Bright Sparks: David McKeown - Rocket Scientist

Engineering plays a significant role in science exploration and innovation. We had robot engineer Conor McGinn and now rocket scientist and engineer David McKeown. David is a research engineer working in University College Dublin, conducting research for the European Space Agency on contracts dealing with vibration control of the next generation of rockets. He was part of the team that worked on Deleon, a robot arm for the Mars Rover. In this short clip David talks to presenter of Bright Sparks, Shane Bergin about how he became a rocket scientist and how he feels about people travelling to Mars.

Richard Roche is a Lecturer in the Department of Psychology in Maynooth University specialising in the area of cognitive neuroscience. In this short clip, Richard talks about the brain and memory, and how context can be used in recall to update, distort or even remove a memory.

Michelle McKeon Bennett is head of the Department of Applied Science in Limerick Institute of Technology as well as the principal investigator of the controlled environment laboratory for life sciences research group there. Yet, Michelle also holds another title.. since 2008 she is an official Astronaut Candidate for the European Space Agency. In this short cut Michelle tells us about her opportunity to become the first Irish Astronaut.

Peter Gallagher is a solar physicist at Trinity College in Dublin where his research involves studying the sun and the effects it has on the Earth. He is obsessed with the sun and in this short clip Peter tells us what makes the sun, and closest star in our universe, so intriguing to him.

Mathematician and Emeritus Professor of Meterology Peter Lynch, like many other of our Bright Sparks, is driven by his fascination in discovering how things in the world work. In this short clip Peter Lynch talks to presenter Shane Bergin about Galileo, why he became a mathematician and why maths plays an integral part in understanding the world we live in

Cindy Van Dover is a deep sea biologist and the director of the Marine Laboratory at Duke University. In this short clip, Cindy tells us of her intrigue to explore the deep sea and how studying the survival of life forms in such an extreme environment can inform what we think about our planet and the potential for life on other planets.

Conor McGinn is an assistant Professor in the Mechanical Manufacturing Engineering Department, Trinity College, Dublin. Conor is also a robot engineer, building many robots like Trinity's Robbie Robot to assist Cork teenager Joanne O'Riordan who is one of few in the world suffering from Total Amelia. In this short, Conor tells us of his passion for engineering and doing work that can help people.

Valeria Nicolosi is a nanotechnologist and professor in the schools of chemistry and physics at Trinity College Dublin and is also a principle investigator in the nanotechnology institute CRANN at TCD. She describes how nanotechnology surrounds us nowadays and how it will impact our lives in terms of new materials, wearable technology and energy storage in the near future.

Aoife McLysaght is a Professor in Genetics in Trinity College Dublin. In this short clip Aoife describes how genetics, and more specially DNA, physically connects us all as humans, and how that realisation sparked her passion to uncover those links. She talks about her current research and the discovery of a human specific gene in her lab.

Emma Teeling is a Professor in the School of Biology and Environmental Science in UCD, or also known as Ireland's Bat Lady, spends most of her time studying the evolution and ecology of bats. In this short clip, Emma tells Dr Shane Bergin about the unique qualities of the bat as a mammal, and what we can stand to learn about ourselves as humans by studying them.