The Machine: A computer science education podcast

Latest Episodes:

Red Hat Academy w/ Brendan O'Farrell & Leigh Griffin Nov 28, 2022

Show notes

Red Hat are the world's largest open source software company. Senior Engineers at Red Hat - Brendan O'Farrell and Leigh Griffin - joined SETU lecturers Rob O'Connor and Amanda Freeman-Gater to chat about Red Hat Academy, an online portal that provides free resources for students of computer science. They discussed the kind of material you can find there and why students might be interested in this. There's a lot of conversation about Linux in here, but it's not confined to CentOS or Red Hat Enterprise Linux. They also talked about the characteristics that they look for when hiring graduates and their thoughts on learning as a life-long activity (not something that ends when you complete your degree).

You can learn more about Red Hat at redhat.com. You'll find general company info there, as well as details on the Red Hat Academy.

You can follow The Machine podcast on Twitter @machine_podcast. Staff profiles for Rob O'Connor and Amanda Freeman-Gater can be found on SETU.ie

3D Printing and AMASE Jun 30, 2022

Show notes

Two colleagues at SETU from the School of Engineering, David Alarco and Natalie Romanyatova, joined Rob in the podcast studio to discuss additive manufacturing (3D printing), how it dovetails with computing and how it's changing the way "stuff" is made. They have a new course starting bout it too. More information about Additive Manufacturing Advancing the South East (AMASE) can be found at amase.ie

This is the last episode of The Machine for the season. We'll be back in the new academic year with more interesting chats about technology. Enjoy your summer holidays!

Wireless Comms on the Farm ... and Mars? Jun 23, 2022

Show notes

Can we detect an excess of carbon in a field using equipment that already in place? Rob spoke with SETU academic Bernard Butler and his graduate student Thakshilla Wedage about their work in VistaMilk and using the physical properties of wireless signals to predict atmospheric conditions in a farming context. The speed of the terahertz signals they use are hampered by our wet, dense atmosphere - but they may allow wireless communications 100-times faster than current speeds on a dry environment, such as Mars. They talked about their next phase of their work which is looking at employing these technologies to facilitate high-bandwidth, low-latency communications off-world. To quote a famous space traveller - Fascinating!

More information about the VistaMilk project and the people involved can be found at vistamilk.ie

Religion & Video Games (with Frank Bosman) Jun 16, 2022

Show notes

What place does religion have in video games? Why should developers be concerned with religion, theology or morality when creating games? Frank Bosman is a Dutch academic with Tilberg University who spoke with Rob about some of the larger ideas contained in video games and how they add depth to the gaming experience.

Frank's book "Gaming and the Divine: A New Systematic Theology of Video Games" is published by Routledge Press. He can found on Twitter @frankgbosman. Stay up to date with the latest from the podcast @machine_podcast

I Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now (II) Jun 09, 2022

Show notes

A rerun of an episode we published a few years back - Rob sat down with some final year students who'd just completed their undergraduate degree. He asked them to reflect on their time studying in Waterford, highlight the areas of computing they liked most/least and also offer advice to their 1st year-selves. The students in the room were Ciaran Malone (Games Development), Dimitri Saradakis (Applied Computing) and Erinn Whitty (Internet of Things).

StudyAtHome with Martin Deinhofer and Brendan Jackman Jun 02, 2022

Show notes

StudyAtHome is a collection of eLearning courses approved by Universities across Europe where students can pick up extra credits in a variety of specialist computing courses, such as Data Ethics and Open Data, The Connected Car and Assistive Technologies Basics. Rob discussed the initiative with two of the computing academics involved: Brendan Jackman from SETU Waterford and Martin Deihnhofer from FH Technikum Wien (Vienna).

Details on StudyAtHome can be found at https://hub.studyathome.technikum-wien.at

Learning Your Second Programming Language May 26, 2022

Show notes

To kick off a short season at the end of the academic year, Eamonn Deleastar and Siobhan Drohan joined Rob O'Connor in the studio to discuss issues around learning your second (or third!) programming language. They touched on the the programming language family tree, how tools and tech have changed over the years and identified some programming trends to watch out for in the coming few years.

From There To Here: 50-Odd Years of WIT May 03, 2022

Show notes

A documentary tracing the 50+ years history of Waterford Institute of Technology, from its initial creation as Waterford Regional technical College in 1970, through to its re-designation as the South East Technological University in 2022. The documentary features a number of voices including: Caroline Corcoran; Willie Donnelly; Ray Griffin Sr & Ray Griffin Jr; Mary Lacey; Venie Martin; Denis Moran; Marie Morrissey (RIP); Anne Phelan; Jim Phelan; Tony Whelan; Liz White. It also contains some music performed by Joe Phelan and Dave’s List.

Update and Introducing 9plus (Female Researchers) Mar 08, 2022

Show notes

It's not a new episode, but Rob gives an update as to where The Machine podcast current stands (HINT - will be back soon!) and also reposts an episode of their new podcast 9plus which was recorded for International Womens Day 2022. If you like what you hear, you can find 9plus wherever you normally get your podcasts www.podfollow.com/9plus

Automotive Computing Nov 26, 2021

Show notes

Continuing our series looking at sub-disciplines of computer science, in this episode we're discussing Automotive Computing (yes, the computers that run cars!) On the panel are Brendan Jackman, head of the Automotive Control Group research unit at Waterford Institute of Technology. Also on the panel is Applied Computing graduate David Evans, now working as a Connected Vehicle R&D Engineer with AppPlus IDIADA in Cambridge, UK. David would have taken the Automotive & Automation stream option on Applied during his studies. They discuss how cars have changed over the past 20 years, the type of devices used inside them to control aspects such as anti-lock braking, climate control and other safety systems. More information on the Automotive Control Group can be found at www.wit.ie/automotive