May Leading University of Galway academics elected members of the Royal Irish Academy

Three University of Galway professors have been elected as members of the Royal Irish Academy for their exceptional contribution to sciences, humanities and social sciences.

Kieran Conboy, Anne O’Connor and Abhay Pandit are among 28 individuals honoured with the prestigious membership.

Professor Peter McHugh, Interim President of University of Galway, said: “I warmly congratulate our three esteemed colleagues on their election to membership of the Royal Irish Academy. The excellence of their ongoing contributions to their respective academic fields is truly commendable. Their achievements in research and scholarship are a source of great pride for University of Galway and a testament to the strength of our academic community.”

The Royal Irish Academy has been honouring Ireland’s leading contributors to the world of learning since its establishment in 1785. 

The new members were admitted to the RIA by Professor Pat Guiry, President of the Royal Irish Academy, at a special ceremony on Friday May 23rd. 

The University of Galway new members of the RIA are: 

Kieran Conboy is the chair of Analytics and Society in the School of Business and Economics at the University of Galway. He leads the ‘ROSETTA’ project, examining the development, use and regulation of technology from a time perspective across all aspects of life. He is a fellow of the Association of Information Systems and is the editor-in-chief of the European Journal of Information Systems.

Anne O’Connor is Established Professor in the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures at the University of Galway. A leading figure internationally in the fields of Translation Studies, Migration and Material Culture, she is the Director of the Emily Anderson Centre for Translation Research and Practice. In 2022 she received a €2m ERC Consolidator Grant for her project ‘PIETRA’, the first large-scale, multilingual study of the translation processes that underpin communication in global religion. She has also led funded projects on translation spaces in society, and has edited and translated 3 volumes of the Italian correspondence of Ireland's first cardinal, Paul Cullen. 

Abhay Pandit is Established Professor of Biomaterials at the University of Galway and Founding Director of CÚRAM, the Research Ireland Centre for Medical Devices, which recently marked its tenth anniversary. He is president-elect of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society-Global. He recently received the George Winter Award from the European Society for Biomaterials, the most prestigious European accolade in the field of biomaterials.

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​Professor Pat Guiry, President of the Royal Irish Academy, said: “We are delighted to welcome the newly elected Members of the Royal Irish Academy. Our mission is to recognise and foster academic excellence, and to create, curate and share knowledge for the good of society. Your election today embodies this mission, and your insights and achievements will enrich the work of the Academy as we continue to lead trusted and independent dialogue and analysis across the island for the benefit of all.”

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