Student Researchers at Georgia Tech Ireland Meet the Prime Minister

Each summer many Georgia Tech students opt to study and work abroad to enhance their skills and expand their global outlook.

This summer (2008) Georgia Tech biomedical engineering student Brian Srikanchana and aerospace engineering PhD student Jonathan Murphy have enjoyed exploring the town of Athlone, in the rural heart of Ireland while working abroad at Georgia Tech Ireland, the European applied research institute which is a part of the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI). Srikanchana has found the villagers quite friendly, reminiscent of the southern hospitality back in Georgia. On jogs down rural roads, local residents would invite him in for tea and one even shared a "welcome to the neighborhood" head of lettuce, fresh from his garden.

One Saturday Srikanchana and Murphy met a local gardener, John Butler, who was planting flowers by a Norman castle from the 1100s AD, along the west bank of the Shannon river in the center of town. It turns out that Butler has been the past mayor of Athlone four times and his family has been in Athlone for generations. Srikanchana suggested that they meet for lunch some time to discuss the rapidly changing industrial landscape of Ireland and Athlone in particular. When he called Butler to set a lunch date, Butler told him to come by St. Mary's square two days later at a quarter till noon, since the Taoiseach (prime minister of Ireland, pronounced "TEA-SHOCK"), Brian Cowen, would be in town raising support for the Lisbon treaty. Butler said he would make an introduction, and he did.

At Georgia Tech Ireland Srikanchana mainly works on sustainable energy efforts. He is writing a literature review on the use of algae as a biofuel for automobiles and the production of hydrogen gas and has received training in two platform technologies, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), which Georgia Tech Ireland uses to address the needs of various academic and industrial groups throughout Ireland.

When asked about the highlight of his summer work abroad experience, Srikanchana says, "The best part, after having lived here for six weeks, is a certain feeling of interconnectedness with the world. To feel like you're a part of something beyond the boundaries of your town is quite fulfilling. Better yet, is the feeling you get from being engaged with a completely foreign environment, which prior to this point you had only read about in books and newspapers. Many call Ireland Europe's "Celtic Tiger" and you can see how rapidly the growing economy of Ireland is affecting the way of life of its citizens. Though I work in a business park, when I step outside from my office building, I can look across the street and see cows and sheep and horses in the fields. It's somewhat strange to think how the connections made now between America and Ireland through Georgia Tech, could affect the future landscape of the country, by affecting how technologies spread and how industry develops within Ireland."

Aerospace engineering PhD student Jonathan Murphy also met the Taoiseach, while working at Georgia Tech Ireland this summer to find funding to extend the energy system design and decision making work he has been doing at GTRI in Atlanta. He has enjoyed hanging out with new friends in local pubs, clubs and homes.