| 2006 |
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YEAR BOOK |
Royal Dublin Society
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New Development Executive at the RDS
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Dr Mulhall is an honours graduate in Geology of Trinity College Dublin, who proceeded to a PhD in Geology there. Her thesis title was: 'An investigation of the fluids involved in the formation of some Lower Carboniferous dolomites' and she explains: "This research project's overall objective was to establish the origin of the fluids involved in the formation of the host rocks to the world-class Irish lead-zinc deposits".
She acted as a Consultant Geologist to Carrig Conservation International Ltd., where she was involved in the characterisation and identification of building stone, mortar mixes and brick types used in historic buildings throughout Ireland and the UK. In a change of scenery, she worked for Badley Aston & Associates UK in projects in Oman and Abu Dhabi, where she was responsible for all their 'carbonate diagenesis' projects, the study of the process of chemical and physical change in deposited calcium carbonate sediment during its conversion to rock.
Back in Ireland, Claire's career is changing scenery again, but in another sense. Her well-honed geological training will be used by the Society, in particular its Committee of Science and Technology, to assess the bedrock of its programme, ensuring that its foundation aspirations have not deteriorated in the ensuing centuries, to renew its stone, mortar mixes and bricks to confirm their stability and adapt them to the requirements of today, and to build further the edifice which is the Society's unique programme of contributions to Irish development in our new young century.
The Society was founded 275 years ago, in 1731, to promote agriculture, science and the arts, and it has continued to do so ever since. As readers of The Irish Scientist Year Books will have noted over the years, the programme involves the encouragement of scientific research (e.g. see the details of its Boyle Medal below), the organising of topical conferences and the publication of books, the hosting of popular and specialist lectures, the fostering of an interest in science among young people, and the raising of an awareness of Ireland's important historical contrib-utions to the development of scientific knowledge and the adaptation of this knowledge to useful economic and social purposes.
After 275 eventful years, the Society retains its youthful vigour and is very pleased to have recruited Dr Mulhall to its administrative team.
Contact: Dr Claire Mulhall,
RDS, Dublin 4,
Tel: 01-240 7217;
E-mail: [email protected]