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The facility, officially opened on Wednesday, will house three national research centres, as well as the faculty of engineering and design. Over 300 researchers will be employed there and a spokesperson for the university told ElectricNews.Net that it was looking to bring additional researchers on board.
According to the President of DCU, Professor Ferdinand von Prondzynski, the university will work closely with companies interested in commercialising ideas generated in the centres. He added that such businesses would also hopefully employ graduates from the facility.
"The most effective way to ensure technology is transferred from the university laboratory to the marketplace is through the provision of research opportunities for graduates who are then employed by industry," von Prondzynski said.
The DCU centre will be home to the National Centre for Plasma Science and Technology (NCPST), the National Centre for Sensor Research (NCSR), and the Research Institute for Networks and Communications Engineering (RINCE).
The National Centre for Plasma Science and Technology will undertake advanced research in plasma science and technology. The NCPST currently conducts applied research in areas relevant to plasma processing of semiconductors, diamond coated films and sterilisation of medical products. Among the companies using such processes are Intel Ireland, Analog Devices, Lam Research Corporation, Boston Scientific, and HP.
The National Centre for Sensor Research focuses its research in biomedical and chemical sensors, environmental monitoring, industrial process and food safety areas. The NCSR deals mainly with problems of societal concern such as medical diagnostics, food quality assurance and pollution monitoring.
The Research Institute for Networks and Communications Engineering examines four main areas -- high-speed networking, mobility of users and applications, the user interface, and bioinformatics. From these, it undertakes research into areas such as network modelling, distribution network management, user quality of service guarantees, and radio over fibre and video/audio analysis for telecommunications and multimedia applications.
DCU said that RINCE works closely with businesses such as Esat BT, Ericsson, Lucent, and Intel Ireland. RINCE also plans to have a substantial role in technology transfer, training and the development of spin-off companies, such as video management company Aliope, which will be located on campus.
According to DCU, the school of electronic engineering at the centre is the largest in Ireland with 350 undergraduates, 145 taught postgraduates and 70 research postgraduates. A unique feature of the school, said DCU, is that its Masters programmes in electronic systems and telecommunications combine on-campus and Web-based teaching.
Finance for the research centres was won under Cycle I of the Higher Education Authority's PRTLI (programme for research at third level institutions) 1999 and DCU said that it is the first facility of its kind to be completed in Ireland.
The funding for the engineering faculty came from the Department of Education and Science through the HEA as a result of the skills initiative to encourage students into the sector.
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