A pic from our conferrings this week! This is always a time of mixed emotions, and we're sad to see this group of students leave, but we're also excited to see what they do and how they're going to change the world! Best of luck to all our newly qualified physicists! #MUPhyiscs

Check out this article in The Irish Times about our very own Dr Michelle McCrystall and her research journey. A great insight into the career of a researcher and the steps that brought her to where she is today! www.irishtimes.com/science/2026...

‘What happens in the Arctic does not stay in the Arctic’

Michelle McCrystall is an assistant professor at Maynooth University’s Department of Physics

irishtimes.com

Eclipse @maynoothuniversity.ie - great organising and hosting by dept of physics…exciting and eerie

Yesterday's stunning partial solar eclipse captured by our own Daniel Balteanu 🌔 #SolarEclipse #MaynoothUni

Check out #MUPhysics very own Dr Emma Whelan talking about the upcoming Solar Eclipse. Listen in to find out how to view the event safely!

Maynooth University@maynoothuniversity.ie · last mo.

The last time Ireland saw an eclipse this deep, it was 1999 ⏳ Dr Emma Whelan, a lecturer in @mu-physics.bsky.social at Maynooth University, explains the importance of this solar eclipse and also how to view it safely. #SolarEclipse #MaynoothUni #Physics

A Stellar evening is in store @maynoothuniversity.ie tomorrow as @mu-physics.bsky.social gears up for the 2026 Solar Eclipse. A huge crowd is expected on campus to enjoy this once in a lifetime event with viewing events, public talks & planetarium shows from 5:30 to 8:30pm. Tickets fully sold out

📻 Listen back: Dr Emma Whelan @mu-physics.bsky.social was on The Last Word discussing the upcoming solar eclipse 🌑 (from 2:04:17 - 2:12:20) link.goloudplayer.com/s/hGZdHv9we8Ls

Did you know there is going to be an almost full solar eclipse in Ireland this summer? On August 12th, more than 90% of the Sun will be obscured in one of the deepest solar eclipses visible from Ireland in decades. The next eclipse of comparable magnitude won't be visible from Ireland until 2090!

Considering a PhD in the MU Science and Engineering Faculty? Check out the ARDÚ Doctoral Scholarships! There are 25 available across a variety of Depts and research areas. Find out more info below!

A massive congratulations to Noah Otten on passing his Viva Voce! He successfully presented his thesis titled "The Role of Outflows Driven by Young Stars and Brown Dwarfs Investigated via Forefront Observations" and has passed with only minor corrections.

Recently, our final year students got the chance to visit St. Vincent’s University Hospital and St Luke’s Radiation Oncology Network to learn a bit about medical physics and radiation. Read below to find out more!

We recently hosted an event for the Women & Girls in STEM Club,! Those attending got to learn about how our climate and oceans work, from our resident expert Dr Michelle McCrystall. We were so proud to host this event, as it shows young women that they are represented in STEM. #MUPhysics

Check out Kay Lehnert's most recently published paper titled "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Swampland: The Cosmologist's Handbook to the String-Theoretical Swampland Programme, a massive review of over 3000 papers on the string-theoretical swampland programme, and it's implications for cosmology.

Want to chat with Alumni 🎓 of MH201 and see what careers they work in? Check out the Science & Engineering Career Speed Networking event happening March 31st! It'll be great opportunity to hear about where MH201 graduates ended up, and the interesting work they all do.

Check out this picture we found while dismantling the last module of our old air shower array! It shows 4 final year students, all of whom worked under Dr Michael Cawley on this array in 1999. This array was designed to detect the secondary particles emitted when cosmic rays strike our atmosphere!

Another successful Particle Physics Masterclass here at #MUPhysics this week! This was our 14th annual session and we were happy to welcome so many students to our department for a fascinating day of learning. A big thanks to our demonstrators who make events like this possible.

Here are some pics 📸 of our postgrads presenting their work at the recent IOP Spring Weekend! Aoife works on Machine Learning for optical modelling of the QUBIC instrument. Gary is working on MKIDs, a type of superconducting light detector for astronomical instrumentation. #MUPhysics

Dr James McGrath, @mu-physics.bsky.social was awarded €319k from the @epaireland.bsky.social for his work on radon gas prevention due to its cancer risks in homes. www.maynoothuniversity.ie/news-events/...

MU researcher awarded EPA funding for radon gas prevention

The cancer risk from radon gas seeping into Irish homes is set to be addressed by a Maynooth University (MU) researcher following a funding award from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

maynoothuniversity.ie

Did you catch a familiar voice on RTÉ Radio 1 this morning? hashtag#MUPhysics very own Dr Michelle McCrystal was discussing the breakup of the A23a iceberg and how this occurs. Definitely worth a listen below, skip ahead to 1:55:30 to hear a little about Polar Climate Science! 🥶

Morning Ireland Monday 9 March 2026

Live news, sports, business, weather & traffic from the country's most listened to show on radio. Presented by Audrey Carville and Laura Fletcher.

rte.ie

New research on how early baby black holes grew into supermassive giants just hundreds of millions of years after the Big Bang has been published in Nature Astronomy 🌌 @jameswebbdiscovery.com www.maynoothuniversity.ie/news-events/...

📻Listen back: Dr Emma Whelan of the @mu-physics.bsky.social spoke about her research on the secret life of stars and how she hopes to find out more about their formation through her involvement in an international space science mission. www.newstalk.com/podcasts/let...

204. The Secret Life of Stars | Newstalk

This week we're talking to Dr Emma Whelan from Maynooth University about a new research project i...

newstalk.com

Maynooth University has joined an international space science mission with the successful launch of Mauve, a small ultraviolet telescope developed by UK-based company Blue Skies Space. 🚀 @mu-physics.bsky.social @researchireland.ie www.maynoothuniversity.ie/faculty-scie...

Make sure not to miss this! The MAUVE launch is (hopefully) going ahead today at 6:18PM (GMT) and can be watched live at the link below. We can't wait to get our hands on the data from this telescope in the future! #MUPhysics

Check out this article on the upcoming Mauve launch! Dr Emma Whelan talks about how this will improve our ability to study and understand star formation, giving us a better understanding of the Universe around us! #MUPhysics

Maynooth University@maynoothuniversity.ie · 10mo ago

A new space telescope with Irish scientific involvement will soon begin operations on a mission to study how stars form and evolve, writes Dr Emma Whelan of the Dept of Physics and MU's lead on the project. 🔭 @mu-physics.bsky.social @researchireland.ie www.maynoothuniversity.ie/research/spo...

Thanks again to IrelandQCI and all those that gave their time yesterday to talk about Quantum Communications! It was a great day with lots of really interesting conversations. #MUPhysics

IrelandQCI@irelandqci.bsky.social · 10mo ago

⚡Celebrating #ScienceWeek2025 at @maynoothuniversity.ie ⚡ We brought the IrelandQCI Quantum & Answers Trailer to meet researchers, students & staff at #MU during Science Week celebrations, under the theme 'Then. Today. Tomorrow,' and explored the future of quantum communication technology.

All you need to know about string theory 🌌 The concept that string theory suggests a vast range of possible universes is explored by Kay Lehnert from MU’s Department of Physics. @mu-physics.bsky.social www.maynoothuniversity.ie/research/spo...

Check out this article featuring one of #MUPhysics very own researchers Dr Emma Whelan. It talks about the upcoming Mauve launch and the importance of it for observational astronomy! Keep a close watch on our socials to hear more about this over the coming week!

Startup pioneers subscription service for space-based astronomy

Blue Skies Space will sell data from its tiny, low-cost UV telescope

science.org

🎓 Thinking about postgraduate study? Take the next step at Maynooth University. Join us at our Postgraduate Open Day 📅 Tuesday, 4 November 2025 🕒 3–6pm | 📍 Maynooth University 👉 Meet lecturers, chat with students, explore your options. Register now: mu.ie/edge @maynoothuniversity.ie

Last week, we had our yearly Pizza Party 🍕 for the Theoretical Physics & Mathematics programme! It was a great opportunity for students of all years to chat with and meet other students and members of staff. We also gave out some awards to some of our exceptional students! #MUPhysics