Posted: 21 December 2007I
Commercialisation Award for UCD Advanced Manufacturing Science (AMS) Research Centre
Professor Gerry Byrne and Eamonn Ahearne have been presented with a Commercialisation Award by Enterprise Ireland for their innovative advancement of water pumping technology. Their research into the development of a proprietary process technology at the UCD Advanced Manufacturing Science centre is now licensed to the ABS Group in Wexford. The research, which was funded under Enterprise Ireland`s commercisation scheme, came up with a process for improving the performance of ABS pumping systems.
This project has long been been recognised by Enterprise Ireland and the ABS Group as an excellent example of Industry-Academia collaboration. The project provided the company with a significant competitive advantage through both the development of an advanced process technology but, also, the transfer of significant knowledge in terms of an understanding beyond the "state-of-the-art" of core material and process sciences. ABS provides water transport and treatment technology to 100 countries worldwide.
Pictured at the awards ceremony (l-r) Professor Gerry Byrne, Jim Lawler (Enterprise Ireland) and Eamonn Ahearne.
Working on projects such as this has greatly benefitted the researchers in AMS as it provides an excellent bridge between academic achievement and industry experience. For example, two excellent researchers on this programme, Eddie Kennedy and Paul Mitchell, having completed a Doctoral and Master`s qualification in Engineering Science, have since joined a Diamond Innovations in key engineering positions.
For more details on the work of the Advanced Manufacturing Science Research Centre in UCD see www.ucd.ie/mecheng/ams