2025 News Archive

UCD and Met Éireann launch new centre for AI for weather and climate services, Innovation and research

The AIMSIR centre, established by a partnership between UCD and the National Meteorological Service, will strengthen Ireland’s preparedness for changing weather and climate

Learn more

AI2Peat wins National Challenge Fund prize under Future Digital Challenge

Minister Lawless has announced over €2.5M in prize funding for the first National Challenge Fund prize winners.

Learn more

Astronomers discover cosmic explosion unlike any other ever seen before

Mysterious repeating gamma-ray bursts were spotted outside our own galaxy using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), co-led by Dr Antonio Martin-Carrillo, Ad Astra fellow and Assistant Professor in UCD School of Physics.

Learn more

Study explores children's experiences of transition from primary to post-primary schooling

The ninth report from the Children’s School Lives study showcases experiences directly from children and significant adults in their lives about their journey from sixth class to the first months of Year 1 in post-primary education.

Learn more

High flier taking UCD towards the stars

Prof Kate Robson Brown, VP for Research, Innovation and impact is on a mission to help Ireland gain a place among the leading space science nations and for UCD, the nation’s top space university, to drive that ambition. Interview with Sean Duke.

Learn more

COALESCE funded research will explore the evolution of society and tackle current societal challenges

Following the allocation of €4.7M Research Ireland funding this year, a total of 19 projects are underway, with six of the projects from UCD.

Learn more

Four UCD researchers receive ERC Starting Grants for groundbreaking research projects

The UCD academics will explore research topics including musculoskeletal pain, fluid dynamics, criminal organisations and the evolution of livestock health.

Learn more

Ireland’s first satellite EIRSAT-1 completes its mission

Ireland’s first satellite, built and launched by UCD students and faculty, has completed its two-year mission orbiting the Earth. The trailblazing project has made Ireland a space-faring nation.

Learn more

Evolution: Two small steps for human bipedalism

The upper part of the human pelvis, known as the ilium, underwent two major structural innovations during evolution that enabled humans to walk on two legs, a Nature paper reveals.

Learn more

EIRSAT-1 novel control payload successfully demonstrates advanced satellite pointing in space

Breakthrough Wave-Based Control platform designed by team at UCD School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering a leap forward for CubeSat missions.

Learn more

New Research highlights the Importance of the Patient Voice in Perinatal Loss Care

UCD researchers collaborate with parents from pregnancy loss support groups to develop an innovative new programme for medical students.

Learn more

Prof Joanna Brück elected International Fellow of the British Academy

Election to an International Fellowship is the highest honour that the Academy confers on non-UK residents in recognition of scholarly distinction.

Learn more

Minister Lawless announces 72 Sustainable Laboratory Certifications

13 UCD labs have been awarded certifications for iImplementing best-in-class, sustainable research practices.

Learn more

UCD takes its place in Europe’s largest scientific organisation

The university has been a long-time driver of Irish membership of CERN, UCD’s particle physics research group are leaders in the Irish community of scientists already active at CERN and collaborated on the Higgs boson discovery.

Learn more

UCD C-Space leads European novel satellite swarm mission to observe gamma-ray bursts

UCD’s Centre for Space Research is leading the COMCUBE-S project, backed by the European Space Agency, to develop new capabilities for observing gamma-ray bursts

Learn more

Minister Lawless announces €23M in funding for early-career researchers

Research Ireland Pathway programme will support five promising UCD researchers to drive impactful discoveries.

Learn more

UCD experts awarded ERC Advanced Grants for cutting-edge research

UCD researchers Assoc Prof Barry Wardell and Prof Kylie Jarrett to receive a total of €5 million for projects exploring gravitational waves and livelihoods generated by digital platforms.

Learn more

Researchers share discoveries with the public through Soapbox Science

On Saturday 14 June 1-4pm, twelve female speakers will share their research in the streets of Dublin City Centre as part of Soapbox Science 2025.

Learn more

UCD teams progress to next phase of the Research Ireland- Defence Innovation Challenge programme

The three UCD teams will receive Seed Phase funding to further develop and validate their concepts across a range of mission-critical areas.

Learn more

Africa, Ireland and UCD: Working together to address global sustainability challenges

UCD Earth Institute and UCD’s Office of Global Engagement hosted the university’s first conference on collaborative research with African partners, since the launch of UCD’s Africa Engagement Strategy in 2023.

Learn more

Four Research Alliance Awards for UCD to boost Ireland-Wales research collaboration

Ministers James Lawless TD and Wales’ Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning, Rebecca Evans MS, have announced funding totalling €584,378.

Learn more

Are blood thinners doing enough to prevent stroke in high-risk patients?

Research published in JAMA Neurology explores the residual risk of recurrent stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation and suggests new treatments are urgently required.

Learn more

'Children's School Lives' report on impact of Migration and Ethnicity

Longitudinal study 'Children’s School Lives' has published the third report from its Equalities series, exploring the theme of Migration and Ethnicity to look at the impact of the increasing migrant, ethnic and linguistic diversity in Irish Primary Schools.

Learn more

UCD and UC Davis deepen partnership to tackle global challenges

UCD and the University of California, Davis, sign an agreement of cooperation to develop research collaboration across the themes of Sustainable Food Systems, One Health, and Artificial Intelligence and Data Science.

Learn more

New Foundations awards to tackle national and global issues

Four UCD awardees among 59 announced by Research Ireland under its New Foundations programme, supporting researchers in developing collaborative projects with community organisations and government departments.

Learn more

Ultra-processed foods and drinks linked to biomarkers of chronic low-grade inflammation

Research led by Dr Sean Millar and Assistant Prof Catherine Phillips, UCD School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science, is published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Learn more

Transatlantic collaboration drives innovation in Cystic Fibrosis Care and Cost Research

Research collaboration demonstrates how process mapping and variance analysis can inform value-based healthcare decisions in outpatient CF care for children in Ireland and the US.

Learn more

Prof Susi Geiger appointed as ERC Ambassador

The European Research Council (ERC) and the Association of ERC Grantees (AERG) have launched the new 'Ambassadors for the ERC' network to promote investment in frontier research.

Learn more

Professor Kate Robson Brown Joins the Board of Trustees at the UK’s Natural History Museum

UK Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer MP, has appointed Prof Robson Brown, UCD VP for Research, Innovation and Impact, to the Board of Trustees of the UK’s Natural History Museum.

Learn more

New exhibition from artist-led collaboration between UCD researchers and women in minority communities

‘Cut from the Same Cloth' is the culmination of a project curated by artist, Lorna Donlon in partnership with women in minority communities across Ireland and biomedical researchers from UCD.

Learn more

MAGIC-I study to revolutionise childhood cancer care in Ireland

MAGIC-I stands for ‘Molecular and Genomic Interrogation of Childhood Cancer - Ireland’, a five-year project harnessing the power of genetics, genomics and big data to radically improve cancer diagnostics, treatment and patient outcomes.

Learn more

Prestigious Royal Society Fellowship for UCD Researcher

Dr Anthony Redmond, UCD School of Medicine, will lead the project, ‘Immunity in the Fast Lane: Reconstructing the Evolution of the Animal Immune System and Prospecting for Novel Antimicrobials’.

Learn more

Minister James Lawless launches significant new political science book

Book billed a 'reappraisal of the constitutional realities in Britain and Ireland at a time of seismic change,' key output of the Constitutional Futures after Brexit (CFaB) research project, led by UCD academic and journalist Dr Paul Gillespie.

Learn more

Research Ireland Discover Programme funding for 7 UCD projects inspiring STEM public engagement

Seven UCD projects to drive innovation in STEM education and public engagement, contributing to Ireland’s industry, enterprise, and societal progress. 

Learn more

Minister Lawless announces €17.7M research infrastructure investment

Three UCD projects are among those funded. The awards will contribute to the advancement of high-quality and high-impact research activities across Ireland. 

Learn more

UCD researchers on 5 of the finalist teams awarded under the National Challenge Fund

Total of €65 million announced for 10 research teams addressing Sustainable Communities and Future Food Systems Challenges.

Learn more

€7M joint investment announced for US-Ireland Research Programme

Prof Niamh Nowlan to lead project that will provide new insights into fetal akinesia, in partnership with Ulster University and University of Pennsylvania.

Learn more

Research Ireland St Patrick’s Day Medals awarded to leading experts in philosophy and healthcare

Richard Kearney holds the Seelig Chair of Philosophy at Boston College and has served as a Visiting Professor at UCD; Michael Dowling, President and CEO of Northwell Health, holds an honorary doctorate from UCD.

Learn more

UCD celebrates first ASPHER Core Curriculum for Public Health on Health Science Week

UCD School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science has played a leading role in developing a Core Curriculum for Public Health with the Association of Schools of Public Health in the European Region (ASPHER).

Learn more

Researchers find some slush ice drinks pose risk to younger children

New research shows glycerol in ‘slushies’ can make children sick - instances of children getting sick after consuming slush ice drinks prompted an investigation and changes to health guidelines.

Learn more

CeADAR and Google announce partnership to help Irish businesses unlock AI’s potential

CeADAR, Ireland’s European Digital Hub for AI hosted at UCD, and Google signed the agreement at a meeting with the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Peter Burke TD.

Learn more

€2.2M in research funding for six teams to advance UN Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger

The SDG Challenge is run in partnership with Irish Aid. Four of the projects will be co-led by UCD.

Learn more

Ten research projects funded to develop new technologies in the Defence Forces

Research Ireland – Defence Innovation Challenge 2024 investment designed to deliver a range of benefits for the Defence Forces and wider society.

Learn more

Sarah A. Gleeson announced as Research Ireland Professor and Director of iCRAG

With €4.5 million funding from Research Ireland, her focus is to advance systems models and exploration tools in the search for new mineral deposits in Ireland and globally.

Learn more

World Rare Disease Day: Advancing Research Through Collaboration and Public Involvement

28 February 2025 marks World Rare Disease Day, a moment to reflect on the vital role of research in improving the lives of people living with rare diseases.

Learn more

Scotland and Ireland unlocking Space for shared goals

Scottish and Irish space-related researchers and companies assembled to explore the joint ambition of ‘Growing the Space Economy Together’, the second annual Scotland-Ireland space research and innovation conference.

Learn more

UCD and University of Strathclyde sign MoU on space-related research and innovation

Universities to foster potential collaboration in research for space related activities in areas of interest including: net-zero transition; rural, coastal, and island communities; life science, space, and microbiology.

Learn more

Frontiers for the Future funding for high-risk, high-reward research

Two UCD research projects have been funded under the Awards stream of the Research Ireland Frontiers for the Future Programme. 

Learn more

EPA funds new research to address climate and environmental challenges

Three innovative, policy-relevant UCD projects to address key knowledge gaps and support the development of vital research capacity.

Learn more

UCD welcomes Ireland’s progress on joining CERN

UCD has the only experimental particle physics group in the country and has been working on the Large Hadron Collider at CERN for over 20 years.

Learn more

iCRAG@10 conference showcases a decade of research and impact

Geoscience researchers gather in UCD to mark 10 years of the iCRAG Research Ireland Centre for Applied Geosciences.

Learn more

Ulysses scheme funds 14 Ireland- and France-based research collaborations

A total of €94,000 in funding will support the projects, with UCD researchers collaborating on three.

Learn more

Professor Anne Fuchs awarded 2025 RIA Gold Medal in the Humanities

Director of UCD Humanities Institute, Professor Anne Fuchs receives prestigious Royal Irish Academy prize for seminal work in German humanities scholarship.

Learn more

UCD Breaking Boundaries begins with talent investment

Ambitious plans to lead in AI, One Health and more kicks off with Ad Astra Fellowship international recruitment drive for 50 strategic hires from the best of early career talent in Ireland and overseas.

Learn more

New Accelerating Research to Commercialisation (ARC) Hub for Therapeutics Awarded €31.6M

UCD to co-lead the new Research Ireland ARC Hub for Therapeutics

Learn more

Evolving Safety and Privacy for 6G Networks

New EU-funded global consortium ENSURE 6G brings together 15 industry and academic partners to tackle growing challenges of security and privacy in Beyond 5G (B5G) and 6G networks.

Learn more

Minister Lawless announces €2.5M for Research Ireland industry-focused fellowships

Five post-doctoral researchers from UCD will partner with companies to tackle Industry-focused challenges and deliver impactful solutions.

Learn more

UCD and NU showcase five collaborations in health tech and DIY music resilience

Trans-Atlantic collaborators from University College Dublin and Northeastern University, Boston, gained seed funding for highly innovative, interdisciplinary research to drive advances in health and cultural industries

Learn more

EIRSAT-1 wins UCD Research Impact Competition for transforming national space landscape

The EIRSAT-1 project takes first prize for impact among 11 finalists, with the Engaged Research prize going to Prof Patricia Fitzpatrick for her work supporting cancer patients to quit smoking.

Learn more

Researcher of the Year 2024 (IRC legacy) Awards

Jane Grimson Medal of Excellence awarded to the highest ranked STEM candidate in the Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship programme, Savannah Devine at UCD School of Earth Sciences

Learn more

Newly discovered gene mutation in eye disease named after blind Irish poet

Researchers at UCD led by Professor Breandan Kennedy have discovered that a mutation in a gene called emc1 causes major vision problems in zebrafish.

Learn more

Digitally transforming European healthcare education

UCD School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science announces partnership in EU project to address critical gaps in digital competencies within healthcare, led by University of Oulu, Finland.

Learn more

Major EU project to investigate societal benefits and risks of Artificial Intelligence

New €3M EU research project led by UCD Centre for Digital Policy to enhance AI capabilities and EU regulatory frameworks.

Learn more