Education

Imelda Egan - Air pollution scientist

• BA (Mod) Microbiology, Trinity College Dublin (1993)
• Masters in Biological Sciences, Dublin City University (1996)
• Diploma in Environmental Engineering, Trinity College (1999)

Career snapshot

Imelda Egan develops techniques to deal with air pollution. She works for Bord na Mona, an organisation once best known for turf briquettes. Over the past decade, however, Bord na Mona has also built up a range of environmental services, many based on technologies that it has invented and developed commercially.
Imelda is centrally involved in this. Over the last five years, she has been named as co-inventor of two patented air treatment processes. The team she works in, Clean Air Solutions, was shortlisted for the All-Ireland Innovation Awards 2002 and received a commendation.

Bord na Mona exports its services to Britain, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal, as well as working in Ireland. So Imelda’s job involves a lot of travel, although some of it is to such glamorous locations as wastewater treatment or animal rendering plants.
There are two sides to her work: developing new solutions and supporting them in use. This involves:

• Working on new processes to deal with air pollution
• Going on-site to examine air emissions and odorous processes
• Devising solutions through pilot trials
• Putting biological air treatment systems in place
• Supporting the systems in use

It is a demanding and satisfying job, making the world a cleaner and less-smelly place.

What’s the best thing about your job?

“I like the variety of my job, in that I could be on site in France one week and the next be in the office designing a full abatement system for an odour or emission application. The team members in Clean Air Solutions work together. If something comes up, everyone pulls together to get it solved as quickly as possible.”

What do you like least about your job?

“There are times, particularly in winter, when the last thing you want to do is to go outside to a cold site!”

How do you spend a typical day?

“I could be up early and on the road to a site to undertake monitoring. If we have a pilot trial going, we could be visiting that. Or I could be in the office. I spend a lot of time on the phone discussing potential solutions, or arranging someone to monitor a site.”

Are you a science nerd?

“I don’t think so. I like all aspects of my job, including the commercial aspects. My qualifications in science allow me to do a job which is varied and interesting, but I leave it at the gate when I go home.”

Did science give you a buzz at school?

“I did chemistry and physics at school, but wasn’t that good at either really. It wasn’t until I went to college that some of my courses really woke me up to the unbelievable possibilities that science offers in every area of life.”

Want to find out more?

Learn about the wide range of Bord na Mona’s business activities

Find out more about environmental engineering at TCD

(Photo of Imelda Egan used with the kind permission of Bord na Mona)

Vincent Hyland - Marine photograph

Vincent Hyland is a marine wildlife film maker, photographer and artist. He sells his prints, paintings and DVDs, and specialises in producing digital content for Vincenteducational use.

Vincent did a degree in geology. However, he was always interested in marine science and wildlife. He remembers being fascinated by water life and the work of Eamon de Buitléar and Jacques Cousteau when growing up. This led him to take up scuba diving and underwater film, both activities which he has nurtured throughout his career.

His film subjects include whale sharks and hammerhead sharks, filmed in the Galapagos Islands in 2000. He has also produced “Ireland Seabirds and Marine life”, a DVD exploring our fascinating marine wildlife above and below water. Vincent is also a talented artist, producing marine wildlife illustrations for magazines, newspapers and books.

Degree

BSc (Geology), NUI Galway, 1983

Background

Vincent is originally from Dublin. He worked for Microsoft in technical publishing, digital media and business development, before setting up an award-winning Irish wildlife and environmental website and magazine ‘Wild Ireland’, in 1999.

What’s so brilliant about your job?

“The sea gives me a real sense of freedom. You not only develop an in-depth knowledge of the sea but also of the marine flora and fauna that inhabit it. Having dived and filmed marine wildlife in places from Antarctica to the Galapagos Islands, you learn to appreciate what we have at home here.”

“I also love the science behind the wildlife I film. I can invoke my knowledge of digital technology to bring to life what I do best. The unpredictable nature of my work is a good thing – it keeps the mind active.”

What do you like least about your job?

“When I am at home editing my work, I sometimes wish that I was back out there in the wild.”

How do you spend a typical day?

“If I am at sea, planning and implementing the day’s diving and filming routine. If I am in research mode, finding out the best places to record what I am filming – habitat, behaviour and likelihood of encountering.”

“If I am at home editing, assessing the best sequences and assembling. Or painting – seeing a blank canvass develop into a picture of marine wildlife through my eyes. Or building my website – working at the design, writing and editing to get the best representation of what I am trying to put across. Or teaching – seeing children’s reactions to the marine wildlife I have recorded.”

Does your work require a lot of equipment?

“Yes – from computers and software to underwater lights, camera housings, boats, diving gear, safety equipment, communication gear and transport.”

Are you a science/engineering/technology nerd?

“Yes. I love the technical side to portable computing and digital broadcasting – bringing rich content to people. I am particularly interested in alternatives to the linear representation of the world through television.”

Did those subjects give you a buzz at school?

“These subjects were not available at school but yes, I am passionate about science and art also. I believe the creative mind has a lot to do with our ability to visualize and solve the mysteries that science seeks to answer.”

What has been the highlight of your career to date?

“Wild Ireland magazine, filming and webcasting Jackie and Daw (the natural nesting behaviour of a pair of jackdaws) and producing the DVD Ireland – Seabirds and Marine life.”

Learn more on Vincent’s website

Stuart Green - Earth observation specialist

What were the main “career decision” milestones in your life so far?

As a primary degree I studied geophysics, graduating in 1992. I had given little thought to further study, but an economic downturn made me reconsider.

The Erasmus programme was offering excellent bursaries to study for an MSc in remote sensing in Dundee University, and without doubt this was the major career milestone.

It not only introduced me to my area of work but the programme also allowed for travel within the EU, which was how I came to study in UCD for the second half of my Masters.

After the MSc I decided to stay in Ireland and was offered a technician post in the lab where I had completed my MSC, the applied physics lab in UCD under Eoin O’Mongain.

After a couple of years on rolling short-term contracts, an opportunity for a PhD came up in the lab, which I took.

Describe a typical day

At any time I may have four or five projects “live” – some instigated and led by me (for instance a creating a map of hedgerows for the whole country), some where I’m a partner (using airborne lasers, LIDAR, to measure forests) and others where I am merely providing information or input (mapping farmland habitats).

It’s best to concentrate on one project in a day, but phone calls, emails, reports etc can quickly take over if you are not careful. But you can always switch to another if you get stuck, deadline permitting!

What are the main tasks and responsibilities?

My main task is to research the use of remote sensing and Earth observation technologies in agriculture in Ireland. Most work is based on the computer with a little field work.

What particular skills do you bring to your workplace?

As in most scientific enterprises, you need to combine good technical skills with curiosity and ingenuity. I think I’m good at problem solving: coming up with elegant and not so elegant solutions to issues.

What subjects did you take in school and how have these influenced your career path?

I took a wide range of subjects at secondary school: physics, chemistry and maths but also English, history, classical studies (ancient Rome and Greece) and art.

What is your education to date?

• A-level maths, physics and chemistry
• BSc in Geophysics
• MSc in remote sensing

What aspects of your education have proven most important for your job?

Undoubtedly maths is very important in this type of science career. It carries through to many different areas.

What have been the most rewarding events in your career so far?

For my PhD I flew all over Ireland in a single-engine Cessna.

Working in the lab I took part in research cruises in the Aegean and working for Teagasc I helped create the National Indicative Soil Map. This is now used as a fundamental dataset by literally hundreds of researchers, engineers and government agencies.

What advice would you give someone considering this job?

Be willing to learn on the job. Remote sensing can only be really successful when the researcher understands the system and the physics but also understands something of the target.

So even though my background and training is in “physics” I’ve had to pick up lots of information on forestry, ecology, soil science and others.

What are the three most important personal characteristics required for the job?

Curiosity, adaptability and a good “spatial awareness” – you need to get used seeing unusual things in unusual contexts!

What kinds of work experience would provide a good background for this position?

Computer labs, design studios and digital media will all give a sense of handing and using images on a computer. Architects and civil engineering firms will give an idea on maps and spatial awareness. Try using Google Earth for a specific goal, such as introducing Google Earth and Google Maps into a community organisation or charity.