I am one of the co-founders of Telecommunications Software & Systems Group, a research centre in WIT. It has grown from around 5 people in 1996 to 150 in August 2010, spinning out companies employing a further 100-200 people, and has won around €60Million in funding from Irish and European funding agencies. Prior to taking over as Executive Director Research my main areas of responsibility were in strategic infrastructure for the group and managing the research process for the research students in the TSSG. I have also been involved in commercial spin-off activities. From September 2004 onwards I have been the Executive Director Research for the centre. This role involves managing the approximately 100 staff and students working on basic and applied research projects in the TSSG (the research part of the organisation as opposed to the commercialisation part).

In 2007 I was appointed as Research Director of the WIT Eugene Lawler Graduate School of Computing, that encompasses all taught and research postgraduate teaching and research in the department of Computing, Mathematics and Physics in Waterford Institute of Technology. This appointment was in recognition of the role I have played in the TSSG in establishing the taught programmes at Masters level and the MSc and PhD research process. The TSSG has graduated 30 MSc (research), and 3 PhD (research) students to date, and has contributed the major part of the MSc in Communications Software Development that has run for 4 academic years: 2005–2009.

I was a member of 2nd and 3rd Academic Councils in WIT (Jan 1998 to Apr 2004) and I served on the Research Subcommittee and the Support Committee.

Current Activities

• Executive Director Research, Telecommunications Software & Systems Group (TSSG), Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT)
• Research Director, Eugene Lawler Graduate School of Computing, Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT)
• Director, Irish National IPv6 Centre (IPv6-Ireland.org)
• Lecturer in the Department of Computing, Mathematics & Physics in Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT). Note: the department used to be called the “Department of Physical & Quantitative Sciences” often internally abbreviated to “P&Q”.

Research Interests

In general most of my research interests fall into the broad set of topics that relate to the future of the Internet and of telecommunications networks and services in general. The TSSG has positioned itself as one of the leading European research centres for research into these issues. It is interesting that some of the resulting research issues are very specific and focused (e.g. how to recover from a link going down in a specific system), others and higher level systems issues that deal with how various parts of larger systems interact with each other (e.g. how to create a quality of service system that might work across multiple network owners each with their own self-interests). Our research philosophy is to try and create an dynamic mix of interests, each with a critical mass of activities, and to allow them to cross-fertilise in a non-structured way. This mix includes getting people with an Internet/IP background and a telecommunication background, but also getting people with a basic research focus on fundamental issues, an applied problem solving focus on specific problems and an understanding of the industrial context, and a set of entrepreneurial people who can commercialise the best ideas, or introduce completely new ideas based on their own knowledge. I enjoy fostering this overall environment whilst pursuing my own specific Internet-related interests.

Primarily I am driven by a number of trends: the requirement to move the Internet to IPv6, the requirement to allow for increased mobility of devices, the requirement for networks and services to be more secure, and the requirement to create new mechanisms for managing large complex interconnected networks and services. I am also interested creating solutions to these problems that will actually be deployed and adopted, and not just talked about in the academic literature.

I also have a social science research interest in the funding structures nationally that help foster research and innovation, and in particular how these have developed in Ireland over the past 15 years.

Research Programmes

• As Executive Director Research in the TSSG I have overall responsibility for all basic (HEA and SFI funded) and applied (mainly EU IST funded) research projects in the TSSG, currently a portfolio of over 30 active projects (August 2010).

• I am currently the academic coordinator for the SFI funded FAME Strategic Research Cluster (Jan 2009 – Dec 2011) with Willie Donnelly as lead-PIs (Principal Investigators).

• I am currently the academic coordinator for the HEA PRTLI Cycle 4 funded FutureComm project (Jan 2008 – Dec 2011) with NUI Maynooth and University of Limerick as partners.

• I was currently the academic coordinator for the SFI funded Autonomic Management of Communications Networks and Services PI Cluster (Nov 2004 – Feb 2009) with Willie Donnelly and John Strassner as the joint PIs (Principal Investigators).

• I was a technical member of the expert panel in the EU ESFORS project.

• I was a technical member of the expert panel in the EU SecurIST project.

• I was manager of the Irish HEA funded project Jun 2002 – May 2007 M-Zones (Managed Zones) project investigating smart spaces, ad managing interoperability and roaming services between smart spaces.

• I was manager of the EU IST funded project Apr 2002 – Mar 2004 INTERMON (Advanced architecture for INTER-domain quality of service MONitoring, modelling and visualisation).

• I was manager of the Department of Education funded project Jun 2001 – May 2004 CONVERGE (Convergence of Telecommunications Services and IP-based Services: QoS, Security & Accounting).

• I was manager for the EU-funded TenTelecom project Nov 1999 – Jun 2001 NITOURA II (New Information Technologies to Open Up Rural Areas).

Google Scholar Profile

Auto-generated Publications List

ACM Author Profile: Mícheál Ó Foghlú

Books and Sections not included in Auto-generated Publications List
Perl 5 Quick Reference
Mícheál Ó Foghlú
QUE, Indianapolis, 1996
ISBN 0-7897-0888-4
This is a book detailing all the special variables, operators and functions in Perl, in a format designed for ease of use as a reference tool.
Perl 5 Guia de Referência Rápida
Mícheál Ó Foghlú
QUE, Editora Campus, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, 1997
ISBN 85-352-0144-0
A Portugese edition of the Perl Quick Reference.
Perl 5 Soluciones Instantáneas
Mícheál Ó Foghlú
QUE, Prentice Hall Hispanoamericana, Mexico, 1997
ISBN 968-880-877-6
A Spanish edition of the Perl Quick Reference.
Perl 5 Quick Reference
Mícheál Ó Foghlú
QUE, Prentice Hall Japan, Tokyo, 1997
ISBN 4-88735-054-6
A Japanese edition of the Perl Quick Reference.
Special Edition: Using Perl for Web Publishing
David Harlan, Mícheál Ó Foghlú, Paul Doyle, Shelley Powers and Matthew D. Healy.
QUE, Indianapolis, 1996
ISBN 0-7897-0659-8
This book has a much wider scope than the quick reference. It covers the use of Perl in designing CGI scripts for use as server-side executable scripts on a WWW server.
The Web Programming Desktop Reference 6-in-1
Michael Afergan, Rick Darnell, Brian Farrar, Russ Jacobs, David Medinets, Robert Mullen, and Mícheál Ó Foghlú
QUE, Indianapolis, 1996
ISBN 0-7897-1028-5
This book is a re-packaging of the Perl Quick Reference with five other related QUE Quick Reference books (HTML, Java, ActiveX, VBScript, JavaScript) to produce a useful overall Web reference book.

• Member of the Advisory Council for the Internet Society (ISOC AC). The Internet Society is a non-profit organisation founded in 1992 to provide leadership in Internet related standards, education, and policy. With offices in Washington, USA, and Geneva, Switzerland, it is dedicated to ensuring the open development, evolution and use of the Internet for the benefit of people throughout the world.

• Member of the Advisory Committee (AC) for the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C AC). The W3C’s mission is “To lead the World Wide Web to its full potential by developing protocols and guidelines that ensure long-term growth for the Web.

• Chair of the Irish IPv6 Task Force, and representative on the European IPv6 Task Force, the IST IPv6 Cluster (FP5/FP6) and the world-wide IPv6 Forum.

Conference Chair & Programme Commitees

• Editorial Board Member of Journal of Telecommunications Management 2007

• Review Committee of Journal of Computer Networks 2007

Examples of TPC memberships:

• Co-Chair of Technical Programme Committee of the 6th IEEE International Workshop on IP Operations and Management (IPOM 2006) (Dublin, Ireland, October 2006). IEEE ComSoc and IFIP sponsored, proceedings in Springer LNCS 4268.
• Treasurer and member of the organising committee of Manweek 2006 (Dublin, Ireland, October 2006) comprising IPOM, DSOM, MMNS, MACE and AGNM, five workshops co-located with a common theme of autonomic network management.
• Member of International Programme Committee of the IST Africa Conference series: (Maputo, Mozambique, May 2007), (Pretoria, South Africa, May 2006).
• Member of International Programme Committee of the e-Challenges Conference series: (Prague, October 2002), (Bologna, October 2003), (Vienna, October 2004), (Ljubljana, October 2005), (Barcelona, October 2006), (Den Hague, October 2007).

The eChallenges e-2006 Conference took place from 25-27 October in Barcelona, Spain. eChallenges e-2006 attracted over 640 delegates from 53 countries, representing government (23%), industry (15.5%), high-tech SMEs (13.5%) and research/academic organisations (48%) and Exhibitors from 17 countries. Keynote speakers from Belgium, Netherlands, Romania, Spain and Switzerland shared insights into current applied ICT challenges in government, business and research.

eChallenges e-2006 incorporated over 300 presentations from 46 countries and five continents. Continuing a trend of increasing international participation in the eChallenges Community, almost 8% of presenters and 8% of delegates at e-2006 are from outside Europe. By showcasing contributions on commercial, government or societal exploitation of the Internet and ICT from around the world, eChallenges provides a unique opportunity to gain a better appreciation of some of the cultural, technological and training issues impacting on global eAdoption today.

• Member of Programme Committee of the 4th International Workshop on Managing Ubiquitous Communications And Services (MUCS 2007), a workshop at IM2007 (one of the premier telecommunications management conferences held every 2 years), and also the previous three events in the series that were independent workshops: MUCS 2003 (Waterford, Ireland, December 2003), MUCS 2004 (Dublin, Ireland, December 2004), and MUCS 2006 (Cork, Ireland, May 2006) .
• Member of the Programme Committee of the IT&T Conference (Athlone 2001) and (Waterford 2002). This conference is focused on the research taking place in the Institute of Technology sector in Ireland into Information Technology and Telecommunications. It is sponsored by TecNet and organised by the Communication Systems, Software Networks (CSSN) research group.
• Co-Chair of the technical workshop/conference: EURO VPN 2005 (July 2005, London)
• Co-Chair of the technical workshop/conference: Telecom Signalling Networks and Services Forum 2006 (Jan 2006, Amsterdam)

Other External Roles

• Approved reviewer for EU Commission research project proposals in the arena of Satellite Communications, ICT, and the take-up of ICT by regional industry.
• Approved reviewer for Enterprise Ireland research projects in the area of ICT and Internet Technologies.
• Approved reviewer for Swedish VINNOVA programmes.

VINNOVA, Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems, integrates research and development in technology, transport and working life. VINNOVA´s mission is to promote sustainable growth by financing RTD and developing effective innovation systems.

Affiliations

ACM Professional Member.
IEEE Member.
IEEE Computer Society Member.
IEEE Communications Society Member.
Usenix Member.
SAGE Member.

(2009 – 2010)

• MSc (taught) Communications Software Dissertation Support (Module in Semester II)
• MSc/PhD by Research in Computing.   Responsible for 20 MSc and PhD students in the TSSG registered in WIT. Responsible for 1 PhD student registered outside of WIT.

(1996 – 2009)

• MSc/PhD by Research in Computing (2000–2009)Responsible for 3–20 MSc/PhD students in the TSSG registered in WIT, and sometimes additional 1–2 PhD students in the TSSG registered outside of WIT each year from 2000–2009.
• MSc (taught) Communications Software (2008–2009) Dissertation Support (Module in Semester II)
• MSc (taught) Communications Software (2005–2007) Communications Services (Module in Semester II)
• MSc (taught) Communications Software (2005–2009) Dissertation Supervision
• BSc Applied Computing (Year 2) Computer Organisation
• BSc Applied Computing (Year 4)  Projects (I established the project web server used to store all project deliverables on emhain.wit.ie and developed procedures for running projects)
• BSc Applied Computing (Year 4)  Telecommunications Software (elective)
• BSc Commercial Software Development (Year 4) Projects (I established the project web server used to store all project deliverables on emhain.wit.ie and developed procedures for running projects)
• BSc Commercial Software Development (Year 4) Data Communications & Distributed Systems
  BSc Commercial Software Development (Year 4) Enterprise Information Systems
• National Certificate in Commercial Computing (Year 2) Operating Systems, Networks, and Information Systems
• National Certificate in Computer Applications (Year 1) Visual Presentation Graphics
• National Certificate in Industrial Computing (Year 1) Programming
• National Diploma in Information Technology Support (Year 3) Computer Services Management

• EdD (University of Sheffield) 2010 Doctorate of Education: Science, Engineering and Technology Research Funding Policy in Ireland 1995-2008: A Policy Document Analysis. This took 7 years from September 2003 to January 2010 submission of final thesis, the first 2 years being a structured programme organised around intensive residential weekends based in Dublin. My own research involved reading all of the key Irish research policy documents in the period and formally analysing these with reference to some critical academic models of research and innovation. I brought to bear my own experience within the system, as the TSSG is one of the most successful funded research centres in Ireland in this period.
• MPhil (University of Central Lancashire) 1993 Knowledge Acquisition for Expert Systems. This research masters was a three year funded study programme in Preston, Lancashire, where I studied formal represented of knowledge, and mechanisms to elicit knowledge from real-world experts.
• MPhil (University of Cambridge) 1989 Computer Speech and Natural Language Processing. This taught masters was an intensive 12 months jointly run by the Computer Laboratory and the School of Engineering, where I worked in LISP and Prolog to build systems that processed natural languages. I also enjoyed the more mathematical processing of neural networks and hidden Markov models used in speech processing.
• Cert Ed (University of Keele) 1987 Qualifies me to teach secondary and tertiary education in the UK in English and Computer Science, certificate studied in parallel with my primary degree. I always knew I wanted to be a lecturer in a university, and knew that there was no formal training for that, so I wanted to have a formal qualification as teacher, and some basic understanding of pedagogy and the psychology of learning.
• BA 1st Class Hons (University of Keele) 1987 Computer Science & English. This multi-disciplinary degree also allowed me to study Philosophy and Mathematics, and prepared me well for an interest in artificial intelligence, cognitive science, computing and networking technologies. I also enjoyed studying Old and Middle English, and modern drama, especially Irish playwrights including Brian Friel.