ACADEMY NEWS – Academy West Region meeting and site visit to University of Galway held on 24th September 2025
The autumn meeting of the IAE Western Region was held in the Alice Perry Engineering Building, University of Galway on 24th September 2025. The meeting was preceded by
- A presentation by Eamonn O’Reilly entitled ‘The Energy Transition’ and
- A tour of the facilities in the Alice Perry Engineering Building.
Eamonn O’Reilly, Chair of the IAE Energy and Climate Action Standing Committee, provided an excellent lecture on the recent report of that committee that critically examined the 2050 action plan and the engineering realities around project delivery. The thought-provoking piece of work identified the significant infrastructure investment that will be necessary to cater for the increased electricity demand by 2050. The presentation was followed by a wide-ranging discussion on the issues around the delivery of the national energy policy.
University of Galway President Peter McHugh welcomed the Academy. The next phase of the visit was a tour of the Alice Perry Engineering Building and this was led by Professor Laoise McNamara, Head of the School of Engineering.
The attendees heard from Laoise about the growth of Engineering at the University of Galway, with undergraduate intake at the highest level ever and this is coupled with further growth at the postgraduate sector (both masters and PhD). The tour included a visit to a number of laboratories, with extensive research facilities across the diverse branches of Engineering.
The event concluded with a short meeting of the IAE Western region, in hybrid format and was joined on line by Joe Harford Hon. Sec. and Abhay Pandit. The meeting was briefed on Academy work plan 2025 plans by President Sean Finlay and Special Advisor & Past President Tom Leahy. It was a pleasure also to meet in person our new Academy Fellow Xinmin Zhan.
Peter McHugh, Ger Hurley, Maurice Buckley, Laoise McNamara, Ed. Walsh, Eamonn O’Reilly, Padraic O’Donoghue,
Tom Leahy, Sean Finlay, Padraic Fogarty. (Not in Photo Xinmin Zhan, Jim Browne)
The calendar of regional events is published on our website www.iae.ie showing how the Academy delivers on its mission of providing thought leadership in a time of great change.
Academy news bulletin 24 September 2025 IAE West Region meeting and site visit