UCD Professor Orla Feely inaugurated as President of Engineers Ireland
Posted 03 June, 2021
Engineers Ireland has inaugurated Professor Orla Feely, UCD Vice-President for Research, Innovation and Impact, as the professional body's 129th President.
Professor Feely, from the UCD School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, assumed the role in a virtually ceremony during the organisation's AGM on Thursday, 3 June.
One of the longest established professional bodies in the country, Engineers Ireland is the statutory and regulatory body for all disciplines of professional engineering in Ireland, and is the sole Irish authority to award the registered professional title of Chartered Engineer.
“Engineering is at the heart of society and central to innovation, enterprise and economic growth,” said Professor Feely. “The pandemic has demonstrated our collective resilience and our ability to engineer dramatic changes for the good of society.
“As we progress towards recovery, I am honoured to be President of this Institution’s broad and creative community of over 25,000 member-engineers.
“I look forward to working with and for our engineering community as we innovate to deliver creative and sustainable solutions for society at this critical time and to pursue a green and digital recovery.”
Professor Feely holds a BE degree from UCD and MS and PhD degrees from the University of California, Berkeley, where her PhD thesis won the David J Sakrison Memorial Prize for outstanding and innovative research.
While at UC Berkeley, she also won the Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award.
Her research is in the area of nonlinear circuits and systems, and she has been awarded research grants and prizes from a number of national, international and industry sources.
Professor Feely is a member of the Royal Irish Academy and a fellow of the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), and the Irish Academy of Engineering.
She became a fellow of Engineers Ireland by presidential invitation in 201, and held the position of vice-president of the professional body following her elected in 2019.
Professor Feely has served as Chair of the Irish Research Council, the EU Advisory Group on Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions, and the IEEE Technical Committee on Nonlinear Circuits and Systems, and as a member of a number of Editorial Boards.
She is a director of the Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition and Deputy Chair of the Higher Education Authority.
During its AGM, Engineers Ireland also inaugurated Professor Edmond Harty, Adjunct Full Professor at the UCD School of Biosystems and Food Engineering, to the role of Vice-President.
“Engineering changes our world and the evolving nature of technology is the central force behind the transformation of the business industry,” he said.
“I am honoured to be elected as Vice-President of Engineers Ireland. I look forward to working with President Orla Feely, staff and the wider membership as we leverage the talent of our engineering community and navigate the pathway to Ireland’s economic recovery.”
By: David Kearns, Digital Journalist / Media Officer, UCD University Relations