Laurie Winkless directed the panellists. Supported by the Embassy of Ireland to Aotearoa New Zealand and Samoa, the panel consisted of Ala Hammad, Tríona Lally, Claire Murray and Aoife Mc Lysaght. They spoke of their contribution to science and society, their projects and how they got to be in their positions.

Tríona Lally is a professor in bioengineering at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland. She explained the key ideas of biomechanics and cardiovascular disease. The students were excited to hear about the opportunities 3D printing brings for designing stents for children who suffer from cardiovascular disease. A stent is a small tube inserted into a blocked passageway which allows it to stay open. They were shown the process for imaging, simulating, and building a stent using selective laser melting. The development of these stents means that they are safer and more readily available to children. They are designed to increase in size as the child grows, whilst maintaining the necessary compression.

Ala Hammad is currently working on the Thames Tideway Tunnel in London. As a construction engineer, she has worked on incredible projects which make a significant difference to the lives around her. She explained the process of executing these projects and the role health and safety play. Ala enjoys the practical aspect of her career and that she gets to collaborate with people from all different walks of life.

She discussed the vast array of disciplines in engineering. Ala noted that doing an apprenticeship before going to university is a fantastic way to decide whether you enjoy working in that field. She also highlighted the flexibility she has in her career and that “if you love your job and you love the things that you study, you never work a day in your life”.

Claire Murray is a chemist working as a beamline scientist at Diamond Light Source. Claire emphasised that “you end up in places you never expected” as a scientist or engineer. Having moved 22 times during her career, she has made friends with an enormous amount of people across the globe.

Claire worked on Project M, her biggest outreach programme. She got to merge the things that she loves: engaging people in science and making people believe they could be scientists. For the project, students from 100 schools across the United Kingdom conducted an experiment and collected samples. These samples were used to investigate calcium carbonate using Diamond, a particle accelerator. She also helped design ‘Diamond: The Game’, an accessible, inclusive board game which informs the players of STEMM careers and science. It accommodates everyone, including those with hearing and vision impairments.

Aoife McLysaght is a professor of genetics at Trinity College Dublin. Passionate about evolutionary genetics, Aoife talked about how different species’ genes evolve and the concept of mutation. The students learned about DNA, human genomes and where new genes come from. Aoife explained how new genes help animals adapt to a change in their environment. A leaf-eating monkey will have an additional gene, compared to a fruit-eating monkey, to allow them to digest leaves. She also discussed ‘natural selection’ and how a gene becomes more frequent.

After listening to the amazing eye-opening presentations, the students had a deeper understanding of all the different avenues in science and engineering and how versatile careers in these fields are.