The Coldest Place in Ireland - March 2011
“The coldest place in Ireland” is the title of this year’s winning presentation in the UCC Science for All Postgraduate Public Presentation Competition which took place on March 30th 2011.
The presentation by Laura Russell, a postgraduate student in UCC’s Tyndall National Institute and Department of Physics emerged victorious at the competition in which young scientists have to explain themselves “without the jargon” to a live audience.
Laura was among a group of six students who presented lively talks ranging from topics such as Ocean Energy, Colon Cancer, Functional Food, Quantum vs Classical Worlds, Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Ultra Cold Atoms.
Laura’s talk titled “The coldest place in Ireland” refers to the Quantum Optics Laboratory in the Tyndall National Institute which also happens to be the coldest place in Ireland. Laura explained: “We use lasers to push atoms in such a way as to slow them down. When an atom gets slowed down, its temperature also decreases. This technique is called laser cooling and was first demonstrated in 1978. Laser cooling allows us to dramatically cool a gas of atoms down to temperatures of -273 Celsius, or just above the coldest temperature that can theoretically be reached, Absolute Zero Kelvin.” Laura’s research supervisor is Dr Sile NicChormaic.
Laura, a native of Monkstown, County Cork, has an undergraduate degree in Physics from UCC. Laura is also a qualified pilot and has been competing in aerobatic competitions in the UK for 3 years. She also enjoys doing artwork and webdesign.
The competition was jointly organised by the College of Science, Engineering and Food Science, the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre and Tyndall National Institute, UCC. This year’s competition has been sponsored by the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre, the Tyndall Institute, and Snap Printing. ommunicating scientific research to a lay audience is the aim of Science for All, the UCC postgraduate public presentation competition taking place at UCC on Wednesday, March 30th 2011.
Download Science for All 2011 Booklet (7Mb)
Picture: Science for All 2011 Winner Laura Russell, Dept. Physics, UCC and Tyndall National Institute
