Tom Boland
Chief Executive, Higher Education Authority and Chairman of HEAnet Board

Bio

Tom Boland is Chief Executive of the Higher Education Authority (HEA) since January 2004. The HEA is a statutory body established to allocate public funding to Irish higher education institutions; to oversee performance of the higher education and research sector generally and to advise the Minister for Education and Science on the development of the sector.

He is Chairperson of the Board of HEAnet; which provides high quality internet services to the Irish education and research system). He is a member of the Board of Science Foundation Ireland, the Central Applications Office and the Governing Board of IMHE, a sub-programme of the OECD Education Directorate. He holds degrees in Civil Engineering and Law and was called to the Irish Bar in 1987.

John Boland
Chief Executive, HEAnet

Bio

John was appointed as Chief Executive in 1997 when HEAnet was incorporated as a limited company on behalf of the Higher Education sector. Previously he worked as Systems and Networks Manager in the Computer Services Department of Dublin City University. He has also worked with a number of international companies including Marconi Communications Systems in the UK and Motorola Information Systems in the US and the UK.

John represents HEAnet on the European National Research and Education Networks. Policy Committee, including GÉANT, DANTE and TERENA.

Bruce Schneier
Chief Security Technology Officer, BT

Bio

Bruce Schneier is Chief Security Technology Officer of BT, an internationally renowned security technologist and author. Described by “The Economist” as a "security guru," he is best known as a refreshingly candid and lucid security critic and commentator. When people want to know how security really works, they turn to Schneier.

His first bestseller, Applied Cryptography, explained how the arcane science of secret codes actually works, and was described by Wired as "the book the National Security Agency wanted never to be published." His book on computer and network security, Secrets and Lies, was called by Fortune "[a] jewel box of little surprises you can actually use."

Beyond Fear tackles the problems of security from the small to the large: personal safety, crime, corporate security, national security. His current book, Schneier on Security, offers insight into everything from the risk of identity theft (vastly overrated) to the long-range security threat of unchecked presidential power and the surprisingly simple way to tamper-proof elections.

Regularly quoted in the media, he has testified on security before the United States Congress on several occasions and has written articles and op eds for many major publications, including The New York Times, The Guardian, Forbes, Wired, Nature, The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Boston Globe, The San Francisco Chronicle, and The Washington Post.

Schneier also publishes a free monthly newsletter, Crypto-Gram, with over 150,000 readers. In its ten years of regular publication, Crypto-Gram has become one of the most widely read forums for free-wheeling discussions, pointed critiques, and serious debate about security. As head curmudgeon at the table, Schneier explains, debunks, and draws lessons from security stories that make the news. Blog is also available by visiting www.schneier.com

Peter O’Halloran
Client Services Manager, HEAnet

Bio

Peter O’Halloran is the Client Services Manager for HEAnet. With 25 years experience in the ICT sector, Peter has worked for a variety of multinational and Irish companies. His background in Service and Programme Management for a range of significant enterprise clients will prove to be an important addition to the team and is driving forward on our shared objectives over the coming years. As a member of HEAnet’s management team, Peter is focusing on achieving greater alignment between HEAnet and its clients, adding to what it has already achieved over the past number of years.

Brian Boyle
Network Services Manager, HEAnet

Bio

Brian Boyle is the Network Services Manager with HEAnet, where he works in the Managed Network Services team developing cost effective and technically advanced ICT services for national and international networking to benefit the Irish Education and Research community. Before that, Brian worked as an IP Network Operations Manager in Eircom.net and IT services developer in Motorola.

Tony Carroll
Sustainability Programme Manager, ESB

Bio

By background, Tony is an electrical distribution engineer. He has filled many roles in ESB including manager of ESB’s electrical contracting business, Procurement Manager and IT Manager for ESB Networks. Over the last ten years he has been involved in a succession of projects concerned with process re-engineering and business change, and most recently an IT programme to implement a series of applications to support the business of ESB Networks, including asset register, maintenance management, and mobile data management. Tony Is currently filling the role of Sustainability Programme Manager for ESB, with a mandate to embed sustainability within the company. The programme consists of a small central team responsible for project management, change and communications

Scott McConnell
Ireland Sales Manager, Interxion

Bio

Scott McConnell has been working in Telecoms and Data Centre Sales for 12 years, 5 of which have been spent with Interxion. Scott’s role is to manage the Sales Organisation within Interxion Ireland from a new business and account management perspective. Scott holds a BA Hons from University College Dublin, Post Graduate Diploma in Management Studies and a number of Professional Sales Qualifications.

Karl Mulhall
Operations Manager, Interxion

Bio

Karl Mulhall is Operations Manager of Interxion Ireland. In that role he is responsible for the day to day operations of both data centres as well as future expansion. Karl started his career as an electrician in the commercial and Industrial contracting sector. In the early ‘90’s while in America he became involved in the infrastructure roll out of mobile phone networks. On his return to Ireland in 1998 he took up a position with Ocean Communications as facility manager. This role developed in to managing a small team responsible for all critical infrastructure within the BT Ireland group. In 2008 he joined Interxion as Operations manager. Karl has a number of qualifications in Electrical and Mechanical engineering from Kevin St. and Bolton St. Institute of Technology Colleges Dublin and well as a Diploma in Project Management from University of Limerick.

Julian Lucek
Systems Engineer, Juniper Networks

Bio

Julian Lucek is a Distinguished Systems Engineer at Juniper Networks, where he has been working with many service providers on the design and evolution of their networks. Before joining Juniper Networks in 1999, he worked at BT for several years, at first in the Photonics Research Department and later in the data transport and routing area. During this time he gained a PhD in ultrahigh-speed data transmission and processing from Cambridge University. He is the holder of several patents in the area of communications technology. He has a Master's degree in Physics from Cambridge University and holds Juniper Networks Certified Internet Expert (JNCIE) certification number 21. He is co-author of the book "MPLS-Enabled Applications: Emerging Developments and New Technologies", by Ina Minei and Julian Lucek. The second edition of this book was published in April 2008.

Brian Mulligan
IT Sligo

Bio

Brian Mulligan is the Open Learning Coordinator at the Institute of Technology Sligo where he has lectured since 1984. He has been instrumental in the rapid growth in online learning in IT Sligo since 2002 and significantly involved in the growth of e-learning in Ireland since 1999, organising the EdTech series of conferences since 2000 and as a founding member of the Irish Learning Technology Association in 2002. His main areas of expertise are in web-casting, Webinars, synchronous online training, instructor-led online training and rapid development of online training.

Brian Coll
IT Sligo

Bio

Brian Coll is a lecturer in the School of Engineering at the Institute of Technology, Sligo where he currently teaches on the quality and management programs. He lectures primarily to online students and was instrumental in developing the first podcasts of lectures for online students in Ireland. Brian is a regular contributor of papers and articles to the news media, industry publications and conferences on trends in online higher education particularly as it relates to the use of new technology in helping to up-skill the workforce. Prior to joining IT Sligo, he held senior position in multinational companies working in Europe, USA and Mexico.

Dr Holger Claussen
Head of the Department of Autonomous Networks and Systems Research, Bell Labs, Alcatel-Lucent, Ireland and UK

Bio

HOLGER CLAUSSEN is head of the Autonomous Networks and Systems Research Department at Bell Labs, Alcatel-Lucent, for Ireland and the United Kingdom. He received his Dipl.-Ing. (FH) and M.Eng. degrees in electronic engineering from the University of Applied Sciences in Kempten, Germany, and the University of Ulster, United Kingdom, respectively. He received a Ph.D. degree in signal processing for digital communications from the University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom, for his work on low complexity multiple input-multiple output (MIMO) receiver architectures. Afterwards, Dr. Claussen joined Bell Labs in Swindon, United Kingdom, as Research Engineer in 2004. He became Department Head in the lab in Dublin, Ireland, in 2009. At Bell Labs, Dr. Claussen has been working on auto-configuration and dynamic optimization of networks, self-deploying networks, distributed algorithms, flat cellular network architectures, fourth-generation (4G) systems, mobility, resource management, end-to-end network modeling, and improving energy efficiency of networks. More recently he has been directing research and technology transfer of self-management and efficient networking solutions. This has been commercialized as the Alcatel-Lucent BSR-Femto product. Dr. Claussen is author of more than 30 publications and 50 filed patent applications. He is senior member of the IEEE, member of the IET, and the Alcatel-Lucent Technical Academy.

Paul Doyle
Chairman of the Ubiquitous Computing Research Group, DIT

Bio

Paul Doyle is the Chairman of the Ubiquitous Computing Research Group in the Dublin Institute of Technology. He has over 20 years of industrial experience and has been responsible for a number of major R&D projects for Sun Microsystems including the award winning SunRay Thin Client Appliance. Currently he is a member of the academic lecturing staff at the DIT, in the School of Computing, and is actively involved in research in the area of Cloud Computing for Astronomy. Paul is also the publisher of the Astronomy website Nightsky.ie.

Dr Gráinne Kirwan
Lecturer in Psychology

Bio

Dr. Gráinne Kirwan led the development of the MSc in Cyberpsychology in Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Dublin. She has seven years experience of lecturing in psychology, and has lectured in many topics, including forensic psychology, cyberpsychology and computer-mediated communication. Her doctorate research examined the ethics, motives and interpersonal relationships of hackers. She also holds an MSc in Applied Forensic Psychology, a Postgraduate Certificate in Third Level Learning and Teaching, and an MLitt in Psychology by Research. Her primary areas of research are in forensic psychology and cyberpsychology, and most recently has completed research identifying potential juror’s attitudes towards cybercriminals and their victims. In 2008 she was awarded over half a million euro in funding from Enterprise Ireland to purchase a virtual reality system (the VLab), and she is currently examining how virtual reality can be of use in forensic psychology. She has been interviewed by several major publications about her expertise in the field of cyberpsychology, including the Reader’s Digest, PCLive, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire and Company magazines, as well as providing interviews for both regional and national radio stations. She regularly presents work at international psychological conferences and reviews articles for Cyberpsychology, Behaviour, and Social Networking and Computers in Human Behaviour.