"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.”
- Plato
Follow us on:
The Faculty of Engineering, Mathematics and Science is delighted to be hosting this year’s programme of events for Trinity Week. The theme for the week is “Light” which coincides with 2015 being declared the International Year of Light by UNESCO. The public are invited to participate in this week long programme which will include exciting events which demonstrate the key role light possesses in all its forms and how it affects and enhances life, both now and for the future.
This year Trinity Week commences on Saturday 11th April and on “Trinity Monday” 13th April, Trinity College Dublin celebrates the announcement of the Honorary Fellows, new Fellows and Scholars of the college. The ceremony is one of the oldest and most colourful at Trinity College and refers back to the foundation of Trinity College in 1592 as a corporation consisting of the Provost, the Fellows and the Scholars.
The announcement is made by the Provost surrounded by members of the Board of College in full academic gowns and hoods on the steps of the Public Theatre. Students and staff celebrate the occasion with colleagues, friends and family in Front Square and members of the public are very welcome to witness this event.
This is followed by a week of events including symposia, lectures, talks and workshops around the theme of light, which will be of interest to the general public. A “Light in Science” workshop will be facilitated by Junior Einstein Club and guided tours of the Zoology Museum will be available. This year we also have a photography theme in the form of a pinhole photography exhibition “Apertures.”
The Academic Symposium on Wednesday 15th April will be centred on light in Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Eyes and Vision. The keynote speaker for Trinity Week on April 15th will be Professor Robert Eason, Associate Dean (Research) for the Faculty of Physical Sciences and Engineering, and a Professor of Optoelectronics in the Optoelectronics Research Centre at the University of Southampton, whose talk “Photonics – tripping the Light Fantastic” will look at the progress that has occurred in laser technology in the past 50 years, and describe some of the extremes that are now considered commonplace in the laser community; lasers the size of several football pitches, hair-thin lasers that are used to weld battleships and lasers that emit pulses that are only a few femtoseconds (one million billionth of a second) long.
We would love to see you in Trinity College Dublin during Trinity Week. While you are here, take part in some of the events being organised that are designed to show you what goes on in the Faculty of Engineering, Mathematics and Science.
Professor Clive Williams
Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Mathematics and Science