2009 Press Releases
29.10.2009
Tyndall National Institute, UCC is among four US-Ireland R&D partnership projects to share in funding valued at €7m.
The successful projects were announced at a recent event hosted by the US Ambassador, Dan Rooney. Also present were The Minister for Labour Affairs, Dara Calleary along with the Minister for Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland, Sir Reg Empey.
The Partnership was established to develop innovations leading to economic development and improvements in nanotechnology, health promotion and disease prevention by bringing together expertise from academic institutes in the US, Ireland and Northern Ireland. It is led by a steering group of senior representatives from each jurisdiction, with InterTradeIreland providing the secretariat for the group on the island of Ireland.
A research project involving the Tyndall National Institute at UCC (Dr Paul Hurley), Dublin City University (Professor Greg Hughes), Queen's University Belfast (Dr David McNeill) and The University of Texas at Dallas (Professor Robert Wallace) was one of the four projects supported through the US Ireland Scheme. The project will explore the use of new semiconductor materials with the potential to create more energy efficient transistors for information and communication technologies.
Details of the other three projects supported to date can be found at http://www.usirelandresearch.com. The project is supported by Science Foundation Ireland, The Department of Education and Learning (Northern Ireland) and The National Science Foundation (USA).
US Ambassador to Ireland, Dan Rooney, welcomed these partnerships, saying: “These successful projects have come through a US review process that is the international gold standard for research excellence. This clearly demonstrates the high quality of advanced research across the island of Ireland and adds greatly to its reputation as a centre of innovation that can compete on an international stage.”
The Minister for Labour Affairs, Dara Calleary said: “We see the US-Ireland R&D Partnership as an important mechanism for achieving high growth and helping bring about the economic regeneration of the island.”
Pictured at the US Ireland Partnership Event were L to R: Dr David McNeill (Queens University Belfast), Dara Calleary (Minister for Labour Affairs), Professor Greg Hughes (Dublin City University) and Dr Paul Hurley (Tyndall National Institute, UCC)