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UCC Researchers Receive Almost €3.8m in Funding Under IRC Programme
Eight School of Chemistry researchers awarded.
Seeking the conversion of waste heat into electricity, improving risk assessment for suicide in older people, and examining the community’s experience of the Irish revolution are among the almost €3.8m in funding received by University College Cork researchers under the Irish Research Council’s flagship Government of Ireland programme.
A total of 31 postgraduate and 12 postdoctoral researchers from UCC have been awarded under the programme. The postgraduate and postdoctoral awardees for the School of Chemistry are as follows:
| Award | Applicant | Supervisor | Project Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Postgraduate | Emily Collins | Dr. Tim O'Sullivan | The Development of Novel, Sulfur-Based Antiviral Agents - a New Weapon Against HIV. |
| Postgraduate | Deirbhile Fitzgerald | Dr. Stuart Collins and Prof. Anita Maguire | Design and Use of Novel Metal Catalysts in Organic Synthesis Including Use of Flow Technology. |
| Postgraduate | Emma Furlong | Dr. Peter Byrne and Dr. Ger McGlacken |
A General, Green Method for Organocatalytic Asymmetric Alkylation. |
| Postgraduate | Emma Galloway | Prof. John Wenger | Emissions from Animal-Based Fertilizers and their Impact on the Environment and Human Health. |
| Postdoctoral | Umar Gulzar | Prof. Colm O'Dwyer | Rationally Designed 3D-printed Microlattice Electrodes for Next Generation Lithium-Sulfur Batteries. |
| Postgraduate | Rachel Lynch | Dr. Peter Byrne | Carbon Dioxide Utilisation for Construction of Non-Natural Amino Acids as Precursors to Novel Peptides and Responsive Biomaterials. |
| Postgraduate | Diarmuid Moynihan | Dr. Dean Venables | Spectroscopic Investigation of the Climatic Effects of Ultraviolet-absorbing Particles (SPICE-UP): a method development and field observation study. |
| Postgraduate | Muireann Carmody | Dr. Ger McGlacken | Targeted Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Pyrones and Related Heterocycles as Bacteria Inhibitors. |
Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris TD, today announced a total €28m in funding under the Government of Ireland programme.
Commenting on the announcement, Minster Harris said:
“Now more than ever, the benefits of investing in research and innovation are clear, and this starts with fuelling the pipeline of excellent early-career researchers. Support for basic research and investment in cutting-edge expertise across different disciplines is vital for Ireland, and this will be key to ensuring that we can overcome national and global challenges now and in the future.”
Prof John F. Cryan, Vice President for Research & Innovation in UCC said:
“Young scientists are the lifeblood of research at UCC. I would like to congratulate all the awardees on their innovative and wide-ranging projects which will address global grand challenges whilst embracing cutting-edge technologies and reflecting importing aspects of our cultural heritage.”
Welcoming the announcement, Director of the IRC, Peter Brown said:
“The Irish Research Council Government of Ireland awards are extremely competitive and attract applications from all over the world. The programmes provide the foundation for the development of cutting-edge skills and expertise and awardees will become future research leaders across academia and beyond, including industry and the public sector.”
“The scope of awards across and between disciplines supports the balanced development of our research system and ensures that we are best positioned for the challenges of an uncertain future.
“Thanks to the increased funding announced by Minister Harris in January this year, the new awardees will receive funding for postgraduate stipends and postdoctoral salaries that are in-line with national norms. This is vital to ensure our early-career researchers are adequately supported and there is a level playing field in our research system.
To deliver on shared national objectives, each year the Government of Ireland programmes collaborate with strategic funding partners. Nine of this year’s awards were made in collaboration with and funded by partner agencies. The agencies include the Environmental Protection Agency, Met Éireann and the Department of Foreign Affairs.