Tara Ryan

Tara is a former research assistant at EPI•STEM, The National Centre for STEM Education. She was a part of the team that produced over a hundred free online continuous professional development resources for teachers, co-author of an academic paper examining teachers’ CPD, and co-author of five published books distributed to schools across the country. During her time at EPI•STEM, The National Centre for STEM Education, she was invited to present her work at the Irish Science Teachers Association Conference 2023 and ChemEd Ireland Conference 2022.

Tara is a PhD candidate under the supervision of Professor Sarah Guerin in the Actuate Lab, in Bernal at the University of Limerick. Her research is material characterisation and development of polycrystalline amino acids as environmentally friendly replacements for piezoelectric devices. During her PhD she has been a guest on podcasts discussing her work, presented at numerous conferences, co-published four academic papers, and won ten awards for presenting her research. She was a part of the team that was awarded “Green-Level Certificate” by My Green Labs, the highest level of certification in sustainability laboratory practices.

Tara also holds a Bachelor of Science in Physics and Chemistry with Concurrent Teacher Education and a Master of Engineering in Biomedical Device Materials. Her Bachelor’s final year project was the development of a multi-subject Transition Year course that taught scientific research, citizen responsibility, and first aid medical intervention. Her Master’s thesis was research on decellularization of porcine tissue for organ transplants.

During her academic studies Tara has been part of free outreach programmes, such as “Electric Slide” which teaches primary school children about her PhD research and was awarded funding with her lab from a public vote at “The Limerick City Citizens Assembly 2024”. Tara has also worked with the SOPHia project for the past eight years and was a former project co-ordinator. The SOPHia project promotes studying physics for girls in primary and secondary schools across the island of Ireland through inter-active workshops and competitions.

Tara is passionate about sustainable materials research and inclusive science education.