iCRAG Impact Award 2023

Dr. Jennifer Keenahan won the iCRAG Impact Award 2023 at their annual summit on Tuesday night, with colleague Mark Coughlan. The iCRAG Impact Award 2023 is awarded to a researcher(s) whose work has made a demonstrable impact on society, policy, economy, businesses, environment, and international engagement. Acknowledging the award winners Prof. Murray W Hitzman, Director of iCRAG, said: “I want to congratulate all the award recipients. The iCRAG Awards recognise the significant achievements from our researchers, highlighting the impact and the ways in which iCRAG is making a difference on the environment, economy and society. The awards highlight the quality of our research, and the immense talent and dedication of our researchers.” Speaking on receipt of the Award, Dr Keenahan said, “I’m extremely grateful to those who nominated us for this award. Supporting the decarbonisation of Ireland’s electricity network through developing offshore wind is critically important and it’s wonderful to feel like myself and Mark are making even the smallest impact in this space.” The iCRAG Impact Award 2023 is awarded to a researcher(s) whose work has made a demonstrable impact on society, policy, economy, businesses, environment, and/or international engagement. The Climate Action Plan and National Marine Planning Framework, recognises the potential of Irelands marine resource in creating jobs and transitioning to a low carbon economy through renewable energy development. Mark and Jennifer have identified scour of the foundations systems as a significant geohazard and key challenge in the safe and sustainable deployment of infrastructure in the Irish offshore, particular related to wind energy. In response to this key challenge, they have been developing state-of-the-art tools, methodologies and expertise that can be applied in an Irish context to de-risk and mitigate this geohazard. Their work has potential impacts in a range of areas including Economic Impact, International engagement impacts, Policy impacts and Environmental Impact. Dr Coughlan said: I'm humbled to receive this recognition and would like to thank all my colleagues at iCRAG. As an early career researcher, iCRAG gave me the opportunity to establish myself, develop collaborations and carry out independent research. As my career progressed, the iCRAG team was there to help me in making my research impactful, either by working with industry or supporting policy, for which I'm very grateful.”