Winners of 2025 Earth Institute Awards announced

We were delighted to announce the winners of this year’s Earth Institute Awards during our Africa, Ireland and UCD: Working together to address global sustainability challenges event, which took place last Thursday.

Established to celebrate the contributions and achievements of members of the environmental, climate and sustainability research community in UCD, these awards pay tribute to those who contribute to research across the university and the myriad ways they do so.

Sam Kelley (left) and Orla Murphy (right) receiving their awards from Eoin O'Neill, Earth Institute director (centre)

Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration Award

Supporting and developing interdisciplinary connections and collaborations is part of the Earth Institute’s remit

Winners: Dr Sam Kelley (School of Earth Sciences) and Professor Graeme Warren (School of Archaeology)

Background: Collaboration on the potential interaction between the last glaciers in the British Isles and the mesolithic people who were expanding into the newly ice-free landscape culminated in a successful Irish Research Council Coalesce funding call, as well as the creation of the UCD Mountain Research Centre as an Earth Institute Strategic Priority. The collaboration has been extremely productive - resulting in publications, tools for citizen science, public field trips in Ireland and Scotland, recommendations for policy makers, and the commissioning of poetry and music.

Winners: Dr Philip Crowe, Dr Sarah Cotterill, Orla Murphy, Rebecca O’Malley (Schools of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy and Civil Engineering), Senator Mark Duffy, Kevin Loftus and Ríonach Ní Néill

Background: The collaboration’s expertise from the sciences, spatial design, visual arts and local governance was applied to co-create a novel approach to the design of climate-resilient green space in an Irish town. The team worked with a community in Ballina Co. Mayo that had faced socio-economic challenges to see if a model of respectful support, listening and engagement could generate a positive ripple effect. Together, they created the Paradise Garden, a haven for humans and wildlife where rainwater is slowed through a series of rills, wells and natural attenuation on its way to the adjacent river. The Ripple project, funded by Creative Ireland and led by the UCD Centre for Irish Towns, was one of 15 winners out of 1,400 entrants in the European Commission’s New European Bauhaus Prize in the “Connecting with Nature” category. 

Aisling Moffat (left) and Anna Molter, (on behalf of Nakisa Soltani, right) receiving their awards from Eoin O'Neill, Earth Institute director (centre)

Earth Institute Communication Award

Bestowed on the winner of our annual Flash Talk Competition for PhD and postdoctoral researchers working on environmental, climate and sustainability topics, this award reflects the importance of being able to communicate complex research to a range of audiences, stakeholders and the public. 

2024 Winner: Dr Aisling Moffat (School of Agriculture and Food Science) for her presentation entitled Operation Soil Appreciation

2025 Winner: Dr Nakisa Soltani (School of Biosystems and Food Engineering) for her presentation Cycling Commuting: part commute, part adrenaline sport?

Rainer Melzer (on behalf of Nina Trubanova, left), Robert Power (on behalf of Meaghan Mackie, centre right) and Niamh Burke (right) receiving their awards from Eoin O'Neill, Earth Institute director (centre left)

Emerging Researcher Award

Celebrating the research achievements and contributions of early career researchers, including PhD students, postdoctoral researchers and research fellows.

Winner: Niamh Burke (School of Medicine)

Background: Niamh’s research focuses on creating open, accessible, low-cost microscopy tools, designed not only for researchers in traditional scientific environments, but also broader public with a direct stake in scientific questions and problems, such as microplastic pollution. With a growing reputation in the area of open microscopy, she has multiple successful grant applications as principal applicant, a burgeoning publication track record and is a prize-winning presenter.

Winner: Meaghan Mackie (School of Archaeology) 

Background: Meaghan explores the diets of the earliest farming communities in Ireland by using the novel approach of examining ancient calculus on human teeth, which reflects the mineralised remains of microscopic organisms that entered the oral cavity. She has co-authored several internationally significant papers and her work has been featured in media outlets including the Irish Times. One of the most impactful parts of her research is a new workflow she has developed to facilitate co-extraction of palaeoproteomics, organic residues and micro-botanical remains from archaeological samples. 

Winner: Nina Trubanova (School of Biology and Environmental Science) 

Background: Nina has developed in the course of her PhD a new method to investigate the genetic basis of agriculturally important traits. This new method will provide plant breeders with a tool to develop molecular markers for breeding programmes and scientists to investigate the genetic architecture underpinning phenotypic traits. In addition, Nina has mentored multiple undergraduate and MSc students, engaged in multiple outreach events and is a vocal proponent for open science.

Patrick Brodie (left) and Junli Xu (right) receiving their awards from Eoin O'Neill, Earth Institute director (centre)

Early Career Academic Award

Celebrating the research achievements of early career academics in UCD

Winner: Dr Patrick Brodie (School of Information and Communication Studies) 

Background: His research on sustainability, environmental justice and media is on an exceptional trajectory, with journal articles, book projects, national and European projects underway. Pat is an active and energetic member of the Earth Institute community and one of the co-leads on Irish Energy Narratives in the Transition project which is focused on performing small community-based workshops at sites of intensive energy transition across Ireland. 

Winner: Dr Junli Xu (School of Biosystems and Food Engineering)

Background: Lily’s European Research Council Starting Award entitled PlasTox: Machine Learning Combined with Spectral Imaging for Inferring the Toxicity of Micro- and Nanoplastics was awarded in 2024 and will run from 2025 to 2030. The PlasTox project aims to advance our understanding of potential risks posed by micro- and nanoplastics to human and environmental health through a combination of quantitative, experimental, and computational approaches, leveraging machine learning algorithms and spectral imaging.

Winner: Dr Rajat Nag (School of Biosystems and Food Engineering)

Background: Rajat co-convened the 35th Irish Environmental Researchers’ Colloquium (ENVIRON 2025), the largest gathering of environmental scientists in Ireland, in UCD this year. His achievement in realising his vision for this highly successful national conference within three years of his initial appointment in UCD is testament to his initiative, ambition, persistence and collaborative mindset, which are highly valued by his colleagues and within his school.

Mary Kelly-Quinn (left) receiving the award on behalf of Jon Yearsley from Eoin O'Neill, Earth Institute director (right)

Good Citizenship Award

This award celebrates good research citizenship, collegiality and those members of our community who go above and beyond to help others. 

Winner: Dr Jon Yearsley (School of Biology and Environmental Science) 

Background: Jon recently stepped down from the Earth Institute’s leadership team after almost 10 years of service and has been responsible for developing a range of new initiatives including our journalist in residence programme and a summer writing retreat. He works with energy and dedication, and has mentored countless colleagues.

Brendan Williams (left) receiving his award from Eoin O'Neill, Earth Institute director (right)

Long Service Contribution

This award acknowledges the significant contribution of members of our community who are retiring or leaving UCD after long service.

Winner: Professor Brendan Williams (School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy)

Background: Brendan has made an exceptional contribution to UCD and the wider academic and professional planning community over a distinguished career spanning more than two decades. He served as Professor of Planning in the School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy, where he lectured in Urban Development, Urban Economics, and Planning Systems. Throughout his time, he held a number of key leadership roles, including Director of International Programmes, Head of Subject (Planning), Director of Masters and Undergraduate Programmes, and Deputy Head of School. A major highlight of Brendan’s career was his role in helping to establish and run the Transport, City Planning and Environmental Policy Programme at Chang’an Dublin International College (CDIC) of Transportation. CDIC, founded in 2020, is a joint international college between UCD and Chang’an University (CHD) in Xi’an, China. Brendan also held academic positions at institutions across the US and Europe. He was an Affiliate Professor at the National Center for Smart Growth at the University of Maryland, and served as Visiting Professor and Scholar at Northeastern University’s School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs from 2011 to 2015. In 2015, he was appointed as Evaluator/Reviewer for the EU Joint Research Council Consolidator Grants in the areas of Environment, Space, and Population.