Join Dr Niamh Shaw for an inspiring journey to Antarctica, exploring science, penguins and the wonders of science.

Join scientist and explorer Dr Niamh Shaw for a fascinating morning as she shares her life in science and her recent trip to Antarctica. From breathtaking glaciers to close encounters with penguins she will share all the highs, challenges and unforgettable moments from her incredible journey to the bottom of the world. It may be of local interest to note that during this trip. Niamh also found a unique way to shine a light on the forgotten stories of other, former Irish women in science. She brought along a twelve-panel quilt, made by a local Laois women’s group, honouring trailblazing women in science from Ireland’s past whose achievements, until recently, remained largely unknown.

Passionate about igniting curiosity and rekindling people’s passion for knowledge, Dr Niamh Shaw is a national treasure when it comes to creating excitement about science. Based between the International Space University campus in Strasbourg, France, USA and Ireland, Niamh holds academic qualifications from Cambridge University and University College Dublin. In 2020, she published her first book "Dream Big" from Mercier Press and has written three full-length theatre shows, some of which have toured internationally. In 2023, she travelled to the Antarctic as part of a global Women in STEM climate activism initiative, Homeward Bound. Niamh’s life ambition is to travel to the orbit of space as space communicator and educator to share this unique experience with audiences across the globe, in her uniquely human and accessible style.

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