October Seven Impressive Researchers Receive NUI Galway President’s Awards for Research Excellence

Annual Research and Innovation Symposium Celebrates Research Impact

The achievement of seven outstanding researcher at NUI Galway were recognised recently through the President’s Awards for Research Excellence.

The President’s Awards for Research Excellence reward and celebrate the contributions of staff to excellent, relevant, and innovative research that enhances NUI Galway’s reputation at an international level.

During the annual Research and Innovation Symposium, NUI Galway President, Professor Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh presented awards to seven individuals in three categories.

The Research Supervisor Awards went to:

• Dr Su-Ming Khoo from the School of Political Science and Sociology for her research into the academic quality in Irish and South African Universities.
• Professor Paul Murphy from the School of Chemistry for his research in the development of inhibitors of carbohydrate binding proteins including those involved in infection, inflammation and cancer.

In the Early Stage Researcher Category, the award winners were:

• Dr Lorraine Morgan from the School of Business and Economics, for her research in Open Source Software, Inner Source, Open Business Models, Value Networks and Crowdsourcing.
• Dr John McCrae, Data Science Institute, for his work on the development of data about languages around the world.

In the Established Researcher Category, the award winners were: 

• Professor John Canavan from the School of Political Science and Sociology for his work with UNESCO Child and Family Centre and the Child Welfare Sector.
• Professor Dympna Casey from the School of Nursing and Midwifery for her work on the MARIO Project, a companion robot for people living with dementia.
• Professor Martin O’Halloran from the Colleges of Medicine and Engineering for his work on the design and commercialisation of novel patient-centred medical devices.

Speaking at the awards, which are now in their sixth year, NUI Galway President, Professor Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh said: “I would like to commend our seven colleagues today who have demonstrated a high level of research excellence and commitment to our students. They are part of our collective efforts to achieve societal and economic impact and advance our research mission. “

The Research & Innovation Symposium showcased the impact of NUI Galway’s research which reverberates internationally.

James Dillon, Research Impact Manager in Queens University, Belfast spoke about supporting the research community in the pathway to impact, before joining a panel discussion with NUI Galway’s: Jacinta Thornton, Associate Director, Innovation Office; Claire O’Connor, Director of Institutional Research; Edel Murphy, Public and Patient Involvement (PPI); and Tony O’Flaherty, Head of National Research Programmes, Research Office.

Threesis talks by PhD students Siobhán Morrissey, School of Humanities, and James Blackwell, School of Physics and a student entrepreneurship talk by Aaron Hannon, School of Engineering were followed by a second panel discussion centred on Research Perspectives. The panel was made up by Professor Molly Byrne, School of Psychology; Professor Vincent O’Flaherty, School of Natural Sciences; Dr Sharon Glynn, School of Medicine; and Professor Siobhán Mullally, Director of the Irish Centre for Human Rights; and Dr Nessa Cronin, Centre for Irish Studies and Moore Institute.

At the event, Professor Lokesh Joshi, Vice-President of Research at NUI Galway, spoke about the focus of the University’s research: “As a public university we are here for a purpose, and that purpose is to benefit society and to deliver public good. I think this is something which drives us all as a research community - we want to make a change in the world – this drives us, this inspires us. I would like to congratulate today’s awardees for their exemplary commitment to their research and to our wider purpose.” 

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