Quest - AIT research, innovation and enterprise by Athlone Institute of Technology

Autumn 2013

Quest

Vol 1 No 1

Quest 1

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Autumn 2013

athlone institute of technology research, innovation, enterprise

cover story

Applied Polymer Technologies Ireland

Connected Media Application Design and Delivery

Coconut oil in the fight against tooth decay

New Frontiers for entrepreneurs

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Quest

Quest Autumn 2013

Vol 1 No 1

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Autumn 2013

research, innovation, enterprise

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Editor Brian Lynch Communications & Marketing Manager brianlynch@ait.ie @brianmlynch + 353 (0)90 644 2595

Overview of research, innovation and enterprise

7 News

Applied Polymer Technologies Ireland

Developing synthetic alternatives to bone grafts

From waste to energy creation and energy conservation

AIT collaborates in €40m SFI-funded pharmacuetical research centre

Setting New Frontiers for entrepreneurs

AIT and NUI Maynooth announce strategic partnership

Harnessing research capabilities for innovation

20 SRI team secure €1.2m Enterprise Ireland Technology Gateway funding 22

Better than Mark Lawrenson at forecasting Premiership results

Up in the clouds

Scalable video coding and related technologies

AIT – Working in collaboration with companies

AIT researchers show coconut oil could combat tooth decay

Overview of research at AIT

28 Investing in your future

Revolutionising drug delivery for cattle

Cover image Dr Luke Geever pictured with the X-ray Diffraction (XRD) machine in the Materials Research Institute. Pic: Corin Bishop

Welcome from the President

Photography Keith Arkins Johnny Bambury Corin Bishop Padraig Devaney Jeff Harvey Ann Hennessy Brian Lynch SciencePhoto Library Shutterstock

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Professor Ciarán Ó Catháin with Minister for Research and Innovation, Seán Sherlock TD

Welcome from the President

arely has higher education been the focus of so much public attention and scrutiny as is currently the case. The publication earlier this year by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) of the Report to the Minister for Education and Skills on system reconfiguration, inter-institutional collaboration and system governance points specifically to the strategic value of maintaining and enhancing research quality. According to the report authors: “Maintaining and enhancing the quality of research is of critical importance, and collaboration in research will be crucial at a national level in order to continue to develop a strong international research brand for Ireland; optimise the contribution to grand challenges in the European context; and maximise the system’s effectiveness in attracting an increasing share of internationally mobile competitive research funding.” As a key player in the research and innovation infrastructure of the Midlands of Ireland, Athlone Institute of Technlogy is wholly committed to driving a research agenda for the region that will deliver a significant return on investment for all stakeholders. As the articles within this first issue of Quest illustrate, the institute is a leading research player in the domains of polymeric materials, biomolecular science and software engineering. A core theme across our three strategic research institutes is the extent of inter- and intra-institutional collaboration,

which is exemplified by our participation in national research centres such as the Synthesis and Solid State Pharmaceutical Centre (SSPC2) and the Irish Centre for Cloud Computing and Commerce (IC4) to mention just two. What is also apparent is the vital support role which the institute plays in terms of the industrial ecosystem of the region. Much of this work is performed through Contract Industrial Services (CIS) and the Midlands Innovation and Research Centre (MIRC), which for the past two years has delivered the New Frontiers enterprise support programme in partnership with NUI Maynooth and funded by Enterprise Ireland. Furthermore, AIT’s track record in working with companies in undertaking collaborative research through innovation vouchers positions the institute in the vanguard of such activity nationally. This is a positive story of a higher education institution working in collaboration with other stakeholders in the research, innovation and enterprise space. It is a snapshot in time; we look forward to building on this work to frame a positive future.

Professor Ciarán Ó Catháin

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Overview of

Paul Killeen Head of Research, Innovation & Enterprise

How Athlone Institute of Technology’s research and innovation activity is helping deliver economic and social returns

ridging the gap between research in higher education institutions and commercial application in the marketplace is a key requirement for Ireland in order for the national research and innovation ecosystem to deliver economic and social returns, in the form of sustainable high-value jobs, on the significant state investment in research over the past decade. AIT, with its close connections to regional and national industry, is well positioned to help bridge this translational research gap. In this context, AIT’s strategy is to be a partner of choice for enterprise – focusing our research, innovation and enterprise support activities on addressing the needs of regional and national industry by actively collaborating with start-ups and established

companies of all sizes via market-informed applied research in our areas of expertise and by providing a comprehensive range of knowledge intensive support services. In this way, AIT acts as an R&D partner of choice for a broad and growing range of companies in helping them to solve their technical and business problems. Our industry collaborations range from shortterm product design, prototyping, testing and problem-solving engagements to longer term strategic research projects to help companies address more complex technology problems in order to exploit international market opportunities. AIT’s commitment and track record in supporting industry is evidenced by the fact that 78% of our industrial clients are repeat customers using us twice or more in a given year. We are in the top

two knowledge providers (of 39 on the island) for completion of Enterprise Ireland innovation voucher projects; and second among all institutes of technology nationally in the completion of larger Enterprise Ireland innovation partnership projects with leading companies in the Midlands and throughout the country. In providing regional entrepreneurs with direct and easy access to our research, innovation and enterprise development capabilities, we also directly support the generation of innovative high-potential start-up companies via our on campus incubator, the Midlands Innovation and Research Centre, and linked New Frontiers entrepreneur development programme, funded by Enterprise Ireland and delivered in partnership with NUI Maynooth.

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The institute can point to an excellent track record of success in this regard, with 90 startup companies supported to-date including 13 High-Potential Start-Ups that have gone on to attract significant private sector risk capital investment. We plan to increase the level of spin-out start-up companies coming from our research activities via a strategic technology transfer collaboration with NUI Maynooth. This strategic partnership with NUI Maynooth leverages the complementary strengths of both institutions in enterprise development and research commercialisation to help drive increased levels of high potential start-ups and knowledge/technology transfer with our industry partners, both regionally and nationally. A new Entrepreneurship Academy, InnovAIT, for student and graduate entrepreneurs driven by the AIT Business School in collaboration with the MIRC and other external regional partners, is based on learnings from leading

Dr Hugh Farrell (right), a bioscience researcher at AIT’s Research Hub explains his work to the Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn TD. Also pictured are Paul Killeen, Head of RI&E; Prof Ciarán Ó Catháin, President; Dr Joseph Ryan, Academic Registrar; and Michael Lonergan, Manager of the MIRC.

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The Midlands Innovation and Research Centre directly supports the generation of innovative high-potential start-up companies international programmes in Finland, the USA and elsewhere. This exciting initiative will develop a cohort of entrepreneurial graduates from AIT, willing and able to inject entrepreneurial spark as employees within established companies, as well as graduate entrepreneurs launching their own knowledge-based start-ups in the Midlands region and beyond.

Research – Support Infrastructure & Research Institutes AIT’s research is focused in three strategic areas based on core competencies built up over many years within the institution and aligned with regional needs and national research priority areas; namely materials, biosciences and software. AIT’s three research institutes have developed significant national and international collaborations with leading companies and higher education institutions and have attracted significant multimillion euro research and innovation funding. The institutes are also strategically aligned with the areas in which AIT has targeted and achieved delegation of authority to award degrees at PhD and Master’s levels in research, namely: polymer and mechanical engineering, toxicology, microbiology, and software. In order to provide the critical support infrastructure to enable increasing levels of research and innovation activities, AIT’s

Research Hub was opened in 2010. The Hub provides purpose-built research workspace, wet labs, seminar rooms and social space for Irish and international postgraduate research students and staff. The facility is located on the East Campus and considerably enhances the learning, research and social infrastructure of the institute, providing a dedicated interdisciplinary research centre focused on the needs of industry and postgraduate researchers. The research space comprises three major platform laboratories in the areas of bioscience, chemistry and materials design and characterisation; research candidate seminar and social space; journal reading rooms and ancillary supporting facilities. The Hub supports collaboration with regional and national industry and enterprise, and ensures the optimum use of specialist research equipment to enable collaborative research and innovation projects with companies of all types and sizes. Many examples of successful collaborations with industry have been enabled by the co-location of the physical and human capital in the Hub where industry partners can easily access the cutting-edge equipment and knowledge resources. A wide variety of innovative new products have been brought to market across the life sciences, materials and ICT sectors using this industryacademic collaborative research and codevelopment model. The Engineering and Informatics Building on the main campus also hosts state-of-the-art teaching and research labs and polymer processing technology.

Finally, AIT’s Director of Graduate Research Studies is also located in the Research Hub, close to the postgraduate research students – all of whom have access to structured professional development training plans and to generic and transferrable skills training modules.

Invitation – Open Innovation In the context of open innovation in a global knowledge economy, and the realisation that no single organisation can address the many and varied challenges and opportunities facing industry and society, a key element of our AIT research, innovation and enterprise strategy is to continue to develop and build strategic collaborations and partnerships with entrepreneurs and start-ups, established Irish-based companies of all sizes, investors, higher education institutions and other relevant regional, national and international stakeholders. With this in mind, I invite you to engage with myself and the entire AIT team to explore potential areas of collaboration or support where we can be of assistance to you or your organisation – we look forward to working with you in whatever way we can over the coming year and beyond. Finally, I hope you find something of interest to you in this our first issue of Quest and I would welcome your inputs and suggestions for future editions.

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News Research at AIT Investigates Solution to Knee Injuries Post-doctoral research at AIT is seeking to develop a polymer solution to meniscal knee injuries that effect 1.7 million people in the western world each year. The meniscus is a rubbery, C-shaped disc that cushions the knee. A meniscal tear is usually caused by twisting or turning quickly, often with the foot planted while the knee is bent. These tears can occur through heavy lifting or playing sports. As people get older, the meniscus also gets worn, which can cause it to tear more easily. According to Dr James Kennedy, principal

Leading AIT Researcher appointed Adjunct Professor at NUIG Dr Neil Rowan (right), a lecturer and internationally recognised researcher at Athlone Institute of Technology, and Director of the Bioscience Research Institute in AIT has been appointed as an adjunct professor at the prestigious School of Medicine in NUI Galway. Based at AIT’s Department of Nursing and Health Sciences, Prof Rowan has a strong history of collaborative research with leading medics, scientists and engineers at NUIG. Amongst the areas where he has collaborated with researchers in the Galway university are anaesthesia and intensive care medicine, water research, food safety microbiology, and bacteriology. Over his 20-year academic career he has published some 70 papers in scientific and engineering journals, published five book chapters and

investigator, “the treatment of irreparable meniscal tears remains a major challenge for the orthopaedic community. One of the driving forces in this applied research is to develop artificial meniscuses which mimic the natural fibrocartilaginous tissue.” The aim of this work, he said, is “to focus on the development of a novel moist biocompatible composite material to help repair or replace a torn meniscus. This polymeric device will match the mechanical and torsion properties of a natural meniscus.” The position is funded by Enterprise Ireland and Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) under their Technology Innovation Development Feasibility Study (TIDA) funding call.

delivered over 110 presentations at national and international conferences. He delivered the keynote opening address at the 100th anniversary of the International Association of Food Protection Conference in Chicago in 2011. He has generated €8.6 million in research funding and holds fellowships of the Institute of Biology, Institutes of Food Science and Technology Ireland and UK. Prof Rowan frequently undertakes scholarly duties with the Food Standards Agency Scotland and the European Food Safety Authority. An Athlone native, Prof Rowan undertook his primary and secondary education in Dean Kelly NS and St Aloysius College Athlone respectively, before completing his BSc degree in microbiology in NUIG. Before taking up his lecturing post in AIT, he was employed as senior lecturer at Strathclyde University, where he also received his MSc in biotechnology and PhD in clinical sciences. Prof Rowan also lectured at Trinity College and DIT.

Human Host-Microbiome Interactions in Health & Disease Bioscience Research Institute PhD scholar, Kelsey McEvoy, was awarded a prestigious Wellcome Trust Travel Bursary to present her research at the University of Cambridge. The second Wellcome Trust conference on Exploring Human Host-Microbiome Interactions in Health and Disease brought together leading scientists from the fields of microbiology, immunology, nutrition, gastroenterology and neuroscience to discuss the latest developments in this fast developing field. The meeting focused on how various microbiomes (oral, gut, skin, etc.) interact with the host. Kelsey, co-supervised by Dr Damien Brady (pictured left) and Dr Carmel Kealey, has identified milk constituents that prevent a dangerous bacteria from causing human disease by stopping it attaching to our intestinal cells. In addition, they reported that a common probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus fermentum does not appear to possess a similar capability.

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AIT Director of Materials Research Appointed Professor

AIT Master’s Student Awarded Prestigious Postgraduate Scholarship A Master’s student at Athlone Institute of Technology has been awarded a prestigious postgraduate scholarship for her research into novel scaffolds for bone regeneration applications. Laura Grehan secured the Embark scholarship from the Irish Research Council which will enable her to continue her research to PhD level. She is one of a prestigious group of researchers in the country to receive this award, with less than 15% of applicants successful in the latest Embark award call. Her research will focus on the development of novel scaffolds for bone regeneration applications. More specifically, it will investigate the toxic properties of these scaffolds so as to ascertain their potential for the treatment of bone defects, such as those caused by trauma or disease. The Athlone native graduated with an honours degree in toxicology, coming first in her class. Prior to studying at AIT, Laura completed her secondary education at St Joseph’s College, Summerhill, sitting the Leaving Certificate in 1998. Prior to beginning her Master’s, Laura had research involvement in a multi-partner European Framework 6 programme in AIT. Laura’s Master’s degree, entitled “Development of the next generation of artificial scaffolds for bone regeneration”, was funded under the AIT President’s Research Seed Fund 2010. Supervised by Dr Luke Geever, Prof. Clement Higginbotham and Dr Sinead Devery, Laura’s research project is highly multidisciplinary and complements core research strengths of the institute in biopolymer and toxicological research.

AIT’s dedicated research centres, the Materials Research Institute (MRI) and Bioscience Research Institute (BRI) have positioned AIT as a world leader in hydrogel research over the past 15 years, as evidenced by numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings.

The Director of the Materials Research Institute at AIT has been appointed an adjunct professor and research fellow at the Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP).

Director of AIT’s Materials Research Institute and lead supervisor on the IRC funding proposal, Prof. Clement Higginbotham, stated: “We have a great team working here in the MRI and I’m sure Laura would be the first to acknowledge the role that the whole research team has played in her studies to date, including Marie Curie Research Fellow at Harvard University, Dr Declan Devine, and Dr John Killion.”

One of AIT’s leading researchers, Prof. Higginbotham has been awarded €5 million in research funding and has graduated 26 PhD students.

According to Dr Luke Geever, “Tissue engineering is regarded by many as one of the hottest fields in twenty-first century medicine. The President’s Research Seed Fund is a fantastic initiative and highlights AIT’s commitment to research and has given Laura the opportunity to work on a cutting-edge research study. Embark is a highly competitive national funding scheme targeted by the top universities and IoTs in Ireland. Laura’s success highlights that the research we are carrying out is going in the right direction.” Funded by the State under the National Development Plan, the Embark Initiative is aimed at knowledge creation in the sciences, engineering and technology, for the long term future benefit of society and the economy.

Prof. Clement Higginbotham’s (above) role is in the School of Materials Engineering and he will also serve as a research fellow at the Centre of Excellence Geopolymer System Research at the Malaysian university.

He is the author of more than 160 journal and conference publications, books and book chapters. He is a co-author on a number of patents and continues to work closely with industry throughout Ireland. He is also a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Institute of Chemistry of Ireland, Materials Ireland, the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society, and the Society of Plastics Engineers. Prof. Higginbotham’s research interests include the development of drug delivery systems, synthesis of polymers for tissue engineering applications, design and manufacture of medical device coatings, hydrogel development, biocompatibility testing of biomedical materials and polymer recycling and green technologies. He has numerous ongoing national and international research collaborations on various projects in these areas, most notably with the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre at Harvard University where polymers for bone regeneration applications are being jointly developed. He holds a PhD in organic chemistry from University College Dublin, where he was also Newman Scholar from 1992-1994. Prof. Higginbotham joined AIT in 1995 and he was appointed Director of the Materials Research Institute in 2007. UniMAP is a technical university located at the northernmost part of the Malaysian peninsula, less than 35 km from the borders of Thailand.

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The global animal health market is currently estimated to be worth approximately €20 billion

Revolutionising drug delivery for cattle

he Materials Research Institute has been awarded €317,000 by Enterprise Ireland for its recent application to the commercialisation fund call titled: ‘Development of the next generation of easy to use Extended Release drug delivery Technologies (EasyDelivERT)’. The project is led by Dr Luke Geever (Senior Researcher, MRI) as Principal Investigator, with Professor Clement Higginbotham (Director, MRI) and Dr Declan Devine (Senior Researcher, MRI) as collaborators. The project also continues collaboration with the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, and will fund a postdoctoral researcher and research assistant for three years. Dr Geever stated: “The funding secured by our research team from Enterprise Ireland will allow the development of unique polymeric drug delivery systems for the animal health market. These drug delivery technologies have the potential to

revolutionise the way in which antiparasitic drugs are administered to cattle. No animal handling will be required and it will allow a number of cattle to be dosed at the one time – a world first. The platform technologies developed will be protected by patent with the intent of granting specific licences to Irish companies working in different areas of the animal health market.” Breda Lynch, Industry Programmes Manager and Technology Transfer Officer, AIT added: “The Enterprise Ireland Commercialisation Fund Programme aims to improve the competitiveness of the Irish economy through the transfer of innovative technologies developed in higher education institutes to industry in Ireland.” Animal health is a critical contributor to both international competitiveness and on-farm profitability. The animal health sector is a very large employer in Ireland and the animal health market in this country is currently valued at about €100 million. The global animal health market is

continually growing and is currently estimated to be worth approximately €20 billion, thus providing huge export potential for technologies under development in AIT. “The Materials Research Institute is the leading polymer research centre in Ireland, and this research is one of many innovative applied research projects to be conducted by our team,” commented Prof. Higginbotham. The MRI provides a tailored research facility for the surrounding region and beyond, with facilities devoted to polymer materials design, analysis and testing, processing and fabrication. Dr Devine added: “Development of process and product innovation and intellectual property has never been so vital to the Irish economy. This commercialisation fund support will allow us to build upon the MRI’s expertise in developing controlled release drug delivery devices and the technology under development has great commercial potential.”

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Biodegradable plastic. Coloured scanning electron micrograph of a section through a sheet of a biodegradable plastic.

Applied Polymer Technologies Ireland

Meeting the needs of Irelandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plastics and polymer industry

Autumn 2013

he Materials Research Institute team have secured €1.2 million funding from Enterprise Ireland through the Technology Gateways Programme. This funding has enabled Athlone Institute of Technology to establish the Applied Polymer Technologies Ireland (APT Ireland) research centre. This new centre will support the development of innovative, high-value polymer and plastics products, which will increase the global competitiveness of Irish-based plastics and polymer companies, increase export opportunities and ultimately lead to increased revenues and employment across key industry sectors including MedTech and GreenTech.

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technologies for companies in the Midlands region as well as throughout Ireland, and are recognised as the leading national centre for polymer development. We have undertaken many successful collaborative research projects with plastics companies throughout Ireland over the years and have helped bring innovative new products to market. This new Enterprise Irelandfunded technology gateway will help us to further continue this work into the future. Our new centre will also feature close strategic collaboration with world leading international research centres including ICOMP, REMEDI, Metric Ireland, and research groups from QUB, TCD, UCC, NUI Galway, DCU, GMIT, Georgia Tech Ireland, Harvard University and Dalhausie University in Canada.”

The MRI has a long history of managing and delivering successful research for the benefit of industry. In the last five years, the MRI has generated €6.5 million in research income. The research funded included approximately 800 short, medium and long-term industry projects, carried out for some 160 Irish industry partners. Furthermore the MRI is The APT Ireland Technology Gateway will build on AIT’s track the best-equipped polymer R&D facility in Ireland and includes record in polymer research and will serve the €2 billion plastics a €2.5 million purpose-built Research Hub and unique, industry in Ireland, which plays a vitally important role in the large-scale polymer processing equipment housed in the Irish economy, comprising 200 companies and employing new €36 million Engineering and Informatics Building. APT 12,000 people. Products of the plastics and polymer Ireland will develop and expand the existing level of industrial sector are integral to the products of many other large Dr Seán Lyons engagement achieved by the MRI, developing internationally industrial sectors, including medical devices, pharmaceutical, competitive research solutions with a core research focus on automotive, packaging and construction, which provide combined exports in polymer materials processing, formulation and enhancement. excess of €30 billion. Dr Seán Lyons stated: “There currently is a clear need for R&D in the Irish Polymer research at AIT is carried out in the Materials Research Institute plastics and polymer industry with a 2012 survey carried out by Plastics (MRI). The Director of the Materials Research Institute, Professor Clement Ireland stating that 57% of Irish plastics companies are currently developing Higginbotham, said: “At AIT, we have a long tradition in developing innovation products that require the use of polymer research technologies, yet 40% do

Together with Centre Manager, Dr Seán Lyons, the leading principal investigators are Prof Clement Higginbotham (Director, MRI), Dr Luke Geever (Senior Researcher, MRI) and Dr Declan Devine (Senior Researcher, MRI).

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not have the required in-house R&D facilities. We have positioned our new polymer research centre so that it is best placed to meet the future needs of Irish plastics and polymer companies. We have had numerous one-to-one meetings with companies in the last year, as well as hosting a very successful plastics/polymer industry day in the Materials Research Institute at AIT with some 40 companies attending. The technologies developed by APT Ireland will contribute to an IP portfolio, which will be transferred to APT Ireland’s Irish industrial collaborators, resulting in new commercial opportunities. Collaborations with new and existing industry partners will be a key element of our new centres operation.” Dr Lyons continued: “We have used our close interaction with Irish plastics companies to ensure that our research centre is truly industry driven and is reflective of the current needs of Irish industry. The R&D within the Gateway will be carried out in six key industryidentified technology theme areas including polymer recycling and recyclate upcycling, green thermoplastic composites, sustainable plastics packaging, controlled release drug delivery platforms, design for manufacture and bioresorbable polymers. We look forward to working in partnership with these and new companies in the coming years to build a more competitive plastics industry in Ireland.” Breda Lynch, Industry Programmes Manager and Technology Transfer Officer, added: “We have very strong collaborative research partnerships with industry across the Midlands and nationally. AIT was the second largest recipient among Irish IoTs under Enterprise Ireland’s Innovation Partnership Programme from 2007 to 2010. We are also in the top two knowledge providers on the island for undertaking innovation voucher projects with Irish SMEs, with over 200 projects completed to date.” The APT Ireland Technology Gateway will: • Offer companies, locally and nationally, access to world-class R&D infrastructure, expertise and resources. • Use technological expertise to generate solutions for the close-to-market needs of Irish industry, as identified by our broad polymer and plastics industry client base, which will support sustainability and job creation. • Form partnerships with industry to work on challenging problems and facilitate technology transfer to companies. • Provide an open access point to industry for the provision of applied research and technical expertise. • Leverage strategic collaborations with world leading Irish and international research groups/centres in supporting APT Ireland’s industry support base, particularly on a national level through EI’s Network of Technology Gateways. • Engage our industry support base strongly in our ongoing strategic development to ensure the continued relevance of the Gateway to evolving polymer and plastics industry requirements. • Contribute to greater R&D and innovation activities in indigenous and foreign-owned industry in Ireland.

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Developing Synthetic Alternatives to Bone Grafts AIT Researcher, Dr Declan Devine, is participating in a Marie Curie-funded collaboration with Harvard University

new treatment for patients suffering large areas of bone loss is being developed at Athlone Institute of Technology. The research, which is exploring a synthetic alternative to bone grafts, will benefit patients who have had surgery to remove cancerous tissue, or who have had bone loss due to accidents or infections.

Dr Declan Devine

Senior researcher at AIT, Dr Declan Devine, has taken up a position at Harvard University’s Center for Advanced Orthopaedic Studies to continue his research. He will be based at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center for two years, funded by the Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship – a prestigious European Research Funding scheme for high potential young researchers.

The treatment will consist of a polymeric scaffold bond together with proteins which have been proven clinically to aid the healing of bone. The scaffold developed in this work will be based on the natural structure of bone and will also have similar properties to natural bone. At present, the most common type of intervention used by surgeons is bone transfer techniques. However, the stock of bone which can be transplanted within the patient is limited and transferring bone from another person brings with it an increased risk of infections or the transfer of disease.

According to Dr Devine: “As the proteins are trapped within the artificial bone, lower concentrations are needed to heal bones compared to doses currently used by clinicians. This will have the added advantage of reducing the overall cost of the surgical procedure compared to using current protein treatments. If proven successful, this study could be developed into a platform technology to treat a wide range of human ailments.” A graduate in polymer technology from AIT, Dr Devine undertook his PhD in Athlone in the controlled release of pharmaceutical ingredients from highly water absorbent polymers, or hydrogels as they are commonly known. Following the completion of his studies, he undertook an industry-led research post-doctoral project with Transitions Optical Ltd to develop the next generation Transitions ® Lens. This successfully led to the granting of a US patent. Subsequently, Dr. Devine spent over three years in Switzerland working for the AO Research Institute, Davos, a non-profit organisation specialising in the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders. Dr Devine has a proven research track record where he has contributed towards 18 peer reviewed journal publications, one patent, one book chapter, numerous conference proceedings and several confidential industrial-based reports. He has been involved in several successful research funding proposals including applications to the NIH in America and European framework funding. During the fellowship Dr Devine will be working under the guidance of Prof Christopher Evans, Director of the Center for Advanced Orthopaedic Studies in Harvard, and Prof Clement Higginbotham, Director of the Materials Research Institute, Athlone.

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From waste to energy creation and energy conservation

esearchers at Athlone Institute of Technology have been granted funding to develop novel high strength thermoplastic composites (TPC) from post-consumer waste. These materials will be designed to meet the needs of the transport, construction and renewable energy sectors here in Ireland. These sectors were identified as high potential growth areas for the use of composite materials in a market analysis report commissioned by senior researcher at the Materials Research Institute (MRI) at AIT, Dr Declan Devine. In the report, Ray Davis (Tera Solutions) stated that “Thermoplastic composite materials currently play a vital role in supporting Ireland’s vibrant €2.7 billion engineering sector, including the established automotive and €6.4 billion construction subsectors and the emerging CleanTech sub-sector”. Prof. Clement Higginbotham, Director of the MRI and principal investigator on the study, indicated that: “Thermoplastic composites are becoming the materials of choice for replacing traditional materials such as steel, aluminium and thermosetting composites, in areas such as renewable energy production, transportation and construction, all of which are vitally important sectors in the Irish economy”.

Ernst & Young reported in a CleanTech Ireland report published in 2012 that “on shore wind is considered to be a central pillar to delivering Ireland’s renewable energy targets. It is estimated that onshore wind activity has the potential to create 9,700 direct and indirect jobs by 2020.” This is already taking shape where Element Power has recently announced an €8bn project to supply the UK national grid with renewable energy, clearly a high volume venture. In the transportation sector there is a growing demand for high strength lightweight materials. According to Dr Devine, collaborator on the current study, “the widespread acceptance of electric vehicles is dependent upon the development of high strength lightweight materials such as the one under investigation. If we can successfully provide the industry with a recyclable light weight alternative to metals, it would greatly reduce the overall weight of the vehicle and therefore allow much greater distances to be travelled in between battery charges.” This is demonstrated in fuel driven vehicles where it has been shown that for every 100kg added to a vehicle, its fuel consumption is

increased by 0.6 litres/100 km. According to Dr Luke Geever, Senior Researcher at the MRI and collaborator on the current study, “the market need for construction/industrial products are based on multiple innovative market requirements that can be derived from TPC with metal substitution being particularly prominent”. This is mainly being driven by the recent increase in the price of steel which has forced companies to seek low cost alternatives.

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AIT collaborates in €40 million SFI-funded pharmaceutical research centre

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Materials Research Institute said: “AIT is a vital component of this research centre because of its unique expertise and reputation in hot melt extrusion developed as a result of research in the field of polymer materials and processing carried out over the last 30 years.” The research centre provides the necessary skill set to comprehensively investigate pharmaceutical solids by bringing together complementary academic and industrial groupings from the disciplines of chemistry, pharmaceutics, pharmaceutical technology, chemical engineering and mechanical engineering. These groups have expertise in process modelling and design, scaleup, computational fluid dynamics, in situ solution and solid-phase monitoring, crystallography and powder characterisation. The objective is to rationally design solid-state pharmaceutical materials in the required physical and chemical forms to meet the demands of advanced formulation and drug delivery systems. AIT will receive 2 PhD studentships during the research centre lifeline, both commencing in 2014. These students will participate in the research activities for projects investigating amorphous solids and composites, and novel technologies and optimised formulations for delivery of solid dispersions of BCS class II drugs. Principal investigator, Prof Clement Higginbotham, will also engage with other projects, specifically one investigating tailoring crystal size distributions for improved formulation performance.

thlone Institute of Technology is a collaborator in a €40 million pharmaceutical research centre funded by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI). The Synthesis & Solid State Pharmaceutical Centre (SSPC2) is a unique collaboration between eight academic institutions and 17 companies, and will position Ireland as a global hub for pharmaceutical process innovation and advanced manufacturing. The SSPC2 is part of a €300 million investment in scientific research over the next six years, including €200 million from the State and €100

million from about 150 industrial partners. The money will be used to create seven new research centres covering a wide range of areas including the marshalling of computer data, research into marine energy, infant medical care and food research amongst others. The SSPC2 is led by the University of Limerick and also involves higher education collaborators AIT, UCC, UCD, NUI Galway, Trinity College Dublin, WIT and DCU. The industrial collaborators include Janssen Pharmaceutical, Eli Lilly, Smithkline Beecham, Pfizer, Alkermes and Abbott. Prof Clement Higginbotham, Director of AIT’s

According to Dr Mary Shire, Vice-President for Research at UL, “The overarching economic impact objective of SSPC2 is the retention, creation and transformation of direct jobs in the pharmaceutical industry in Ireland. The overarching societal impact objectives of the centre are enhanced education and training offerings to support a knowledge society, a ‘greener’ pharmaceutical industry, and greater availability and choice of medicines for patients at lower cost.” SSPC2 will partner with agencies such as IDA Ireland in promoting the country as a venue for FDI and new jobs particularly in R&D and advanced manufacturing, and with Enterprise Ireland in supporting the further development of the SME sector in the pharmaceutical area. The Irish pharmaceutical industry supports over 60,000 Irish jobs and exports over €50 billion annually. Ireland is home to eight out of the world’s top ten pharmaceutical companies and six of the top ten blockbuster drugs are manufactured here.

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Setting new frontiers for entrepreneurs Michael Lonergan Manager, Midlands Innovation & Research Centre

New Frontiers is an Enterprise Ireland-funded programme that provides entrepreneurs with the skills, networks, facilities and supports necessary to navigate the business start-up process. The programme is delivered by Athlone Institute of Technology in partnership with NUI Maynooth in the Midlands Mid-East region.

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he Midlands Innovation and Research Centre at AIT is a converging hub for innovation, research and enterprise in the Midlands. The MIRC provides incubation facilities for innovative and knowledge-based enterprise, delivers the New Frontiers entrepreneur development programme for start-ups, and makes available the resources and expertise of AIT to support client companies and enterprise in the region and beyond – including coordinating Enterprise Ireland Innovation Voucher projects at AIT. Working in partnership with Enterprise Ireland, the MIRC has incubated and supported 90 start-ups to date. MIRC clients have undertaken over €2m in collaborative research with AIT to develop their technologies.

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Whether you are a prospective entrepreneur, a start-up, an existing company committed to ongoing innovation or an academic interested in commercialising your research, the MIRC is open to you.

New Frontiers Entrepreneur Development Programme Thirteen entrepreneurs with an innovative business idea are participating on New Frontiers 2013, an entrepreneur development programme funded by Enterprise Ireland and delivered in the Midlands Mid-East region by the MIRC in partnership with NUI Maynooth.

Comss is a software company that has developed a suite of software modules to deliver a financial advantage to project-based businesses. Optimised to enable lean operations, their software allows managers to run their business at less cost, whilst affording the improved operational insight needed to take faster, more informed business decisions. According to Richie Loughran, Director of Comss, a 2012 programme participant, “As a start-up company, New Frontiers provided us with structured training and support in the key commercial elements of developing and running a successful business. If you have an innovative business idea, AIT and NUI Maynooth provide a ready-made R&D capability to develop your product, while New Frontiers will support you in developing your business and bringing your product to market.”

Pictured above: John Perry TD, Minister for Small Business, and Richie Loughran, Director Comss.

RaiseYourIQ.com, a participant start-up on New Frontiers 2012, provides an online SMART intelligence training programme that’s proven to work. The revolutionary SMART programme was developed by Dr Bryan Roche and Dr Sarah Cassidy of NUI Maynooth and is based on the scientific discovery that relational skills underlie most forms of intelligence. Trials of the system conducted with students from Rathmore National School in Athboy Co Meath, resulted in an average IQ rise among students of 23 points.

New Frontiers provides entrepreneurs with the skills, Pictured above: Dr Bryan Roche of NUI Maynooth networks, facilities and supports and Kate Smith (12) from Rathmore National necessary to navigate the business School in Athboy, Co Meath. start-up process. Participants receive six-month €15,000 salary support from Enterprise Ireland. All of the New Frontiers start-ups are “AIT was fantastic,” said Mr Earley, “Conor Hayes knowledge-based with growth and export did CAD work on my designs and put prototypes potential. Products being developed together. In total, a range of eight products were include data analysis software, natural developed for use in various areas and functions dog treats, LED light engines and an on offshore rigs. We are now successfully exporting these products to oil and gas platforms electronic payments solution. all over the world.”

INNOVATION VOUCHERS The MIRC encourages small companies to apply for a €5,000 Enterprise Ireland Innovation Voucher during the regular calls for applications. The Vouchers allow companies to link with knowledge providers to solve business and technical problems. Eugene Earley of Offshore Handling Systems used an Innovation Voucher at AIT to design and prototype a series of hand tools which would provide a “hands off” working environment on offshore rigs reducing the risk of accidents.

AIT is second among thirty-eight knowledge providers nationally for completion of Innovation Voucher projects on behalf of small companies – undertaken by AIT’s research institutes in software (SRI), materials (MRI) and biosciences (BRI), Contract Industrial Services (CIS) and AIT’s schools of business, engineering and science. Further information about these opportunities can be accessed via the following websites: www.mirc.ie www.ait.ie/newfrontiers www.innovationvouchers.ie

Quest

Autumn 2013

Athlone Institute of Technology & NUI Maynooth Announce Strategic Partnership

he Presidents of Athlone Institute of Technology and NUI Maynooth have announced the formation of a new strategic partnership between their institutions. The partnership will facilitate collaboration in research, commercialisation and entrepreneurship; undergraduate and postgraduate programmes; student access and progression; and internationalisation. Building on the success of collaborative work between the institutions in recent years, the new formal partnership will bring developments in complementary research areas such as biosciences and chemistry. The institutions are currently exploring the possibility of offering joint programmes in biotechnology, sport and health science. The institutions together provide an extensive range of courses from levels 6-10 on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ). In 2011/12 they accounted for 25% of the total numbers of students from counties Kildare, Longford, Meath, Offaly and Westmeath enrolled in higher education. The institutions already have an established record of collaboration specifically in relation to academic staff development, student access, and technology transfer, where the NUI Maynooth Commercialisation Office has established a partnership with AIT under the Enterprise Ireland National Technology Transfer Initiative. President of Athlone Institute of Technology, Professor Ciarán Ó Catháin said: “We are developing this formal strategic partnership for the benefit of our

students and the wider economic and social development of the Midland and Mid-east regions. Together we can enhance the current and future provision of education and opportunities for progression of our students. By collaborating on specialist areas of research we can enhance our collective expertise and achieve efficiencies within the educational system.” Commenting on the partnership, President of NUI Maynooth, Professor Philip Nolan said: “NUI Maynooth and Athlone Institute of Technology are committed to excellence in teaching, and research and to working in partnership with enterprise and our community. We are central to the development of our region as a place to live and work. “There is a natural fit between our two institutions, both geographically and from the perspective of creating a cohesive educational pathway for students across many disciplines. We have shared visions in relation to the future provision of third level education in Ireland, which is why we are confident the partnership will prove extremely effective.” Athlone Institute of Technology and NUI Maynooth have been working together since 2011 in development of the strategic partnership. A Joint Working Group was set up by the institutions to identify key areas where collaboration will be most effective. The initial phase of the formal partnership is set to begin in autumn 2013.

Autumn 2013

Harnessing research capabilities for innovation

ver the course of three years, the International Malaysia-Ireland Joint Symposium on Engineering, Science and Business has grown from strength to strength. This year’s event saw 70 papers submitted, 36 postgraduate oral presentations and 40 poster presentations. Resulting from the high level and quality of publications submitted, 14 papers were accepted in the Asian Journal of Scientific Research (JASR), while 48 papers were accepted in the Asian Journal for Basic Applied Science (AJBAS). Four keynote addresses where presented over the two days including: Dr Andy Fogarty’s (AIT) address, “Male or Female? – That is the Question”, Prof Dato’ Wira Dr Mohd Salleh Hj. Din (UniMAP) who spoke on “Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development in Higher Education in Malaysia: Issues and Challenges”. The third keynote speaker was Dr John McMackin (DCU) who delivered an address on “The DCU Business School Entrepreneurship Programme for Malaysian Educators: Insights from a Positive Shared Learning Experience”, while the final keynote was entitled “Biomedical Research – The Importance of Multidisciplinary Teams” and was delivered by Dr. James E. Kennedy (AIT).

Quest 19

The International Malaysia-Ireland Joint Symposium on Engineering, Science and Business (IMiEJS) which took place in AIT on 11-12 June had as its theme harnessing research capabilities for innovation. The third iteration of the symposium was a huge success with 80 delegates attending each day. Lorna Walsh, Funded Programmes Manager, reports

The symposium aims to bring together researchers and professionals from the academic, industrial and public sectors in the context of multi- and interdisciplinary fora and discussions on engineering, science and business and/or technological innovations. One of the innovations in this year’s symposium was a talk organised in association with Enterprise Ireland on “Doing business in Malaysia”. The talk was delivered by Prof Dato’ Wira Dr Mohd Salleh Hj. Din, who is one of the shareholders and a member of the board of directors of UniMAP Holdings. UniMAP Holdings is the business arm of Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) and was incorporated in August 2011. IMiEJS 2014 will take place in June 2014 in Langkawi, Malaysia. Final details to be confirmed. Visit http://imiejs.unimap.edu.my for further information.

Clockwise from top left: Speakers and delegates at the 3rd International Malaysia-Ireland Joint Symposium on Engineering, Science and Business (IMiEJS) 2013; Prof Ciarán Ó Catháin, President of AIT, Prof Dato’ Kamarudin Hussin, vice-chancellor of UniMAP and Dato’ Ramli Naam, Malaysian Ambassador to Ireland; and Malaysian delegates at the symposium.

Quest

Autumn 2013

COMAND manager, Anthony Cunningham, and researchers Shuaijun Zhang and Dr Yuansong Qiao at AIT’s Software Research Institute demonstrate 3D sensing in action. The sensor is being developed for potential use in remote training, such as gym programmes or dance routines.

SRI team secure €1.2 million Enterprise Ireland Technology Gateway funding COMAND – Connected Media Application Design and Delivery – is a five-year €1.2 million research effort designed to help Irish companies innovate in the digital media space. COMAND is funded by Enterprise Ireland as part of its Technology Gateway Program (TGP) and is based out of AIT’s Software Research Institute (SRI). COMAND is based on the conviction that the convergence of a number of key technologies over the next 3-5 years will greatly impact patterns of media consumption and will enable novel forms of personalised and real-time media-based interaction between humans and technology and in turn this will create both challenges and opportunities for

companies in the COMAND industrial base across a wide range of application domains. The goals of COMAND are therefore to identify and advance key connectivity and multimedia technologies through research and transfer these technologies to industry to maximise commercial benefit. Media consumption – through TV, gaming, entertainment, etc. – will occur on many different device types, including smartphones, connected TVs, tablets, PCs and games consoles. Media viewing has already become a shared experience involving interaction with friends through social networking and across multiple devices. Cloud technologies will lead to new ways of deploying

and delivering media services at scale and will particularly enable new possibilities for media delivery on mobile devices via the “mobile media cloud”. Applications include use of the cloud for media storage with services such as Dropbox and iCloud. The trend is also evident in the enterprise space with cloud-based video conferencing and unified communications. Many other media applications are also forecast to be offered from the cloud. Personalised real-time media-based interaction with technology will be enabled through the combination of multi-modal sensing technologies and machine intelligence. Embedding these technologies in distributed, networked, media devices will create many opportunities in a wide variety of applications areas, including health, retail, education and automotive applications. Intel, for example, has recently established a multimillion-dollar research programme in this space in Carnegie-Mellon. Example applications based on these technologies include personalised programme schedules with Connected TV, multimodal interaction through voice and touch in a tourism multimedia kiosk, gesture-based

Autumn 2013

Quest 21

interaction with 3D objects in a “virtual” museum and large screen gender-based product offerings in a retail setting through the use of computer vision. COMAND will conduct research in the following areas to support digital media innovation research themes to support our industry base:

Media Delivery Platforms This research area investigates approaches to ensure media delivery with high QoE with a particular emphasis on cloud-based media delivery. Specific topics include media transmission and adaptation mechanisms and protocols, cloud architectures to ensure optimised mobile media delivery, cloud media processing to augment media delivery, collaborative platforms for immersive media, multi-media service composition, etc.

Intelligent Interactivity This research area investigates how emerging interaction technologies can be applied to develop smarter forms of human-technology interaction in application areas. Specific topics include the use of natural user interfaces technologies and augmented reality (AR) to improve user interfaces to digital systems (in health, e-learning, TV, etc.), the use of data stream mining to adapt system response to users, etc.

Technology Gateway Programme The Enterprise Ireland Technology Gateway Programme funds the next generation of industry-led centres based in the institutes of technology around Ireland. This programme has built on the success of the Enterprise Ireland Applied Research Enhancement (ARE) Centres Programme which greatly developed the industry focused technology capability within the institutes of technology.

What does the Technology Gateway Programme provide? The Technology Gateways Programme has established a nationwide network of Technology Gateway centres. Each Gateway is funded for five years with a budget of up to €1.2 million This budget is used to fund a Gateway manager and up to three engineers.

Cross Platform Media Application The multiplicity of platforms and arising device heterogeneity means that app(lication) creators have to develop many variants i.e. “cross platform”, if they want to address all markets. The problem is not confined to smart phones, but includes tablets, games consoles, set top boxes and, recently, connected TV. This theme researches the use of web/browser-based development environments using HTML5 media features as a solution to the cross platform dilemma.

The Gateways provide: • Technology solutions for the close-to-market needs of Irish industry. • An open access point providing technology expertise which is industry relevant. • A portal to wider expertise on a national level through the Technology Gateway Network of Centres. • Ongoing development of the Gateway’s technology offer to industry with the assistance of an industry led steering committee. The Technology Gateway Programme is co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under the National Strategic ReferenceFramework (NSRF) 2007-2013.

Quest

Autumn 2013

Better than Mark Lawrenson at Forecasting Premiership Results

wo predictive classification models outperformed renowned soccer pundit Mark Lawrenson in forecasting the results of Premiership matches according to research presented at the IT and Telecommunications Conference hosted by Athlone Institute of Technology in May. Researchers, Elaine Kirwan and Dr Markus Hofmann, at Institute of Technology Blanchardstown analysed match data from ten seasons. They produced two models to forecast the results in the final 50 matches of the 2011/12 season and achieved 53% and 51% success rates, compared to 47% success for Mr Lawrenson. Their classification model considered information such as shots on goal, number of home or away goals scored, the impact of yellow or red cards received, along with each team’s recent home and away form in order to forecast the match outcome. The paper was one of 16 presented at the twelfth annual IT&T Conference. The theme of this year’s event was “Small Devices, Big Data, Real Challenges”, with sessions dedicated to networking, information analysis and management, text and data mining, and web and cloud technologies. Other papers presented included a speech analysis of the 2012 American presidential election, protecting organisational data confidentiality in the cloud, and identifying future crimes given the socioeconomic profile of an area. The IT&T conference provides postgraduate researchers with an early opportunity to engage with practitioners from academia and industry working in the areas of IT and telecommunications. A particular motivation for this year’s conference was to facilitate discussion between researchers, industry and third level institutions working to address the challenges of Big Data.

According to Dr Enda Fallon, General Chair of the 2013 conference, the conference “is unique in Ireland as it combines academic papers with presentations from industry, funding agencies and international business experts. It provides a forum for researchers to present their work, discover sources of funding and form partnerships with industry. Hosting the conference enables AIT to strengthen its collaboration with telecommunications and information technology industries, research laboratories, and other third level institutions in Ireland.” Head of the School of Engineering at AIT, Dr Austin Hanley, said: “Communications and software research is of strategic long-term interest to AIT. Its undergraduate, postgraduate and research strength is underpinned by a strong presence of indigenous and multinational industries in the region. The IT&T conference is an important vehicle to give expression to research activities in this domain and hosting it is a further demonstration of our commitment to it. Central to that research effort is dialogue between researchers both nationally and internationally. It is from such conferences that new ideas are fostered, encouraged and fuelled. AIT is delighted to be a part of it and honoured to host it.” Dr Brian Lee, Director of the Software Research Institute at AIT, said: “Hosting the IT&T conference in AIT recognises the contributions of the research community in AIT to ICT research at a national level. IT&T research themes cover the spectrum of research activities within the SRI and provide a forum particularly for the postgraduate students to publish and disseminate their results as well as get to meet their peers in other colleges. The conference is also a networking opportunity for more senior researchers to meet with colleagues and to explore possible collaboration opportunities.” The IT&T conference was sponsored by Ericsson, Institutes of Technology Ireland (IoTI) and AIT. Further information can be accessed online at www.ittconference.ie.

Autumn 2013

he Irish Centre for Cloud Computing and Commerce (IC4) is a government-funded technology centre involving AIT, UCC and lead partner DCU. The centre’s aim is to accelerate the development and adoption of cloud technology in Ireland, develop and showcase Ireland’s capabilities in this field and ultimately benefit the Irish economy through job creation and increased revenues in the ICT sector. The industry-led centre has a strong industry panel that includes Microsoft, Fujitsu, Intel and IBM. It will build on Ireland’s substantial research base in this area and focus on partnering researchers with industry in order to turn good research ideas into good jobs in the Irish economy. This launch of the centre represents the delivery of a key commitment under the Action Plan for Jobs 2012. IC4 is jointly supported by Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland and is the eleventh government-funded technology centre to be established in Ireland.

Launching the centre, Minister for Enterprise and Jobs, Richard Bruton TD said: “Cloud computing is already a significant part of the overall market for information technology and services and is now one of the fastest growing segments of the market. That is why as part of the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs we have specifically targeted this sector for jobs and growth in the coming years. “A major part of supporting job creation in this sector is ensuring that we derive the greatest possible benefit from the major state investment in scientific research over the past decade. We must ensure not only that we continue to support cutting-edge scientific research, but also that we put in place measures to ensure that we can turn the good ideas emerging from that research into good jobs. That is why we have developed this industry-led technology research centre, to bring industry and researchers together so that they can focus on creating viable businesses and ultimately create the jobs we need.” Director of AIT’s Software Research Institute, Dr Brian Lee, said: “Cloud computing is a €100 billion industry that offers considerable potential for Ireland Inc in terms of job creation and in delivering our knowledge economy ambitions.

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The SRI has a considerable track record of working with industry, and in delivering innovative solutions for industry problems. The IC4 is a very exciting development, and one that will boost AIT’s growing reputation in this area.” Gerard Lande, senior commercialisation specialist at Enterprise Ireland added: “Cloud computing transcends traditional business boundaries and opens up many new opportunities in service sector with global value chains. Developing capability in this area is increasingly important as cloud computing proliferates into other business domains. “This centre is a significant step for SMEs and multinational companies in Ireland’s technology sector. It enables Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland to support the large client base companies currently operating in this vibrant and diverse sector. Also, by its multi-disciplinary nature, this centre leverages the capabilities of business researchers and computing technologists providing significant opportunities to innovate on the fringes of both domains.” Visit www.ic4.ie www.ait.ie/sri

Up in the Clouds

Quest

Autumn 2013

Scalable video coding & related technologies

Enjoying video images on a range of devices from smartphones to high definition television sets is commonplace in Ireland, but how many of us give any thought to what has happened behind the scenes to deliver those images to us? Anna Nolan reports

research team at AIT’s Software Research Institute (SRI) is giving the delivery mechanisms their concentrated attention, with the aim of making the user’s experience more enjoyable, and the provider’s task more efficient and economic. “There are many different types of receiver,” said Brian Lee, SRI Director. “When a video server or a content provider is streaming content, the challenges are how to adapt to different screens, and different conditions.”

Autumn 2013

Multi-screen delivery Video has to be viewable on smartphones, iPads and other tablets, netbooks, normal-size portable computers, desktops, ordinary television sets and high definition (HD) sets. These devices all have different screen sizes, and different resolutions. So for best results, an efficient way of scaling up and down to different resolutions is needed. The number of ways in which video is used is also growing strongly – downloading from YouTube, watching TV on a non-TV device, and the delivery of training, are just a few. Making the situation even more complex, video is delivered over many different network types, and during delivery, the conditions in the networks can, and often do, change. The higher the resolution the sharper the picture, so a key question is, how should video be streamed to take the factors just mentioned into account, and provide the best picture allowable for a given device, without incurring

Quest 25

“Scalable video can be broken into a number of layers, and you can pop layers on top of one another to bring up the quality of the video incrementally, or step back a layer if there are problems in transmission,” explained Dr Lee. There is a base layer for video (and audio), called layer 1, which supplies optimum signals to mobile phone screens. There are also five enhancement layers (2 to 6). Smartphones will use layers 1, 2 and 3. Computers will use layers 1 to 4, and HD TV will use all the layers, 1 to 6. All six layers will be transmitted to the P2P network for onward delivery to the end-users’ devices.

Multiview coded video and immersive video “3D cameras and display devices, for example TV sets, are becoming more common, and as the problems associated with viewing through special devices are resolved we can expect to see the use of 3D mushroom in all aspects of daily life,” Dr Lee commented. “3D distribution is in its infancy and there are many problems to be solved before the vision of ubiquitous 3D delivery is resolved.” For example, multiview coded video (MVC) is a technology for which SRI is researching ways of improving delivery. “Multiview coded video basically means capturing a scene with a number of different cameras so that you can get overlap and lots of different views,” explained Dr Lee. “The main applications are in 3D TV or teleimmersion, which is ready for 3D.” Because several cameras are used, some views are not needed all of the time. SRI has chosen to look at the use of P2P in this area also, in order to establish if the system can be made both better and cheaper.

unnecessarily high costs? Another important challenge is how to cope with varying conditions, when for example a carrier signal drops in quality. There are different ways of approaching these problems, and a variety of technological possibilities are under investigation. “SRI is investigating how a technology called Scalable Video Coding (SVC) can be used to solve these problems,” said Dr Lee. Alongside SVC, SRI has also chosen to study the use of peer-to-peer (P2P) techniques and network coding technologies, in order to adapt and optimise their use in streaming video. The ultimate aim is to develop a low-cost video delivery platform, scalable across the different receiving devices, so the receivers must be able to serve appropriate video data to other peers.

SRI’s work is not confined to sight and sound. The researchers are also considering what happens if other senses come into play – touch, taste and smell. “We are looking at smell in particular, and asking questions such as how long should a smell linger before the next one is introduced,” explained Dr Lee. “We have a PhD student dealing with theses issues, and we are all looking at creating better end user experiences.”

Future Dr Lee expects SRI’s research work on video delivery to continue to adapt to meet new challenges. Cloud based content delivery to mobile and multiscreen devices is a promising new development area. “The key thing is that the technology changes, and it is a constant struggle for the industry to keep abreast,” he commented.

Autumn 2013

Quest

The CIS currently deals with over 100 companies, providing confidential knowledge intensive services, which range from a quick turnaround of technical analyses needed because a factory laboratory is temporarily out of action to long-term assistance with technical problems and/or the development of new products. “Our work ethic delivers a stream of solutions or potential innovative products for both academia and Irish and multinational companies by providing detailed analysis or consultation in a time frame that matches industrial needs,” said Dr Kennedy. As mentioned already, much of the work done by CIS is bound by commercial confidentiality agreements, but one research partner, Molloys Lifestyle Pharmacies and Health Stores, was happy to give details on its slow-release project.

f you have used a Shasta self-sterilising bottle lately, or swung a Cultec composite hurley, then you have held in your hand a practical example of the work of AIT’s Contract Industrial Services (CIS) team. Researchers based there helped both companies to develop their product, as part of CIS’s services to industry. “Those are two recent examples among many,” said Dr James Kennedy, who has been head of CIS since 2010. The CIS facility is located in AIT’s Research Hub, and specialises in the testing and development of chemical and polymeric systems. Its laboratories perform product designs, rapid prototyping fabrication, polymer processing, physical and mechanical testing, surface, thermal and elemental analysis. Consultancy is an important aspect of its work.

In collaboration with Molloys Lifestyle Pharmacies and Health Stores (www.molloyspharmacy.com), one CIS research project is aimed at making it easier for patients taking certain medicines. The objective is to develop specific controlled release systems using novel polymeric technologies that will deliver appropriate doses over a longer period than at present. In turn, this should eliminate some undesirable side effects of medication, improve efficacy, and make patients more inclined to stick with the regime. “We are trying to combine the latest technology in modern medical release formulation, in which AIT has significant expertise, with medicines that are already available,” explained James Geraghty, the Managing Director of Molloys Lifestyle Pharmacies and Health Stores. “There is a slowdown in new medicines, and we want to be able to use existing medicines and get them to a specific point in the body where they release slowly.”

Autumn 2013

Quest 27

AIT – Working in collaboration with companies Anna Nolan reports

Medicines suitable for this development include aspirin, and drugs in the anti-nausea and anti-emetic category. Based in the West of Ireland, with several pharmacies, Molloys sees itself as being much more than a dispenser of medicines and advice to patients, and its motto is ‘retailers in health’. Being on the ground, the Molloys Pharmacies personnel see problems of side effects of medicines and also difficulties in patient compliance (taking the drug at the right time and for the full prescribed period), according to Mr Geraghty. He expects the research at AIT will be applicable both to prescribed and OTC (over the counter) drugs, and also to natural health supplements.

“We are now in the process of getting HPSU (high potential start up) funding, and we hope to set up a subsidiary company,” said Mr Geraghty. James Kennedy’s work at AIT has two aspects. As well as being Director of CIS, where he links directly with industry, he has an academic role supervising Master’s and doctoral students, looking after research publication, funding and commercialisation of research findings.

“Conventional medicine has come a long way, but there are still problems with diet and lifestyle, so we could also produce slowrelease supplementation and nutrification,” he said. The company already produces nutritional products geared to specific requirements, such as pregnancy or being in hospital. “The team at AIT has been a strong force in helping our company in both business development and academic support in developing new concepts for our specialised tailored lifestyle products,” he said. “They have proved themselves to work in a capable and professional manner, while remaining focused on the project in hand.” The Molloys/AIT slow release drug formulation project started early in 2010, with the assistance of the Enterprise Ireland innovation voucher scheme.

Images (clockwise from top left): Senior analyst Alan Murphy utilising the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) to investigate surface coating defects in a metal product An Taoiseach Enda Kenny tries out the new Cultec hurley developed and tested for the company by the CIS; also pictured are Dr James Kennedy and Professor Ciarán Ó Catháin, President AIT Conor Hayes removing parts from a state-of-the-art Viper 3D printing machine Dr John Killion with drug dissolution system

Quest

Autumn 2013

AIT researchers show coconut oil could combat tooth decay

esearch by scientists at AIT that showed that digested coconut oil is able to attack the bacteria that cause tooth decay proved to be one of the major scientific news stories of the past 12 months. The story that this natural antibiotic could be incorporated into commercial dental care products was published everywhere from the UK, US, Russia, India, Korea, China to the Philippines. The team from AIT tested the antibacterial action of coconut oil in its natural state and coconut oil that had been treated with enzymes, in a process similar to digestion. The oils were tested against strains of Streptococcus bacteria which are common inhabitants of the mouth. They found that enzyme-modified coconut oil strongly inhibited the growth of most strains of Streptococcus bacteria including Streptococcus mutans – an acid-producing bacterium that is a major cause of tooth decay. The researchers in AIT’s Bioscience Research Institute, led by Dr Damien Brady presented their work at the Society for General Microbiology’s autumn 2012 conference at the University of Warwick. Many previous studies have shown that partially digested foodstuffs are active against micro-organisms. Earlier work on enzyme-modified milk showed that it was able to reduce the binding of S. mutans to tooth enamel, which prompted the group to investigate the effect of other enzymemodified foods on bacteria. Further work will examine how coconut oil interacts with Streptococcus bacteria at the molecular level and which other strains of harmful bacteria and yeasts it is active against. Additional testing by the group at AIT found that enzyme-modified coconut oil was also harmful to the yeast Candida albicans that can cause thrush.

The researchers suggest that enzyme-modified coconut oil has potential as a marketable antimicrobial which could be of particular interest to the oral healthcare industry. Dr Brady said: “Dental caries is a commonly overlooked health problem affecting 60-90% of children and the majority of adults in industrialised countries. Incorporating enzyme-modified coconut oil into dental hygiene products would be an attractive alternative to chemical additives, particularly as it works at relatively low concentrations. Also, with increasing antibiotic resistance, it is important that we turn our attention to new ways to combat microbial infection.” The work also contributes to our understanding of antibacterial activity in the human gut. “Our data suggests that products of human digestion show antimicrobial activity. This could have implications for how bacteria colonize the cells lining the digestive tract and for overall gut health,” explained Dr Brady. “Our research has shown that digested milk protein not only reduced the adherence of harmful bacteria to human intestinal cells but also prevented some of them from gaining entrance into the cell. We are currently researching coconut oil and other enzyme-modified foodstuffs to identify how they interfere with the way bacteria cause illness and disease,” he said. The research was supported by the AIT President’s Research Seed Fund, which has invested €750,000 in postgraduate research work since 2010. The MSc project being carried out by Patricia Hughes, was supervised by Dr Brady and Prof Neil Rowan at AIT. Ms Hughes graduated with a degree in veterinary nursing in 2009 from AIT.

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Quest 29

Overview of Research at AIT Bioscience Research Institute (BRI) Bioscience research in AIT embraces the environment, agri-food, pharma/biopharma and health. The BRI acts as a conduit for R&D ranging from fundamental to applied (near-market) research in these four strategically important domains and encompasses approxiamtely 60 academic staff with diverse and complementary expertise and interests. Research focus and specialisation reflects the aforementioned and includes, for example, chemical synthesis, analysis and purification (such as drug toxicology), toxicology (such as cell and molecular ecotoxicology), microbiology (such as development of novel chemical biocides and non-thermal processing technologies for food and water decontamination applications), agri-food (such as novel encapsulation for bioactives derived from food), and biotechnology (such as mammalian cell line development). The BRI was a higher education partner on the EU Interreg ShareBiotech programme where it acted as a main Technology Core Facility (TCF) to help translate and accommodate the R&D needs of indigenous SMEs. The BRI provides access to HPSUs, SMEs and multinational companies to some key Technology Core Facilities that include: • Cell culture and molecular biology suites • Protein purification • Raman-confocal microscopy and scanning electron microscopy • Genomics • Gentotoxicology • GC-MS-TOF • Bioreactors (inc 3D)

Contact

Professor Neil J Rowan BRI Director Tel +353 (0)90 646 8053 Email nrowan@ait.ie Web www.ait.ie/bri

Quest

Autumn 2013

Overview of Research at AIT MATERIALS Research Institute (MRI) The MRI, established in 2005, is an interdisciplinary technology centre at AIT. The centre has a core focus on polymeric materials research and drug delivery technologies in addition to providing a tailored research capability for the region and beyond. The MRI encompasses facilities dedicated to materials design, analysis and testing, as well as processing and fabrication. The MRI enables the institute to build on core competencies and provides a significant focus for industrial-academic collaborations in the BMW region and nationally. Companies that have been involved in collaborative research projects in the MRI include Boston Scientific, Gem Plastics, Altay, Transition Optical, Lotus, AIC US, UCSI, BioBode, Gaines, Medtronic, Mergon, Isotron and Mayo Healthcare. Researchers in the MRI are engaged in projects in areas such as recycling, drug delivery, coatings, nanocomposites, nanomaterials, ophthalmic, nanomedicine, hydrogels and wound healing. Key research areas include: • Biomedical materials design and synthesis • Polymer materials processing • Plastic materials analysis and characterisation • Development of drug delivery systems • Recycling technologies • Computer aided design and rapid prototyping of polymer components and products The Polymer Processing Unit, located in the Engineering and Informatics Building, includes: • Injection moulding equipment • Extrusion equipment • Blow moulding equipment • Compounding equipment

Contact

Professor Clement Higginbotham MRI Director Tel +353 (0)90 646 8050 Email chigginbotham@ait.ie Web www.ait.ie/mri

Autumn 2013

Quest 31

Overview of Research at AIT SOFTWARE Research Institute (SRI) The Software Research Institute was established in 2006 with the goal to develop a leading edge research capability in AIT and to act as a catalyst to spur innovation through applied research collaboration with industrial partners. SRI works with industrial and commercial partners to exploit the by-products of its research programme i.e. technology, competency and intellectual property to seek innovative solutions in a number of industrial fields. Core competencies include: • Network transmission protocols and architectures • Image processing and video coding • Multimedia (audio and video) sensor networking • Network management architectures and controls • Self adaptive software architectures and design • Web based application development The centre has built a reputation for applied research in the wireless domain and has collaborated with start-ups (3Touch), SMEs (T5 Process Solutions, WPA Mobile, Portomedia, Air5, Solanotech, NewCode, Outcam) and multi-national companies (Ericsson).

Contact

Dr Brian Lee BRI Director Tel +353 (0)90 648 3035 Email blee@ait.ie Web www.ait.ie/sri

Quest

Autumn 2013

Research, Innovation & Enterprise Team Office of Research, Innovation and Enterprise Head: Paul Killeen Tel +353 (0)90 646 8115 Email pkilleen@ait.ie Funded Research Programmes Manager: Lorna Walsh Tel: +353 (0)90 647 1805 Email: lwalsh@ait.ie Industry Programmes & Technology Transfer Office Manager: Breda Lynch Tel: +353 (0)90 648 3041 Email: blynch@ait.ie Administrators Anita Watts Tel: + 353 (0)90 648 3061 Email: awatts@ait.ie Siobhán Lee Tel: + 353 (0)90 646 8116 Email: slee@ait.ie

Bioscience Research Institute Director: Prof Neil Rowan Tel +353 (0)90 647 1838 Email nrowan@ait.ie

Software Research Institute Director: Dr Brian Lee Tel +353 (0)90 648 3035 Email blee@ait.ie

Associate Director: Dr Damien Brady Tel +353 (0)90 646 8080 Email dbrady@ait.ie

Connected Media Application Design & Delivery (COMAND) Manager: Anthony Cunningham Tel + 353 (0)90 638 3096 Email acunningham@ait.ie

Materials Research Institute Director: Prof Clement Higginbotham Tel +353 (0)90 646 8050 Email chigginbotham@ait.ie Applied Polymer Technologies (APT) Ireland Manager: Dr Seán Lyons Tel +353 (0)90 646 8284 Email slyons@ait.ie Contract Industrial Services Director: Dr James Kennedy Tel +353 (0)90 648 3028 Email jkennedy@ait.ie

Stephanie Lennon (Acting) Tel: + 353 (0)90 646 8116 Email: slennon@ait.ie

Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Bhaile Átha Luain Bóthar Bhaile Átha Cliath Baile Átha Luain Co na hIarmhí Athlone Institute of Technology Dublin Road Athlone Co Westmeath Ireland T F W

+ 353 (0)90 646 8000 + 353 (0)90 646 8148 www.ait.ie

Midlands Innovation & Research Centre Manager: Michael Lonergan Tel: +353 (0)90 647 1882 Email: mlonergan@ait.ie New Frontiers Programme Manager: Bert Farrell Tel + 353 (0)90 648 3043 Email bfarrell@ait.ie Graduate Research Studies Director: Dr Robert Stewart Tel: +353 (0)90 647 1891 Email: rstewart@ait.ie