News 2025
School of Chemistry Awards Event – 10th November 2025
The School of Chemistry held its annual prize-giving event for student prizes and awards on 10th November 2025 recognising student performance and achievement across the various degree programmes and years within the School.
Well done to Caoimhe McGrath, Conor Goggin, Kim Keohane, Luca Bonnett, Sarah Jordan, David Tobin, Alex Walsh and Vaishali Vardhan.
Prof. Anita Maguire, Head of School said "Congratulations to each of our students on their achievements – the School is very proud of each one of you and we look forward to seeing your careers develop over the coming years. Sincere thanks to our sponsors (MSD, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Eli Lilly, Oxford University Press, Lennox, TetraSOC) for their support – without their financial support and engagement these awards would not be possible. In particular, we acknowledge our industry partners taking the time to come into the University to meet the students and their families and recognise their achievements. Ongoing partnership with globally leading companies in the region is strategically important for the School in ensuring our graduates have the skills required to successfully progress their careers following graduation. A special word of thanks to MSD for their award in memory of Catherine Keogh – many in the School recall her time with us in UCC and appreciate the opportunity to remember her impact and support for others.
This year we are delighted to have the inaugural awarding of two new prizes, the Lennox Scholarship for Excellence in Chemistry, and the Jeremy Glennon Award supported by TetraSOC for the student with the highest performance in the BSc Chemistry with Forensic Science degree. The support of these two new sponsors is very much appreciated. From the perspective of the staff in the School of Chemistry, an award in memory of our colleague Professor Jeremy Glennon is very welcome and ensures that future generations of students will continue to learn of his legacy in teaching and research in Analytical Chemistry."
The following prizes were awarded to undergraduate students in the School:
| Award (with sponsor name) |
Details |
Recipient(s) |
| Awarded to a final year student on the BSc Chemistry of Pharmaceutical Compounds programme who, in addition to academic achievement, has demonstrated personal growth over the course of the programme with a clear commitment to teamwork, and supporting others on their learning journey, in addition to making a positive contribution to the programme, class and student life.
|
Winner: Sarah Jordan Runners-up: David Tobin |
|
| The Thermo Fisher Scientific Prize in Organic Chemistry (Thermo Fisher Scientific) |
The prize is open to all students who have completed third year in Chemistry and will be awarded annually to the student who has passed with the highest combined mark in the Organic Chemistry modules. |
Caoimhe Deborah McGrath |
| Eli Lilly Prize (Eli Lilly) |
Awarded annually to the student who has obtained the highest mark in Chemistry and passed the Summer First University Examination in Science, at the first attempt, and who subsequently registers for an honours degree in Chemistry at UCC. |
Luca Kevin Bonnett |
| Awarded to the student who obtained first place in the third year BSc (Hons) degree examination |
Caoimhe Deborah McGrath |
|
| Reilly Prize (School of Chemistry) |
For the purpose of perpetuating the memory of the late Professor J. Reilly, who was professor of Chemistry and Head of the Chemistry Department in UCC for the period 1924-1959, The Reilly prize is awarded to the candidate who has obtained first place in the fouth year BSc (Hons) degree examination and has obtained first class honours. |
Conor Robert Goggin |
| Lennox Scholarship for Excellence in Chemistry (Lennox Laboratory Supplies) |
All students who have successfully completed the 2nd year of the BSc Chemistry, BSc CFS and BSc CPC are eligible for this prize. The prize will be awarded to the student who has passed 2nd year with the highest aggregate mark across the modules CM2001 – CM2008. |
Alex Walsh |
| Jeremy Glennon Award (TetraSOC)
|
The student who has achieved first place in the 4th year BSc (Hons) Chemistry with Forensic Science degree examination and has obtained 1st class honours. |
Kim Jade Keohane |
In addition, the Best Publication Award was presented to recent PhD graduate Vaishali Vardhan for the following publication based on her PhD research:
Vardhan, Vaishali, Subhajit Biswas, Sayantan Ghosh, Leonidas Tsetseris, Tandra Ghoshal, Stig Hellebust, Yordan M. Georgiev, and Justin D. Holmes. "Pseudo Molecular Doping and Ambipolarity Tuning in Si Junctionless Nanowire Transistors Using Gaseous Nitrogen Dioxide." Advanced Electronic Materials 11, no. 2 (2025): 2400338.
j.jpg "A student is presented with a certificate from the head of the School of Chemistry.")
.jpg "A student is presented with a certificate from the head of the School of Chemistry.")
.jpg "A student is presented with a certificate from the head of the School of Chemistry.")