Mary Mulvihill Lecture 2017 Presents The Hidden Reality

WITS is delighted to announce that the Mary Mulvihill lecture 2017 will be given by Professor Dervilla Donnelly. We are honoured that Professor Donnelly, an eminent scientist, WITS honorary member and winner of the WITS 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award will deliver a lecture entitled The Hidden Reality.

The lecture will discuss some successes of science and research and the responsibility attached to the findings. Rational thinking and science do not threaten our human nature but rather they are its foundation. When dealing with science policy we have to identify and understand the political frontiers, the issues that concern the majority of people in a demographic society as any new initiative connected with these frontiers will be given political priority. In Ireland excellence alone was not considered sufficient but the impact of research in terms of job creation was expected! Nevertheless basic research clearly advances knowledge in and of itself, or leads to new tools and techniques which for instance in 1993 gave the internet to the masses. Curiosity driven research has led to quantitative analysis in financial and social data, and the appearance of start-up companies with so many men and women entrepreneurs further emphasises its unquestionable value.

The Mary Mulvihill Lecture held annually since 2015 honours the science journalist and WITS founder Mary Mulvihill.

REGISTRATION
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http://witsireland.com/events/?event_id=46

RUNNING ORDER
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18:00 Welcome
18:15 Lecture
19:00 Q&A followed by a reception
20:00 Event Ends

Speaker
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Dervilla Donnelly is Emeritus Professor of Phytochemistry, University College Dublin. She graduated from UCD with B.Sc, PhD and DSc degrees and held fellowships in USA,Sweden and France She is an honorary member of the Royal Hibernian Academy(HRHA) and a member of the Royal Irish Academy(MRIA) and Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry(FRSC). She was appointed to the Board of Rat fur Forschung und Technologieentwicklung Wien (Austrian Council for Research and Technology Development) by the Government of Austria. Professor Donnelly is a Past President of the Royal Dublin Society and has been a Governor of the Irish Times Trust and Director of the Irish Times Limited. She acted as Vice-Chair of the Board of Governors and Guardians of the National Gallery.

Professor Donnelly was Chairman of the Custom House Docks Development Authority, she chaired and led the Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction, the National Education Convention and the Interim Review Group for Institutions in the Technological sector, and was a board member of the National Board for Science and Technology (NBST). In Europe she was Chairman of the European Science Research Council, President of the Phytochemical Society of Europe and Chairman of the INCO and INTAS Evaluation Groups; Vice-President of the European Science Foundation in Strasbourg and the European Science and Technology Assembly (EU) in Brussels; Chairman of the Evaluation team OECD programme Megascience Forum; she led the Irish delegations to the CSCE meetings in Bonn and Hamburg.