Fiona Gribben | Staff Writer
Trinity College has announced that it will co-host the prestigious World Congress of Biomechanics along with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) in 2018.
The World Congress of Biomechanics (WCB) is an international meeting held once every four years, rotating among Europe, Asia and the Americas with the 2014 congress being held in Boston.
The Convention Centre Dublin will be the venue for the congress in July 2018, with 3,000 participants expected from across the globe, and wielding an economic value in excess of €5 million.
Ireland is a world leader in biomechanics research, as well as being at the forefront of the global medical device industry. Eight of the world’s largest medical device companies are located in Ireland, employing 25,000 people.
Trinity is home to one of Europe’s leading biomechanics research centres – the Trinity Centre for Bioengineering, while RCSI is the centre for surgical training in Ireland and houses the country’s largest medical school.
“The hosting of the WCB in Ireland is a significant endorsement of Ireland’s leadership position in the area of biomechanics research.”
Director General of Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and Chief Scientific Adviser to the Irish Government, Professor Mark Ferguson, said: “The hosting of the WCB in Ireland is a significant endorsement of Ireland’s leadership position in the area of biomechanics research. It will bring important international focus to the recently established AMBER SFI Research Centre.”
The AMBER (Advanced Materials and BioEngineering Research), in collaboration with University College Cork and RCSI, is hosted in Trinity College. The centre aims to deliver internationally leading materials research enabled by new discoveries and devices in ICT, medical device and industrial technology sectors.
Professor Schmid-Schönbein President of the World Council of Biomechanics added: “Despite being a small country, Ireland has, for many years now, been one of the leading countries in Europe in terms of biomechanics research and we are very pleased that the meeting will be held in the dynamic city of Dublin and anticipate an exciting and successful congress.”
