Background
This year the Annual conference of CAETS was held from 8-11 September in Brisbane. Ireland is a full member of CAETS, which is the International Council of Academies of Engineering and Technological Sciences(www.newcaets.org ). Our Academy was represented by Murdoch McKeague (An Engineer & Brother of our immediate past president Seamus McKeague). Generations is the central theme of CAETS 2025, focusing on shaping a sustainable future over the next 50 years through science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
CAETS provides an independent nonpolitical and non-governmental international forum for enlightened dialog and communication of engineering and technological sciences. Founded in 1978 its membership now includes 31 Academies from all continents.
CAETS Academies collaboratively work together to deliver on this mission and this news bulletin is to give a deeper insight into how the Irish Academy of Engineering (IAE) actively supports CAETS through its International working groups.
Working Group on Artificial Intelligence(AI) – IAE Representative Professor Barry O’Sullivan (Chair) FIAE supported by Tom Leahy IAE Special Advisor/Director/Past President
Barry O’Sullivan FIAE provided an overview of the AI working group’s activities, highlighting energy consumption concerns, misconceptions about artificial general intelligence, and historical connections to key figures in AI development. The presentation ended with updates on a collaborative project to prepare a white paper focused on AI and engineering, including discussions on economic impacts and the upcoming release of a white paper in Q4 2025 with recommendations for AI implementation.
Barry discussed the historical connections between Ireland and key figures in the development of artificial intelligence, including George Boole ( The father of Boolean Algebra -The first Professor of Mathematics in UCC – Cork University where Barry is Professor), Alan Turing (Englishman whose mother was Irish ), John McCarthy (The person who named the field of AI was a first generation Irish emigrant from County Kerry) , and Geoffrey Hinton( Although not Irish but he is the great, great grandson of George Boole).
He highlighted that these figures, despite not being Irish themselves, had significant Irish heritage, with some being related to Boole.
Barry also mentioned a historical meeting between Charles Babbage and George Boole in 1851, where they discussed the concept of a “thinking machine”, which laid the groundwork for the development of artificial intelligence. A letter was written to George Boole’s widow after he died in the 1850’s and records a meeting between Charles Babbage and George Boole, where they actually considered the notion of a thinking machine -Boole essentially had the software and Babbage had the hardware (Difference engine) and they thought that together they could automate human thinking. This meeting took place in 1851!
For more details – go to the notes on presentation of AI working group to Council in September 2025
Working Group on Diversity & Inclusion(D&I) – IAE Representative Joe Harford Hon. Sec.
Meeting at CAETS 2025 emphasised sharing best practices among 12+ participating academies globally, fostering a collaborative approach to Diversity and Inclusion (D&I).
Examples
- Japan highlighted initiatives focused on cultural transformation, aimed at engaging young researchers in D&I efforts.
- Australia prioritised Indigenous inclusion through collaborative efforts with the government, underlining the importance of local partnerships.
- New Zealand addressed the impact of colonisation by integrating Mātauranga Māori into the science curriculum for better representation and understanding.
- South Africa discussed strategies to counter male-dominated fellowship pipelines, aiming to enhance inclusivity in the academic landscape.
- Ireland summarised initiatives and legislation by the EU and Ireland on promoting D+I. Outlined the actions the Irish Academy has in place to promote broader representation in attracting a more balanced membership to reflect a better representation of mid-career professions, and increased female membership. Ireland also mentioned the need for more efforts to encourage females to study engineering, and the imbalance in gender in the engineering trades.
For more details – go to the link to the Engineering Academy of Japan Presentation.
CAETS International Energy Community – IAE chapter chair Buildings & Smart Cities – Tom Leahy IAE Special Advisor/Director/Past President
In 2022 the CAETS Energy community published a major report – Towards Low-GHG Emissions from Energy use in Selected Sectors (2022 Energy Report)
This 2022 report reviews existing technologies that could be used immediately to reduce green-house gas (GHG) emissions in seven key sectors: Food and Agriculture, Buildings and Smart Cities, Oil and Gas, Chemicals, Cement, Iron and Steel, Information and Communication technologies. The deployment of these technologies would lead to deep emission reduction before 2040; however, these technologies are not sufficient to meet net zero targets by mid-century. The report also highlights research and development needs for new or improved technologies and demonstrations for the near ready technologies.
Sequel Project – Lead – Canadian Academy of Engineering(CAE) – The focus of Sequel report is to answer the question – What actions need to be taken now, and in the near future, so that sufficient technologies are available and realistically deployable to ensure low-GHG emissions from energy use in selected sectors beyond the year 2040?
The IAE chaired the chapter on Buildings & Smart Cities with representatives from Ireland (Chair), Nigeria, France, Korea, South Africa, Denmark. The draft report has gone through several stages of peer review and publication by CAETS is expected in the coming months.
The next Project will start in Q4 2024 – Project Lead – Indian National Academy of Engineering INAE. Topic – Security of Energy Supply – Towards Reliable Low-carbon Energy for All
For more details – go to the link to Sequel Project presentation – Final Draft September 2025
CAETS Communications Group. – IAE Representative – Tom Leahy IAE Special Advisor/Director/Past President
Committee chair -Lucas Noldus – Netherlands Academy of Engineering(NAE) with secretariat from Chinese Academy of Engineering.(CAE).
There are 47 committee members (August 2025) from 27 out of 31 member academies (87%) with a mix of Fellows and Communications professionals.
The work plan is to
- Provide a forum for member academies to learn from each other about:
- Communicating to the sector/Fellows
- Communicating with the public
- Communicating to policy makers/decision makers
12 Academies , including Ireland, have presented on best practices in communication
And Ireland is one of the countries, which is fully engaged with the CAETS communications community.
For more information – go to the link to CAETS communications committee presentation to Council September 2025
These examples highlight the benefits of collaboration across an international academic community.