An IT Sligo academic, Dr Ian McLoughlin, has been honoured by the Fulbright Commission, the USA’s premier scholarship funding institution, and Stanford University the launch-pad for much of California’s Silicon Valley technological success.
A mathematician, statistician and computer scientist, Dr McLoughlin is one of six Irish recipients of a new “Fulbright -TechImpact Award”, an accolade that will also enable him to take up an invitation from Stanford to do research work there as a Visiting Scholar.
Dr McLoughlin, who is from Galway, joined IT Sligo in October 2012 as an Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Life Sciences. He will travel to Stanford in July to study the provision of online laboratory environments.
A major challenge in online science teaching is the provision of simulated laboratory facilities as students typically do not have access to laboratories.
Dr McLoughlin will work with internationally recognised pioneers in online education who are developing a “massively scalable online virtual laboratory” that could revolutionise online learning.
Fulbright Awards are presented annually to Irish students, scholars and professionals to undertake study and/or research in a wide range of specialist areas at higher education, cultural and related institutions in the United States, and for Americans to do the same in Ireland.
The six TechImpact winners were among 40 recipients from Ireland who received awards at a ceremony at the US Ambassador’s Residence in Dublin. The award was made in a digital technology category that the Fulbright Commission has introduced on a pilot basis to its prestigious 2014-15 awards.
“It is beyond what I could have imagined, it’s fantastic,” Dr McLoughlin said after receiving his award from Mr Tom Healy, Chair of the worldwide Fulbright Scholarship Board. Mr Healy was appointed to the role by President Obama
Mr Patrick McDermott, Chair of the Fulbright Commission Board in Ireland, said: “Recognising global needs in digital technology, the Irish Fulbright Commission has also launched the TechImpact Awards this year.
“These are new short-term grants intended to facilitate faster movement for cutting edge digital research. This year six TechImpact candidates will explore areas such as optical communications, online laboratory environments, human-computer interaction technology and digital humanities.”
Dr McLoughlin will research and assess the specific technical challenges of devising and operating an online virtual laboratory for chemistry courses undertaken by distance learners.
In the area of “optical communications”, a group led by Professor Lambertus Hesselink at Stanford has designed computer-based representations of real laboratories that provide online students with decision-making hands-on experience, potentially enabling large numbers to conduct experiments simultaneously.
Stanford’s approach presents the student with all possible permutations of actions and substances that would be involved in a particular experiment. Based on that pre-videoed canvas of options, the student then must determine the choices that would lead to a successful outcome.
Dr McLoughlin said: “The benefit is that you could have a thousand students doing the experiment at the one time. Whereas if a course has only one experimental rig that a distance learner is in live control of, then only that one person can use it at a time.”
Dr Ian McLoughlin of IT Sligo who has been awarded a Fulbright-TechImpact Award.
Dr Ian McLoughlin, seated right, with the other Fulbright-TechImpact Award winners, from left, Ruairí McKiernan, Dr. Orla Murphy and Dr. David Monaghan. Standing, Dr. Jeneen Naji & Dr. Colm Browning