Pub talk and rip tides! The Change-Makers Club returns

For ATU staff only

Atlantic Technological University’s The Change-Makers Club returns on Microsoft Teams on Wednesday, 5 November (1pm) – and it will be a Change-Makers Club with a difference.

While in past meetings we have focused largely on innovations and activities inside the technological university, we also have a number of ATU staff who innovate in their free time!

Two of those are Dr Perry Share, who has just co-authored a new book on Irish pubs with Dr Moonyoung Hong (University of Hong Kong), and Ben Kinsella, whose talk is entitled ‘Tides: An example of using technology to connect with nature’.

Perry’s presentation will be: ‘Does the Irish Pub have a future?’ and will celebrate the November publishing of ‘The Irish pub: Invention and reinvention’ from Cork University Press. This book, remarkably enough, is the first full-length academic study of the Irish pub – in Ireland and abroad.

The twenty contributors to the book (including current and former ATU lecturers Dr Gwen Scarbrough and Kevin Martin, and PhD researcher Jim McCauley) explore the history, present, and future of the pub from literary, social scientific, design and musicological perspectives. It’s not an encyclopædia of the pub – but will hopefully stimulate lots of debate and further research.

The presentation for The Change-Makers Club will:

• Say a little about how the book came about and the joys of academic publishing!
• Identify some of the key themes and insights of the book
• Give a flavour of the important visual dimension
• Speculate about the future of the pub – in Ireland and globally.

Perry notes: “Ideally the presentation would take place in an actual pub, but participants may wish to create their own virtual pub environment for the duration of the talk.”

Maybe not on their lunch-break, Perry!!!

Ben Kinsella

Meanwhile, ATU lecturer in Electronic & Electrical Engineering, Ben Kinsella, will chat about the tides in his presentation. “We live and work on the edge of an island. The sea is a constant presence, but usually something irrelevant in our day-to-day lives,” he begins.

“The recent craze of sea-swimming has increased awareness of the sea’s benefits. On the other hand, climate change and more frequent storms have increased awareness of the sea’s potential for harm.”

In his talk, he will explain how the tides work, and how we can use science and engineering to understand and predict them. This example serves to highlight the traditional divide between the arts and science.

He continues: “Does an understanding of astronomical syzygys (yes, it’s a real word!) affect one’s enjoyment of a dip in the sea at sunset? I argue that it does, in a positive way. In this day and age (the age of AI, in particular), the world needs polymaths, renaissance people, and creators. ATU is uniquely positioned to supply them.”

What is The Change-Makers Club?

It’s an informal online gathering for ATU colleagues to discuss, connect, and learn about the meaningful advances being made across our community. Previously known as the Innovators Club, the initiative has expanded to include all ATU staff members, with a focus on collaboration, inspiration, and sharing ideas.

Whether you’re driving any kind of innovation in science or technology, leading projects in operations, marketing, entrepreneurship or contributing to any other role within the wider ATU community, we invite you to join The Change-Makers Club – where those who inspire, innovate, and lead come together to shape our future.

For more information, or to join, contact stephen.glennon@atu.ie or donal.loftus@atu.ie