Researchers based in NUI Galway have been awarded research funding through the Enterprise Partnership Scheme to examine the Galway Bay marine environment and how coastal marine conditions affect the day to day lives of the Galway public.
In partnership with SmartBay Ireland, an investment of €96,000 has been made which will bring together a team of researchers from NUIG and DCU to develop research, making use of the National Marine Test and Demonstration Facility, managed by SmartBay Ireland in Galway Bay.
NUI Galway researchers will begin development and examination of data from the Galway Bay marine environment that can aid the existing SmartBay facility to obtain accurate weather data. The outcomes of this research will be of pivotal use to members of the public, emergency response agencies, and marine professionals.
The primary investigators from NUI Galway are Dr Enda Howley and Dr Jim Duggan, while Professor Fiona Regan is leading the researchers from DCU. John Breslin and Regina McNulty will lead the research team on behalf of SmartBay Ireland.
At the announcement of the funding Dr Enda Howley commented: “The project is a great vote of confidence by the IRC in the researchers involved in this area. This major investment shows the capacity of NUI Galway to partner on interdisciplinary research projects that have huge potential to impact on people’s daily lives. This particular research project based in NUI Galway aims to develop technologies that can assist all those who are potentially impacted by the marine conditions surrounding our cities.”
Howley highlighted the chaos caused by flood waters in Galway city earlier this year, when extensive damage was inflicted on Leisureland in Salthill and businesses in the area surrounding Spanish Arch, which necessitated lengthy closures to many premises. “Any technology that can assist us in better understanding coastal marine events can have a major long-term impact.”
