In the News..

University of Galway has appointed Alex Metcalfe as Interim Vice-President International. A graduate of King’s College London, Mr Metcalfe has previously held the role of Director of International at Newcastle University in the UK and at University College Dublin. Announcing the appointment, Interim Deputy President and Registrar, Professor Becky Whay said: “Internationalisation is a key element of our strategy and ambitions for delivering excellent research and outstanding education as a global university. Alex Metcalfe brings a track record of leading high performing teams to support the delivery of international student recruitment, international relations, global partnerships, student and staff mobility and positive international student experience. We look forward to working with him and supporting his vision and the direction he will bring to our growth, diversification and aspiration for excellence in this area.” Alex Metcalfe has a degree in Geography from King’s College London and a postgraduate qualification in Marketing International Education. Mr Metcalfe said: “It is a real privilege to take on the role of Interim Vice-President International at such an exciting juncture for University of Galway – as it marks 180 years since its establishment and looks to the future in terms of the global opportunities and partnerships which can be offered and developed for students, researchers and academics.”   Ends

Gabriel Makhlouf, Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland and Vasileios Madouros, Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Ireland delivered an address at University of Galway focusing on the outlook for the global economy. Organised by the University’s J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics as part of the Thinking Beyond thought leadership series, the event offered valuable insights into the implications of recent geopolitical developments and shifts in international trade policies on Ireland and the global economy. Vasileios Madouros also addressed students and faculty of University of Galway’s J.E Cairnes School of Business and Economics as well as students from the University’s Finance and Economics Society during his visit.             Professor of Economics at University of Galway Alan Ahearne said: “It is clear from our discussion that recent geopolitical developments and radical plans abroad to change trade policy present significant risks to Ireland’s small open trading economy. A global trade war would damage all economies and have implications for international flows of trade, foreign investment, exchange rates and inflation. Ireland and Europe need to get ready. Building economic resilience is key.”             Governor Makhlouf said: “I really enjoyed being back at the University of Galway to engage with students, staff and alumni on the key economic opportunities and challenges we face as a society. The financial system is evolving at pace, and it’s really important for the Central Bank of Ireland to continue to engage with people across the country – including students and educators – to hear their unique perspectives to inform our work. University of Galway has one of the largest business schools in Ireland, so it was a good opportunity to meet with economic students. As a subject, economics offers a toolkit to help us understand the issues that affect the way we live, work and play, which is arguably more important than ever in our rapidly changing world.”             Professor Alma McCarthy, Executive Dean, College of Business, Public Policy and Law at University of Galway, said: “J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics at University of Galway was delighted to host the Central Bank of Ireland to discuss the Irish and European economic outlook in the midst of significant geopolitical challenges.” Gabriel Makhlouf was appointed Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland in 2019, and is Chair of the Central Bank Commission, a member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank, the European Systemic Risk Board, and is Ireland's Alternate Governor at the International Monetary Fund. Prior to joining the Central Bank, he was Secretary to the New Zealand Treasury and the NZ Government's chief economic and financial adviser. Mr Makhlouf also led reviews of New Zealand's three macroeconomic pillars (monetary, financial stability and fiscal policy) and the development of a new framework for the development of economic and public policy focused on intergenerational wellbeing. In addition, Governor Makhlouf was New Zealand's Alternate Governor at the World Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Asian Development Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. He was also co-chair of the Trans-Tasman Banking Council. Vasileios Madouros was appointed Deputy Governor, Monetary and Financial Stability in November 2022. In this role, he oversees the Economics & Statistics, Financial Stability and Financial Operations Directorates and leads engagement with domestic, Eurosystem and broader international stakeholders representing the Central Bank on wider financial system matters. Vasileios is an ex-officio Member of the Central Bank Commission and is the Governor’s alternate at the Governing Council of the European Central Bank. Prior to this appointment, Vasileios was Director of Financial Stability. In this role, he was responsible for the Central Bank's work to monitor threats to financial stability and provide advice on the use of macro-prudential tools, or other policy interventions, to mitigate those risks. Vasileios was also responsible for enhancing the Central Bank’s financial crisis preparedness and management capabilities as well as preparing for, and managing, the orderly resolution of relevant financial institutions. In this role, Vasileios was a member of the Plenary Board of the Single Resolution Board.   Ends

Findings will aid in updating national greenhouse gas emission inventories Researchers at University of Galway have created a new approach to finding peat soil, giving insight to where carbon is stored in the ground. Through a combination of state-of-the-art analytical techniques and data from the Geological Survey Ireland nationwide Tellus aerial survey, the research team has provided a revised picture of where peat soils are present across 80 % of Ireland, based on environmental gamma radiation measurements. The findings also offer huge potential to influence policy around land use and interventions to mitigate against greenhouse gas emissions. The study was led by Dr Eve Daly and Dr Dave O’Leary from the Hydrogeophysics and Remote Sensing research group at University of Galway in collaboration with Trinity College Dublin, Teagasc and Geological Survey Ireland. Lead author, Dr Dave O’Leary, PhD researcher, School of Natural Sciences, University of Galway, said: “Gamma rays are invisible, high-energy photons, like light, that are released during natural radioactive decay of materials in rocks and soils. Peat soils have a unique ability to block this type of naturally occurring radiation, drastically reducing the number of gamma rays detected by the sensor mounted on the Tellus aircraft when flying over peat soils.”  The research team focused on this trait of peat soils to train a machine learning algorithm to identify and provide confidence of similar soils occurring in the top 60 cm of the land where the Tellus survey has been flown to date. While peat depth cannot be directly measured this new analysis gave insights into the extent of peat soil and, importantly, identified the areas where soil changes from peat to mineral, which are typically hidden under things like forests and grasslands. Using this new research approach, the area of soil considered “peaty” within the Tellus geophysical survey potentially increased from 24 % to 30 %. The findings have been published in the leading soil science journal Geoderma.  Soils are a mixture of broken bits of rock, water, and air. Peat soils are distinct from mineral soils as they are formed from decaying plant material, mixed with water and air, and contain a very high amount of carbon. When waterlogged, this carbon is stored in the soils and their value has been increasingly recognised in recent years. When water is removed, for example via drainage, peat soils then emit carbon dioxide as the decay process restarts. Dr O’Leary added: “In general, people are relatively familiar or have heard of radon, but what they might not know is that this is a by-product of naturally occurring uranium in the rocks below our feet, which also emits gamma radiation. There are several sources of this natural radiation in the environment and our study uses the unique relationship between this radiation and peat soils to identify where peat is likely to be present.” “The Tellus survey has provided consistent coverage and measurements across about 80 % of the country at present. As this is a direct measurement from the soil, it allows us to create maps with boundaries showing realistic change from peat to mineral soils, regardless of what is covering the ground, be it trees or grass.” “Few countries have invested in such an incredible dataset, which puts Ireland at the forefront of peatland mapping research. Importantly, the data is free to use. We hope that our research will encourage and incentivise other countries to invest in such surveys to meet their peatland mapping needs.” Dr Eve Daly, Geophysicist and lecturer in Earth & Ocean Sciences, School of Natural Sciences, University of Galway, said: “This study gives decision makers and regulators more accurate spatial data on the extent of peat soil in Ireland and will assist in highlighting specific areas that are suitable, or not, for interventions to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.” The study was funded by Geological Survey Ireland, a division of the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. The full study can be read in Geoderma here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016706124003586   Ends