Minister Martin lays Foundation for €50m Tyndall Expansion

“Cork’s top experts smash two Science World Records”

"The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin, TD, has today (Friday 29th February 2008) laid the foundation stone for a new laboratory building as part of the €50 million development of Tyndall Institute in Cork and confirmed that expert researchers there have set two scientific world records."

Marking the event Minister Martin said the expansion will ensure Tyndall will be one of Europe’s most advanced Information and Technology research centres in Europe employing over 500 researchers in Cork.

“The development programme for Tyndall is a key part of Government and Science Foundation Ireland strategy to create a small number of centres of excellence of which Tyndall will be the largest and most significant. An additional 170 additional research positions will be created as a result of this expansion”

The investment at the Institute’s facilities at its Lee Maltings location in Cork will create a landmark complex of some c 170,000 sq. ft. with new laboratories and substantial upgrading of the existing infrastructure. A new incubation facility to provide appropriate accommodation and support to new start-up companies in the ICT area will also be incorporated.

Speaking at the ceremony, Minister Martin said that a number of Tyndall spin-out companies had already achieved international success. “On this occasion I would also like to take the opportunity to announce two of the most recent world records that Tyndall is very proud to have achieved. Photonic Systems Group researchers successfully demonstrated the transmission of 280GBit/s of data, error free, over 1,200 km of optical fibre, a record capacity over this type of link for a single optical transmitter unit. This record is a great step forward in answering the ever increasing demand for greater bandwidth with high reliability and at low cost.”

“The second record was achieved in co-operation with SensL, a Tyndall spin-out company, Tyndall researchers have developed a silicon fabrication processes that makes a revolutionary low light detector. These efforts have enabled SensL to grow its business in the point-of-care medical diagnostics markets and is a strong demonstration of how research and industry can work together to achieve innovation.” the Minister said.

Professor Roger W. Whatmore of Tyndall said “The mission of the Tyndall National Institute is to be a focal point for the ICT hardware and networking research in Ireland. Current activities include photonic and electronic materials, device modelling, design, processing, fabrication, testing and packaging, optical, electronic and biological subsystems and photonic networks. The Institute’s National Access Programme provides fully funded access to its facilities and expertise to all Irish Universities and Institutes of Technology.”

Funding for the expansion project is primarily provided by Science Foundation Ireland, following a partnership agreement between the Department of Enterprise Trade & Employment and UCC. Additional contributory funding comes from the Higher Education Authority’s Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions (PRTLI).