iCRAGorama

We kick off the new season of iCRAGorama by inviting Dr Danny Hnatyshin to tell us about the applications of Re-Os dating and how he went about setting up a world class laboratory at UCD School of Earth Sciences in Dublin.

Hosted and produced by Claire Geel and Niamh Faulkner. Edited by Claire Geel.

In this very special reunion episode, twelve of our previous guests return! Ben and Niamh invite them to answer questions about research, careers and pursuing a PhD, submitted by students from UCD. A thirteenth special guest appears and we chat about the future of iCRAGorama.

Hosted by Ben Couvin and Niamh Faulkner. Produced by Ben Couvin, Niamh Faulkner & Claire Geel. Original music by Harry Couvin. Edited by Claire Geel & Ben Couvin.

As iCRAG launches its second phase at the iCRAG 2021 event, we opened the show with a live taping of iCRAGorama! We interviewed Jennifer Craig, COO of iCRAG, and Koen Torremans, one of the first people to join iCRAG, who started as a post-doc and is now an Ad Astra assistant professor. We chat about their journeys and how working at iCRAG has changed their view on geoscience. 

Hosted by Ben Couvin and Niamh Faulkner. 

Produced by Ben Couvin, Niamh Faulkner and Fergus McAuliffe, with support from iCRAG. 

Introduction produced and edited by Ben Couvin.

In this final episode of Season 3, we invited Dave Chew from Trinity College Dublin, and we asked him to tell us the history of the Earth and how its appearance changed from lava ball to Snowball to what it is now. We find out how sedimentary provenance analysis and zircon help us date the build-up of past mountain chains in Ireland and in the rest of the world.

Hosted and produced by Niamh Faulkner and Ben Couvin. Edited by Ben Couvin.

Our guests in this episode have both helped getting geoscience more prominent within Irish politics. Quentin raises awareness on radon hazards in Irish homes, while Nick has just completed a placement at the Oireachtas, advising TDs on the potential of geothermal energy development in Ireland. They share with us their recent experience in the matter.

Hosted and produced by Niamh Faulkner and Ben Couvin. Edited by Ben Couvin.

Martina O'Brien is the UCD Parity Studios/iCRAG Artist in Residence 2020. We asked her why she chose earth science and marine science as the main subject of her art work. She told us about her experience joining a science expedition at sea, and how her art projects always start out of curiosity. We then discussed the relevance of artists and scientists coming together and collaborating.

Hosted and produced by Ben Couvin and Niamh Faulkner. Edited by Ben Couvin.

Together with Jennifer McElwain, Professor in Botany, and Juan Diego Rodriguez-Blanco, Assistant Professor in Mineralogy and PhD supervisor to Niamh, we chat about their respective research on innovative techniques for the capture and long-lasting storage of atmospheric carbon dioxyde. In the end, we find out whether CO2 storage is an efficient tool to mitigate climate change.

Hosted and produced by Niamh Faulkner and Ben Couvin. Edited by Niamh Faulkner and Ben Couvin.

In this second part of iCRAGorama At Sea, we chat with Haleh from DIAS about her first experience on a research vessel, and together with returning guests Matt Allison and Erica T. Krueger, we talk about the hardships of a life at sea and what we learned about ourselves during the expedition. We also take a tour of the Celtic Explorer and go chat with some of the scientists and crewmates onboard! 

Hosted and produced by Niamh Faulkner and Ben Couvin. Edited by Ben Couvin. 

Is the Gulf Stream about to disappear? Will groundwater stay safe to drink? Is there still hope or are we all doomed? And what is iCRAG doing to help finding solutions to mitigate the climatic and environmental crisis? All the answers to these questions are answered in this episode, as Jean O'Dwyer from UCC, head of the Environmental Geosciences programme at iCRAG, and Audrey Morley, from NUIG, president of the Network of Arctic Researchers in Ireland (NARI), discuss these hot topics... 

Hosted and produced by Ben Couvin and Niamh Faulkner. Edited by Ben Couvin.

Elspeth is the Education and Public Engagement officer at iCRAG, as well as a PhD researcher at the University of Manchester. She is interested in the palaeoenvironment of the Jurassic Morrison Formation in North America, and she tells us about the ecosystem in which dinosaurs used to live. We also chat about new and upcoming public engagement events iCRAG will be running.

Hosted and produced by Ben Couvin and Niamh Faulkner. Edited by Ben Couvin.

Nick and Lingli are two post-doctoral researchers at University College Dublin, where they run the weekly webinars, as well as occasional online social events. We discussed the difficulties of networking, collaborating and socializing during the time of a pandemic, and suggest some solutions.

Hosted and produced by Niamh Faulkner and Ben Couvin. Edited by Ben Couvin.

Rob is the project manager for the Blue Book project at iCRAG, an upcoming online repository of borehole information about the Carboniferous strata in Ireland, home to many Pb and Zn ore bodies. With Eoin from Geological Survey Ireland, they tell us why un update from the original Blue Book by Mike Philcox was needed, and what impact the new version will have on the mining industry sector in Ireland.

Hosted and produced by Niamh Faulkner and Ben Couvin. Edited by Niamh Faulkner and Ben Couvin.

Jess and Niamh chat with Aileen about the recent EDIG online conference, which addressed diversity issues in the field of geoscience, and discuss ways to improve and promote equality and inclusion in the workplace.

Hosted and produced by Niamh Faulkner and Jess Franklin. Edited by Ben Couvin.

Murray Hitzman is the current director of the Irish Centre for Research in Applied Geosciences (iCRAG). In this episode, we talked about his career, how he became iCRAG's director and how geoscientists are helping make our economy more sustainable. iCRAG recently received €28 million of funding and we discuss how the money will be used in the next 6 years, and how it will help mitigating climate change.

Hosted and produced by Ben Couvin and Niamh Faulkner. Edited by Ben Couvin.

The original music from iCRAGorama Season 2, composed by Harry Couvin.

It's Christmas already! For this very special occasion, Ben and Jess debrief the Year That Never Was with iCRAG's research programme managers Aoife Blowick and Aoife Brady, while new recruit Niamh shoots rapid-fire questions and the most impossible Christmas trivia quiz.

Hosted by Ben Couvin, Jess Franklin and Niamh Faulkner

Produced and edited by Ben Couvin

For the season finale, we are joined by Jonathan McCrea, the host of Futureproof, popular science programme on Newstalk! We asked him how he came up with the idea of bringing science to national radio, chatted about how to become a better communicator and learned more about the FameLab competition.

Hosted by Ben Couvin and Jess Franklin

Edited and produced by Ben Couvin; Original music by Harry Couvin.

Hilde, from Trinity College Dublin, is a PhD student who is working on dating volcanic ash layers related to Zn/Pb deposits in Ireland. She let me know how her project helps knowing better the timing of ore mineralisation and we chatted about what makes her science communication award-worthy. Ben also tries to speak German with the guest!

Hosted and produced by Ben Couvin.

Edited by Ben Couvin; Original music by Harry Couvin.

Ben and Jess chat with Luke, a PhD student at University College Cork who is interested in the evolution of deep cold-water coral ecosystems in the Porcupine Bank Canyon, offshore Ireland. He also started during lockdown a series of weekly webinars about marine science.

Hosted by Ben Couvin and Jess Franklin.

Produced and edited by Ben Couvin; Original music by Harry Couvin. 

Martin is a PhD student in NUI Galway and his research focuses on sediment provenance and palaeogeographical reconstruction. He tells us how County Clare used to be very different looking in the Carboniferous era, and he shares his experience with public outreach in the West of Ireland.

Presented by Jess Franklin and Ben Couvin

Produced and edited by Ben Couvin; Original music by Harry Couvin. Recorded at the FlirtFM studios in galway on February 10th, 2020.

Maria McNamara is a researcher at University College Cork and she focuses on fossil tissue preservation and specifically the preservation and the evolution of colour. Together, we chatted about what makes her field of research so fascinating, her latest groundbreaking discoveries, and we also talked about the importance of public outreach.

Presented, produced and edited by Ben Couvin. 

Original music by Harry Couvin.

In this one-hour special, Ben is joined by Dr Alfredo Carpineti from the Astroholic Explains podcast to review the impacts and consequences of the COVID-19 global pandemic. We'll be joined by special guests Christopher Jackson from Imperial College London, who had to change his whole work routine, and Divya Persaud from University College London, who is running a digital conference.

Presented and produced by Ben Couvin and Alfredo Carpineti

Edited by Ben Couvin; Original music by Harry Couvin

John Walsh, former head of iCRAG, chats with Ben about his career, about how his interest for structural geology developed with time and how iCRAG came to be! We also talked mining operations in Ireland and how we think the COVID-19 pandemic might impact the world of science in the near future.

Presented and produced by Ben Couvin

Original music by Harry Couvin

Megan, PhD student in Galway, tells us about her research project about the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, and we learn how sensitive oceanic currents are to climate changes. We chat about her experience going offshore to collect samples and she also shares her love for lab work, team sports and animals.

Presented by Ben Couvin and Jess Franklin

Produced and edited by Ben Couvin; Original music by Harry Couvin. Recorded at the FlirtFM studios in Galway.

Ben and Jess ask Dave about his experience running the iGEO 2020 Early Career Symposium and the skills that he acquired doing so. We also chat about his previous career as a geophysicist offshore and about his current PhD project dealing with soil mapping in Ireland using machine learning.

Hosted by Ben Couvin and Jess Franklin

Produced and edited by Ben Couvin; Original music by Harry Couvin. Recorded at the FlirtFM studios in Galway.

Alex, graduate student at iCRAG, deals with risks associated with karstic formations in Ireland. He tells us about the way to deal with this safety hazard and shares his experience working in the industry in the United States.

Presented by Ben Couvin and Laura Sinclair

Produced and edited by Ben Couvin

Original music by Harry Couvin

Ben and Laura ask Helen (PhD student at UCD) and Subaru (post-doc at UCD) how they are looking for new copper resources in Zambia and we learn about how ethical and how sustainable mining for metals in Africa really is.

Presented by Ben Couvin and Laura Sinclair

Produced and edited by Ben Couvin

Original music by Harry Couvin

Trailer and announcement of iCRAGorama: season 2! 

The ending tune of every iCRAGorama episode, composed by Harry Couvin.

The original theme of the opening titles of iCRAGorama, composed by Harry Couvin.

It's already Christmastime and, for the end of the season, we're introducing to you the funniest duo of iCRAG's operations team: Jana and Meadhbh! In this holiday special full of pickled shenanigans, they tell us all about what they learned while working at a geoscience research institute, give us tips for a sustainable Christmas and tell us about their childhood dreams!

Presented and produced by Anthea Lacchia and Ben Couvin

Intro music: Jingle Bells 7 by Kevin McLeod (Creative Commons license)

In this week's episode of iCRAGorama we hear about the fascinating career of Dr Michael Philcox, one of Ireland's leading geologists and stratigraphers who works as a consultant and is affiliated with Trinity College Dublin. 

In this episode, he tells Anthea Lacchia and Fergus McAuliffe what it is exactly that geologists look for inside layers of rock and what makes Ireland's Carboniferous rocks so special. We also asked him what it was like to work in Trinity College Dublin's geology department when he was doing his PhD and he hear about his marvellously exotic fieldwork (featuring fire!).

Presented by Anthea Lacchia and Fergus McAuliffe 

Produced by Anthea Lacchia and Ben Couvin 

Dr Niamh Shaw is an artist and performer with a UCD engineering background, who has lead science communication workshops in iCRAG among other things. Her main life goal: to go to space and tell her story from an artist's point of view. In this Science Week special, Niamh shares her experience of getting as close as it gets to being in space and tells us how to find the confidence to pursue our childhood dreams.

Presented and produced by Anthea Lacchia and Ben Couvin

Kamila is a postdoctoral researcher in iCRAG in Trinity College Dublin. In this episode, she tells Anthea and Fergus about her new citizen science project, through which tea bags containing volcanic ash will be distributed to school children and families around Ireland in an effort to understand and test a new carbon-emission reducing technology. We also talk about hiking, dogs and the beauty of nature. 

Presented by Anthea Lacchia and Fergus McAuliffe 

Produced by Anthea Lacchia and Ben Couvin 

Conor is a PhD student at University College Dublin and just completed an internship at a London-based oil and gas company. We talked about his experience there and how it relates to his project. He also told us some tips to successfully build a professional network and his best field trip anecdotes.

Presented by Ben Couvin and Elspeth Wallace

Produced by Ben Couvin and Anthea Lacchia

Shane is a lecturer at the National University of Ireland Galway and he is passionate about sand and where it comes from! He tells us what we can learn from finding out the provenance of sand grains and we also talked about Shane's past experience and his favourite field practices.

Presented by Ben Couvin and Elspeth Wallace

Produced by Anthea Lacchia and Ben Couvin

Aidan and Lizzie, undergraduate students in geology at University College Dublin, tell us about their recent summer internship with iCRAG investigators Prof John Walsh and Prof Peter Haughton, and let us know if they plan to pursue a career in research.
Presented by Ben Couvin and Laura Sinclair
Produced by Ben Couvin and Anthea Lacchia

Jess, having just finished her PhD about sand provenance at NUI Galway, tells us all about the hardships of doing and completing a PhD and gives some useful tips on how to avoid a burn out. She also tells us about the Girls Into Geoscience public engagement programme and her upcoming post-doc research.

Presented by Ben Couvin and Laura Sinclair.

Produced by Ben Couvin and Anthea Lacchia.

John Paul is a research assistant in iCRAG who is finishing an 8-year long project mapping the network of faults and fractures that conduct groundwater in the Irish bedrock. We also talked about becoming a parent, the GAA, speleology and superpowers.

Presented and produced by Anthea Lacchia and Ben Couvin

Gaël is a post-doctoral researcher at UCD and studies the opening of the Atlantic Ocean and how its rifting affected the development of basins offshore Ireland. He tells us about the many expeditions at sea that he partook in, his passion for exploring the oceans and his interest for Icelandic witchcraft.

Presented and produced by Ben Couvin and Anthea Lacchia

Dr Weimu Xu, geoscientist, and Dr Charilaos Yiotis, phytobiologist, both postdoctoral researchers at Trinity College Dublin, join forces to find out whether plants grow faster in an ash-rich soil. They told us how their project could help mitigate climate change...and more!

Presented and produced by Anthea Lacchia and Ben Couvin

Dr Mark Coughlan is a postdoctoral researcher in iCRAG, looking at the potential feasibility of developing offshore wind turbines in the Irish Sea. He shared with us his passion for the works of Dostoevsky, Munch and Friedrich, and we also talked about his recent trip to Russia.

Presented and produced by Anthea Lacchia and Ben Couvin.

Laura Bérdi is a PhD student at University College Dublin and does research in geophysics about the Hatton basin offshore Ireland. She tells us her passion for criminal psychology, rhythmic gymnastics and her recent experience at the ReStoRE summer school!

Presented and produced by Ben Couvin and Anthea Lacchia

An introductory episode where we, the hosts, introduce ourselves and what this podcast is going to be about! What is iCRAG? What do people do in iCRAG and most importantly, who are Ben and Anthea?

Presented and produced by Ben Couvin and Anthea Lacchia