Posted 15 September 2009
INSPIRE awards for UCD researchers
“If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants,” stated Isaac Newton, in a letter to his rival Robert Hooke in 1676. The basis of the phrase may not have originated from Newton, but it is most famously attributed to him. It refers to the idea that great progress is made by understanding the research and works created by great minds who have gone before.
To share ideas and knowledge, five early stage UCD researchers will attend some of the world’s most prestigious research institutions as part of the INSIPRE scheme run by the Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology (IRCSET).
The scheme aims to encourage Irish-based researchers who have gained most of their research experience in Ireland, to avail of a structured period of overseas work to raise their level of scientific excellence.
The 5 UCD researchers who have received IRCSET-Marie Curie International Mobility Fellowships in Science, Engineering and Technology are:
- Dr Conor Muldoon from the UCD School of Computer Science and Informatics, working in the area of wireless sensor networks, who will attend the University of Oxford
- Dr Maria McNamara from the UCD School of Geological Sciences, working in the area of Palaeontology (fossils), who will attend Yale University
- Dr Eoghan Holohan from the UCD School of Geological Sciences, working in the area of Geoscience, who will attend GeoForschungsZentrum (GFZ) Potsdam
- Dr Suzanne Foley from the UCD School of Physics, working in the area of Astrophysics, who will attend Max Planck Institut fur Extraterrestrische Physik
- Dr James O'Shea from the UCD School of Mathematical Sciences, working in pure mathematics, who will attend the University of Konstanz
Following their time at the host institutions, the researchers will return to University College Dublin where they will share the knowledge, skills and networks gained as part of the INSIPRE scheme.
The INSPIRE scheme is made possible through €5 million funding received from the European Union and €7 million funding from the Irish Government. In total, 18 Irish based researchers received INSPIRE awards in this round.
“Ireland has top researchers who are contributing to discoveries in science, engineering and technology all over the world. This support by the European Union of their career development is hugely significant and will greatly assist in international project collaboration,” said Martin Hynes, Director of IRCSET.
