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UCC researchers selected as members of the Young Academy of Ireland
Three University College Cork (UCC) researchers have been selected as new members of the Young Academy of Ireland (YAI), an all-island multidisciplinary network of researchers and innovators that aims to empower talented early-career researchers and future leaders.
Established by the Royal Irish Academy (RIA) in 2024, the YAI promotes greater engagement and opportunities for early career researchers and innovators, encouraging members to use their expertise and potential to tackle important issues and challenges in society and promote meaningful change. Globally, Young Academies provide a multidisciplinary platform allowing their members to exchange diverse views and experiences.
The 21 new members were selected after a competitive recruitment process launched by the RIA last year. They will now begin a four-year term, the first two of which, overlap with the inaugural cohort established in 2024, allowing for a seamless transition of work across issues of shared interest and concern, creating an environment where members can strengthen their leadership potential and develop professional networks while collaborating on initiatives that enrich research and cultural life on the island of Ireland.
The UCC researchers selected to the YAI for their excellence of research impact, and significant contributions made to their field and beyond their individual disciplines, are:
Professor Marguerite Nyhan, School of Engineering & Architecture, Director of the Sustainable Futures Laboratory and Principal Investigator at the Sustainability Institute.
Professor Nyhan is an environmental engineer whose work seeks to advance the science of sustainable cities by harnessing large-scale urban data and AI-based technologies. As lead Principal Investigator, Professor Nyhan has been awarded more than €7 million in funding for both pioneering research projects and innovative educational programmes. Professor Nyhan is a prolific scholar and has published in leading journals including Nature and Nature Cities. She founded and directs her research group, the Sustainable Futures Lab at UCC, which focuses on urban environmental engineering, urban analytics, environmental modelling of air pollution and greenspace, and environmental justice. Professor Nyhan’s international experience includes working at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, and the United Nations, where she contributed to research on urban analytics for sustainable cities, environmental exposure modelling, and the application of emerging technologies in sustainable development.
"I am honoured to be selected to join the YAI, and I am looking forward to working with a community of scholars who are committed to advancing research, knowledge, and culture for the benefit of society. I look forward to collaborating with leading experts through the Academy and its global network and contributing environmental engineering and sustainability expertise to issues of global importance," said Professor Nyhan.
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Dr Yairen Jerez Columbié, a Lecturer in Latin American and Caribbean Studies in the School of Languages Literatures and Cultures and Future Humanities Institute.
Dr Jerez Columbié works at the intersection between Cultural & Literary Studies and the Environmental Humanities, with a regional focus on Latin America and the Caribbean, in dialogue with Catalan, and other cultures. She investigates cultural representations of disasters, transculturation, and eco‑poetics, drawing on interdisciplinary methods ranging from archival research to cultural analysis, fieldwork, and collaborative art‑science initiatives. She is the author of two monographic books, including Essays on Transculturation and Catalan-Cuban Intellectual History (Palgrave, 2021), and the forthcoming Hurricane Culture (UPT), and has published widely in both academic and literary journals. Her published poetry collections explore biodiversity and diasporic identities. Her work has informed interdisciplinary discussions on climate and sustainability, and she regularly contributes to public events and research collaborations.
"I am delighted to receive this honour alongside two UCC colleagues and to have the opportunity of participating in conversations across disciplines and territories as a member of the YAI. I look forward to representing the Arts and the Humanities, as well as comparative Caribbean, Latin American and Catalan Studies in this multidisciplinary cohort," said Dr Columbié.
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Dr Sarah Bezan, a Lecturer in the School of English & Digital Humanities and Radical Humanities Laboratory.
Dr Bezan is a humanities researcher whose work focuses on contemporary literature, cultural representations of extinction, and interdisciplinary art-science approaches to environmental change. Her research combines textual, filmic, and digital analysis with hands on methods, including studies of fossils, taxidermic specimens, and frozen zoological samples. Her research on de-extinction (the science of reviving extinct species like the woolly mammoth) examines the role of desire and creativity as potent cultural drivers that inform and influence species conservation programmes. Supported by several solo and collaborative grants from the British Academy and Royal Irish Academy, she leads projects that bring artists and scientists together and contributes to emerging debates on environmental futures.
"I am honoured to be joining the 2026 YAI cohort alongside UCC colleagues Yairen and Marguerite. I view my membership with the YAI as a valuable opportunity to collaborate with YAI and other Young Academy members from across the globe. During my appointment, I aim to contribute meaningfully towards three of the YAI's strategic areas: environmental sustainability, securing the future of academia, and supporting public involvement and engagement with research," said Dr Bezan.
Professor John Cryan, Vice President for Research and Innovation at UCC said: "Congratulations to our three UCC researchers on becoming new members of the Young Academy of Ireland. Their membership will significantly enhance their research careers and give them a distinct voice in research and policy discussions through active participation in discussions that address national and global issues."