Research Newsletter - Issue 112: Good News
We are delighted to announce that Dr Jenny Lawler (School of Biotechnology & DCU Water Institute) has been successful in securing two awards under the recent EPA 2025 Research Call.
1. INSPECT-POPs: Integrated Spatial and Temporal Evaluation of Persistent Organic Pollutants in Ireland
Principal Investigator: Dr Jenny Lawler
Co-Applicant: Prof. Fiona Regan
Project Overview: This national project is focused on strengthening Ireland’s capacity to manage Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in line with obligations under the Stockholm Convention. By integrating long-term monitoring data across air, water, and food, the team will identify trends and emerging risks, with specific attention to newly listed POPs such as PFAS. The project aims to pilot innovative monitoring approaches to support more integrated and cost-effective environmental surveillance.
2. EREG: Ethanol Emissions and Whiskey Fungus from Irish Whiskey Maturation
Principal Investigator: Dr Jenny Lawler
Project Team: Dr Federico Cerrone (School of Biotechnology), Dr Paul Davis (DCU Business School), and Prof. James Scott (University of Toronto)
Project Overview: Addressing the environmental impact of Ireland's expanding whiskey industry, this project investigates ethanol emissions and the growth of "whiskey fungus" (Baudoinia spp.) on nearby surfaces. The team will quantify emissions and assess potential ecological and health risks to provide an evidence base for informed policy and licensing decisions. The research aims to deliver practical guidance to support environmental protection while enabling the sustainable growth of the Irish whiskey sector.
Project Title: Transforming Cultures of Language-Learning (TransCoLL)
PI: Dr Iker Erdocia (School of Applied Language & Intercultural Studies)
Coordinating Institution: University of Stirling
Dr Iker Erdocia joins language learning systems analysis research project, which will examine the cultural, social and policy conditions that shape language-learning ecosystems across four countries.
While in the UK where language learning has been in decline for decades, Ireland has seen 84% of pupils studying an international language, and an 80% increase in language teacher numbers since 2012.
The TransCoLL project will build the most comprehensive overview to date of the factors that sustain healthy and diverse language-learning cultures.
Grounded in Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model, the research will examine learners’ school experiences, the drivers influencing decisions to train as a language teacher, and the roles of employers, careers advisers and policymakers.
The research team will also examine the impact of emerging technologies—including immersive virtual reality (IVR) and artificial intelligence (AI)—on learner motivation, confidence, and progression, assessing how these tools are reshaping language-learning experiences across both formal and informal settings.
The project’s findings will deliver evidence-based recommendations designed to support language-learning cultures across these four nations and provide practical benefits for learners, teachers, universities, employers, and policymakers.
Project Title: O.P.P.O.R.T.U.N.I.T.Y. – Optimized Processes for Production Of Renewable Technologies Using Nanomaterials In Targeted Yield
PI: Dr Conor Boland (School of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering)
Co-PI: Dr James Carton (School of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering)
Coordinating Institution: Dublin City University
Research Ireland - Gas Networks Ireland Innovation Challenge funding call aims to support research projects that have potential to generate STEM-based solutions for utilisation by the renewable gas industry, giving rise to national impact in the journey to achieve carbon neutrality.
The lead Dr Conor Boland (School of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering) and leads a Research Group developing sustainable nanomaterials and flexible bioelectronic sensors for preventive health monitoring and real-world deployment. Dr Carton’s (School of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering) , the Co-PI, research focus is energy sustainability & green Hydrogen deployment through techno-economic modelling, Power-to-X and renewable energy storage research.
Research Ireland’s announcement of the call can be found on their news webpage.
Project Title: Discover, Grow, Fly. Supporting Early STEM with Irish Girl Guides
PI: Dr Bridget Flanagan (School of Language, Literacy & Early Childhood Education)
Co-PI: Córa Gillic (School of Language, Literacy & Early Childhood Education)
Coordinating Institution: Dublin City University
This project aims to embed STEM practice in Irish Girl Guides (IGG), focusing on the youngest cohort from five to seven years of age. This cohort, referred to as the Ladybirds, undertake compulsory challenges each year to receive interest badges and move through the Ladybird three-year programme. The researchers of the project aim to work with leaders to improve their knowledge and STEM identity will have a meaningful impact on opportunities provided for young girls for years to come. For this reason, their project aims to work with 10-20 Ladybird Leaders and adult senior branch members (18-30 years) from Dublin, Meath and Kildare. The project will develop materials that enable Ladybird leaders to meet the criteria for existing challenge badges, embed STEM skills, knowledge and dispositions and encourage positive STEM identity.
Research Ireland’s announcement of the call can be found on their news webpage.
Project Title: ClimateTalk: Empowering the next generation to find their voice
PI: Dr Stephen Gammell (School of Physical Sciences); Co-PI: Dr Trish Morgan (School of Communications)
Co-PIs: Dr Jennifer Gaughran (School of Physical Sciences), Dr Natalie O’Neill (School of Policy & Practice), Dr Darren Clarke (School of History and Geography)
Coordinating Institution: Dublin City University
ClimateTalk is a cross-curricular programme for Transition Year (TY) students where students develop their competency for science communication, science and media literacy, and multimedia creation, through the lens of the climate crisis. Students learn to become confident and proficient science communicators, to identify reliable information versus misinformation and disinformation and to utilise multimedia techniques to create content which communicates their understanding of topics important to them. In doing so, a new generation of science communicators is nurtured, while the project will learn from them on how to engage this generation with issues of global importance. The success of the programme which has been funded across two funding rounds in 2024 - 2025 shows appetite amongst young people to engage with issues of global importance on their own terms and how such engagement makes young people feel empowered to make a difference. As the researchers will look to extend ClimateTalk and to make it accessible to more schools across Ireland, they will develop a teacher professional-learning programme to equip teachers with the knowledge and skills to deliver the programme in their schools.
Research Ireland’s announcement of the call can be found on their news webpage.