Welcome to the summer issue of Trinity Today Great research is about pushing at the frontiers of knowledge. Wood, to quote Professor Michael Morris of Trinity’s School of Chemistry, is ‘a wonderful material: high strength, light and durable for hundreds of years’. Wood built the iconic Samuel Beckett Theatre, now celebrating its 30th anniversary. And wood produced the 350,000 rare and unique books in the Long Room, which Louise Richardson recalls shelving as a student in the 1970s, and which are now being decanted and stored as part of the upgrading and fire-proofing of the Old Library. When you start thinking about it, wood has been fuelling the university since the start - but perhaps we are only beginning to understand its vast potential. Trinity researchers are seeking ‘new and innovative uses for wood that advance its carbon benefits whilst contributing to sustainable technological development.’ In the future, could batteries, chemicals, composites, medicines, and plastics be made from wood? Find out in ‘The root cause’. Finding woody solutions is part of Trinity’s mission in sustainability. This permeates all aspects of college life, from education to research to public engagement. It feels distinctly Trinity that the security guard protecting our campus is also a conservationist and research associate with the Zoology department, who takes students on nature trails to the Burren and to Kenya, and who podcasts about his ‘menagerie of reptiles, amphibians and arachnids’. When Collie Ennis talks about security, he means protecting Ireland from invasive species as well as keeping the campus safe. As with every issue of Trinity Today , we are only capturing a drop of the remarkable things happening within the Trinity community. Our alumni are playing leading roles in humanitarian activism and journalism while staff are bringing an ethical lens to issues as diverse as AI, historical legacies and business practice and are drawing on their own experience to help students overcome disadvantages to access a Trinity education. Our students continue to inspire with their courage and passion. This is of course the summer of the Olympics and we’re delighted to catch up with three outstanding Trinity student athletes. And reading the experiences of students attending Trinity seventy years apart, I’m struck by the continuity of college life, as well as the advances. When James Flynn, a current Trinity undergraduate doing his year abroad in Hong Kong, talks about missing ‘sunny days spent on the cricket pitch outside the Pav and attending balls organised by societies’, I know this would resonate with Ellis Bradford, one of the ‘GI Bill’ generation of students who came to Trinity in the late 1940s after serving in the US army. As the academic year ends and we head into the summer, the college leadership is brainstorming around the new strategic plan which will lay out the university’s mission and goals for the next five years. Trinity is a community of staff, students and alumni so your voice is really important to us. We would love if you could take a moment to participate in this short survey and let us know your hopes and priorities for our great university. Enjoy reading and have a wonderful summer. Kate Bond Chief Advancement Officer Trinity College Dublin
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