A Little Light Listening

In this special feature length episode we dive into the enchanting history of Christmas lights. We are joined by two incredibly distinguished guests: Dr. Niamh Wycherley, a medieval historian and Principal Investigator of a major Irish Research Council project on medieval Ireland, and Jamie Malanowski, a celebrated writer and editor with contributions to The New Yorker, Time, and Vanity Fair. Together, they explore the cultural, historical, and technological journey of Christmas lights—from their medieval symbolism to their transformation into dazzling modern displays. With expert insights, humour, and holiday charm, this episode promises a festive exploration of the lights that brighten our winters. Join our host David McGovern for this fun, Christmas special.

Mahrokh Avazpour was awarded a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions co-fund Sparkle Fellowship in 2022 under the supervision of Prof. Liam Barry. She is working in the Optical Communications laboratory in the School of Electronic Engineering, Dublin City University. Mahrokh's current focus is on the generation of optical frequency comb using mode locked fibre laser. She has worked as a postdoctoral fellow at University of Guanajuato campus Salamanca in Mexico, designing the passive mode locked laser to improve the soliton spectral compression. In 2020 she took up a lecturing position in the University of Oaxaca in Mexico. Mahrokh received an international gold medal for her research work on optical property on liquid crystals in Seoul International Invention Fair, Korea and 2 gold medals from ITEX and CITREX exhibitions in Malaysia 2013. Mahrokh obtained her Ph.D. from the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Mexico in 2019. Her primary research area is mode locked fibre lasers. During her Ph.D. she worked on generating soliton pulses and compression of spectrum using NOLM method. She received her Master of Science (M.Sc.) Physics from Mysore University, India and Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) Physics from Azad University of Mashhad, Iran.

Serene is a final year Ph.D. candidate at Queen's University Belfast, specializing in the dynamic field of photonics and data storage. Serene`s research focuses on the intricate mapping of thermal variations on plasmonic nanostructures utilizing Scanning Thermal Microscopy (SThM) techniques. Serene`s academic journey has been a diverse one, spanning continents and disciplines. With a Master's in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Glasgow and a Bachelor's in Biotechnology Engineering from India, Serene brings a unique blend of expertise to her research. This interdisciplinary background has equipped Serene with a holistic perspective, enabling her to tackle complex challenges at the nexus of science and technology.Beyond academia, Serene is deeply committed to fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange within the scientific community. Serene actively engages in initiatives aimed at promoting diversity and inclusion in STEM fields, believing in the power of diverse perspectives to drive innovation and progress.

Marcos joined the PhD program in Electronic Engineering with the Radio and Optical Communications Lab at Dublin City University, under the supervision of Prof. Liam Barry and Francisco Díaz in May 2020 graduating with his PhD in July 2024. His current research field includes spectrally efficient modulation for optical communications through fiber and free space. Marcos has also worked on Quantum Random Number Generators (QRNGs) and Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs).

"Someone considering a PhD? Yes definitely go for it. More than a technical degree I think it teaches a lot of things in life." Hemalatha is a researcher in photonics, currently part of the opto-team in the EP-ESE group at CERN, focussed on developing radiation-hard optical links for high-energy physics using silicon photonics. Hemalatha`s role involves designing and characterizating radiation-insensitive optoelectronic devices.

"If you are interested in doing physics research, even if that's in a company, having a PhD under your belt is a huge boon both personally and career-wise." Oisin McCormack is an experimental physicist currently working in the field of nanophotonics and biosensors. Oisin is a MSCA Postdoctoral researcher in nanophotonics at Trinity College Dublin working on a project entitled "All-Dielectric Metasurfaces for Sensing Applications (MESA)" and has many areas of research interest including design, manufacture, and characterization of metasurfaces and nanostructures.

"Consider what your motivations are for doing a PhD, not just doing something for the sake of it." Dr Imanda Jayawardena is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions – Science Foundation Ireland Research Fellow at the Irish Photonics Integration Centre (IPIC). Her current research focuses on developing a bone-on-a-chip device for monitoring osteogenesis with the use of non-invasive, label-free, non-ionising spectroscopic techniques such as Raman and Diffuse Reflectance spectroscopy. This allows for longitudinal data acquisition from implants used for fracture healing, with minimal damage inflicted upon patients. It also enables gaining insight into bone formation mechanisms on hydrogel surfaces at a cellular level and surface properties of hydrogel substrates.

Coming Soon!Season 2 of a Little Light Listening launches on the 27th September.This season we explore what is a researcher, the winding paths to becoming researchers and the rewards.Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.#STEM #Podcast #ResearchStories

In this episode we discuss how the use of a light is helping doctors to understand how the lungs of premature babies are functioning in way that can be done using a harmless light source, can be continuously so you can keep an eye on this at all times and which can help ultimately bring better outcomes for these babies futures. The technique this is all based on is as in Scattering Media Absorption Spectroscopy (GASMAS) and in this podcast we learn more about this novel technique. Hosted by David McGovern. Special thanks to our guests Stefan Stefan Anderson-Engels and Hanna Sjöström. This podcast is created by Irish Photonic Integration Centre in partnership with Science Foundation Ireland. Special thanks to our producer Kieran Hurley from University College Cork UCC 98.3FM radio. For more information visit our website https://www.ipic.ie/engagement/podcast/.

In this episode we discuss with Alfredo Carpineti about how light has enabled us to communicate and display images to each other across continents, locate yourself to within a few metres anywhere on earth and to look back in time and see images across the depths of space including black holes which were imaged for the first time in 2019. Alfredo (he/him) is an astrophysicist and science communicator. He works as a journalist for IFLScience and he runs a podcast called The Astroholic Explains, where he answers questions about the Universe. You can read more about Alfredo`s exciting work here at https://linktr.ee/theastroholic.

In this episode we discuss will discuss how light has enabled us to communicate and display images to each other across continents, locate yourself to within a few meters anywhere on earth and to look back in time and see images across the depths of space including black holes which were imaged for the first time in 2019. Find out the answers and much more here!

This special episode celebrates the World Quantum Day, April 14th, and will delve into what Quantum Technologies are, how they will impact our future and the quantum landscape in Ireland. Hosted by David McGovern with special guests Prof Seamus Davis from UCC, Prof Elena Blokhina from UCD and Dr. Emanuele Pelucchi from IPIC & Tyndall National Institute. This podcast is created by Irish Photonic Integration Centre in partnership with Science Foundation Ireland. Special thanks to our producer Kieran Hurley from University College Cork UCC 98.3FM radio.

In this episode we discuss LiDAR, or Light Detection and Ranging technology. How is LiDAR used in many aspects of everyday life including self-drive vehicles, land mapping, meteorology or looking back in time at how ancient civilizations lived? Find out the answers and much more here! Hosted by David McGovern. Special thanks to our guests Peter O`Brien and Nick Hogan. This podcast is created by Irish Photonic Integration Centre in partnership with Science Foundation Ireland. Special thanks to our producer Kieran Hurley from University College Cork UCC 98.3FM radio.