Rose proves girls bloom as scientists

Karlin Lillington in the Irish Times on inspiring children, particularly girls, to pursue science:

"Finding a way to inspire girls to go into science, engineering and computing isn't rocket science - but it may be theoretical physics.

That's going by the debut engagement for Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin of Mayo, better known to most people as the new Rose of Tralee, but more familiar to some as the one who took first-class honours in theoretical physics at UCD and spent the summer working on a student programme at CERN, the famed particle physics laboratory in Switzerland.

Ní Shúilleabháin joined several other Irish women scientists to give presentations about their work at the BA Festival of Science on Wednesday at Trinity College, under the auspices of the national organisation Women in Technology and Science (Wits).

All the presentations were a delight, ranging from Prof Catherine Godson on her love of biomedical research; engineer Anne Graham's tales of working for the city of Dublin; Dr Mary Bourke of the Planetary Science Institute's descriptions of how understanding flood plains in Australia helps her explore the Mars landscape, and maths whiz and former Young Scientist Sarah Flannery on the maths games she played with her father and her love of mathematics.

What a fantastic team this group would be to tour schools. They had me ready to return to university to do maths, physics and engineering, and left me feeling disappointed that I hadn't pursued these studies more diligently in school. In other words, they made science exciting, interesting, and fun."