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News
Highlights from Symposium on Trace Gases and Radicals

The Symposium on Innovative Measurement Techniques for Trace Gases and Radicals which was held from 9-10 January 2025 in UCC was a big success!
This two day symposium contained panel talks and round-table discussions with a multidisciplinary group of materials scientists, atmospheric researchers and gas sensor specialists from academia and industry to explore cutting edge innovations for hard-to-detect trace gases and radicals.
Session topics included:
- Spectroscopic techniques for trace gas detection
- Radical atmospheric chemistry with advanced techniques
- Gas sensors & analytics
- Applications of nanomaterials for gas sensing
- Chemical interactions and functional materials for gas sensing
- New optical technologies for gas sensing
Featuring 23 talks, including 5 PhD student presentations.
Click on the following pdf to access the full Programme and Abstract Book.
Congratulations to School of Physics UCC student Paul Wills for receiving the Best Student Talk prize on “A new cavity ring-down instrument for airborne monitoring of N2O5, NO3, NO2 and O3 in the upper troposphere lower stratosphere”.
Paul is pictured here with Professor John Wenger, Chemistry UCC.
Some feedback from the event is as follows:
“Organisation and structure:
- Many participants praised the symposium's organisation, noting it was well-structured, with a good balance between sessions and breaks for networking. The event was described as "very well organised," "high-quality," and "pedagogical," with an engaging and accessible program, even for non-specialists.
- The selection of guests was also commended along with the size of the overall symposium, which facilitated easy conversations and flow of ideas.
Content and discussions:
- The symposium featured a wide range of topics, with many appreciating the interdisciplinary approach focused on gas sensing.
- Talks were described as “innovative”, “hugely productive”, "inspiring," "relevant," and "engaging," with excellent speakers who were competent and collegial.
- The inclusion of roundtable discussions and small interactive groups was well-received, fostering meaningful dialogue and idea exchange.
Networking and atmosphere:
- Participants valued the opportunity to connect with both young and senior colleagues from diverse scientific backgrounds across Europe and globally.
- The environment was described as friendly, supportive, and conducive to open communication and innovative discussions.
Overall experience and future interest:
- Many described the symposium as “enjoyable”, “stimulating”, and “fruitful”, with a mix of professional enrichment and personal camaraderie.”
Roundtable Discussion
Illustration from Roundtable Discussion
Click to download a high-resolution version
Further details on this event can be found here:
Inspiring symposium marks the final chapter of RADICAL - RADICAL
This event was organised by RADICAL, a Horizon 2020 EIC Pathfinder project (Grant Number 899282) developing a low-cost sensor for atmospheric radicals and other gases.
In collaboration with AtmoTrace, a Research Ireland Frontiers for the Future Award (Grant Number 21/FFP-A/8973) for the development of ultra-sensitive cavity enhanced trace gas detection techniques.
For further research queries or collaborations, please contact the project teams.