Engineering Students Win Prestigious Transport Awards
Tuesday, 22 February 2011
Six NUI Galway students are among the winners of the transport industry's national Student Idea of the Year Awards. The awards are presented annually to the originators innovative ideas which could make the most significant contribution to some aspect of transport in Ireland. The students from NUI Galway's College of Engineering and Informatics were presented with their awards by RTÉ s Duncan Stewart at a special ceremony organised by the Eastern Section of the Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport Ireland (CILT). NUI Galway students Olgierd Gosztowtt from Poland, Peter Istenes from Riverside, Galway, and Paul Jacobsen from Castlegar, Co Galway, won the Safety Category. Their project 'Galway Traffic Garden' was to design a leisure park where children can learn the rules of road in a safe environment. Targeted at primary school children, the park would allow a safe and practical environment to learn the rules of the road. As part of the activities in the park, children would drive go-carts, cycle bikes or act as pedestrians, while learning about all aspects of road safety. The prize in the Marine Category was awarded to NUI Galway students Cathal McCormack from Oranmore, Co Galway, Jason McDonagh from Moyola Park, Galway, and Kieran McDonnell, from Mullingar, Co Westmeath. Their project, 'Shock Mitigation Seating', seeks to improve suspension seating in boats in order to reduce the forces exerted along the body when a vessel hits a powerful wave at a high speed. Mary Dempsey, of the College of Engineering and Informatics at NUI Galway, said: "I am very proud of our students. I believe that engineering and innovation are key to economic recovery. NUI Galway provides students with opportunity and a platform through which each of them can express their innovativeness. This output is reflected in the attainment of these prestigious awards." This is the fifteenth year in which NUI Galway students have taken home CILT awards, reflecting the University's strong reputation in engineering education. Over 1400 people study engineering at the University, and in recent years new undergraduate courses have been offered in Energy Engineering, Sports and Exercise Engineering, and Innovation Engineering. To serve the growing number of students, a new Engineering Building, which will be the largest School of Engineering in the country, opens in September 2011.