Calling all third level students, it's time to think about entering the 2020 Mary Muvihill Award. The theme for this year’s Mary Mulvihill Award is “Our Scientific Heritage”. Deserving of its moniker “the Land of Saints and Scholars”, Ireland has an incredibly rich scientific history. Ireland is home to scientists who were the first computer programmers, who first bred jellyfish in captivity, and who figured out why the sky is blue.
This year’s theme marks the republication of Mary Mulvihill’s book “Ingenious Ireland”, a wonderful exploration of the scientific, engineering and technological history of the country. Mary Mulvihill (1959-2015), science communicator and founder of WITS, was passionate about revealing Ireland’s often forgotten history to its people. The award commemorates Mary’s life and work, and asks entrants to explore the history of Ireland with the same curiosity and joy that Mary did.
The award is open to many different formats, from essays to podcasts: the winning entry in 2019 was Laura K. Finnegan’s sampler of a children’s book about Irish scientists. Be creative and have fun with your entry! The closing date is 31st March 2020. Full guidelines can be found at marymulvihillaward.ie.
Anyone interested in entering the competition is invited to attend a workshop about the award in Trinity College Dublin on the 20th of January 2020 at 6 pm, facilitated by science journalist Cormac Sheridan, administrator of the Mary Mulvihill Award, 2019 winner Laura K. Finnegan, and science communication lecturers Brian Trench, Padraig Murphy, and Joseph Roche. Book your place.
Thanks to Laura K Finnegan for the post and her images of Mary.