Mari Cahalane, head of the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition (BTYSTE) , for the last eight years was voted into the top 100 listing of Ireland’s leading women in the areas of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). BT Ireland has organised and sponsored the event for the past 15 years.
The listing is part of the “Women Invent Tomorrow” campaign, organised by online technology journal Silicon Republic, which champions great role models for the STEM subjects in and from Ireland. “Those on the list range from world-beating academics to inspiring science communicators, from technical business leaders to early entrepreneurs. Mari has been named among them for her contribution to science outreach and education.”
Mari says her place in the top 100 listing recognises the significant contribution the BTYSTE – which celebrated its 50th anniversary this year – makes to the increasing interest in STEM subjects in Ireland. She said “ It is a real honour to be listed with the other inspiring Women in STEM. BT involvement in the project over the past 15 years has allowed the exhibition to grown and flourish as one of the best worldwide. It has made a real and lasting contribution to STEM education in Ireland, allowing thousands of young people to make a positive contribution to their lives through their involvement in this fantastic annual event”
Mari is not the only person with a BTYSTE connection in the top 100. She’s joined on the list by three of the projects judges – Julie Byrne, executive director of the Bell Labs Research Lab in Ireland, Professor Orla Feely of University College Dublin and Dr Eucharia Meehan of the Irish Research Council. Alongside them is one of the 2009 top 4 winners, Rhona Togher who has launched a company from her award-winning project called Restored Hearing.
Also the three joint winners of the 2013 BT Young Scientist award – teenagers Ciara Judge, Emer Hickey and Sophie Healy-Thow – were named as “ones to watch” in STEM for their winning entry in BTYSTE which lead to them winning first place in the European Union Contest for Young Scientists.
