A Dublin graduate scooped a national design award today for creating a computer shaped like a tree.
Laura Cauldwell (22), from Knocklyon, won the first prize of €2,000 in the Dyson Student Design Award for her creation entitled "Cultivate - the Sustainable Living Computer."
The branches on the tree hold the mouse, speakers, the memory bank, the central processor, the battery and an ambient light.
Ms Cauldwell said the components can be plucked from the tree and sent back to the supplier for upgrade, recycling or remanufacture. The Cultivate computer also has silver aluminum "leaves" that help to cool down each unit.
The NCAD graduate, who now works for a design company in Rathmines, will go on to represent Ireland at the International James Dyson Awards held next year.
She said: "This design promotes and enhances sustainable living. I want to encourage people to think about the environmental impact of the products they use and about their lifestyle in general."
Limerick University graduate students Marion Barry and Kate Corish took second and third place respectively with their inventions.
Ms Barry created Swival, an indoor children's exercise toy aimed at combating child obesity, while Ms Corish designed Solalift, a manual handling device for sheet construction materials.
PA