Minister O’Keeffe announces ¤25m for ‘high-potential’ research projects
'Researchers' 27 pioneering projects will create new jobs in the "smart" economy' - Minister
The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, Batt O’Keeffe TD, today [Wednesday] announced more than ¤25 million over the next five years for 139 researchers to carry out cutting-edge work that will generate new jobs in the ‘smart’ economy.
The researchers, who are based in our higher education institutions, were awarded the funding under Science Foundation Ireland’s Principal Investigator Programme which supports strategic work in the life science, information communications technology and sustainable energy sectors.
The selected researchers are working on 27 pioneering projects.
Announcing the funding, Minister O’Keeffe said the selected projects had ‘the capacity to create new jobs in the “smart” economy because they targeted high-growth areas at the cutting-edge of innovation’.
‘The wide range of projects on which the selected researchers are working capture the calibre of work under way in our higher education institutions.
‘Their focus on turning ideas into commercialised products and services is meeting the challenge of the Innovation Taskforce Report which is rooted in the promise of human capital and our capacity to forge a future for tomorrow's workers.
‘By investing on a sustained basis in pioneering work, the Government is demonstrating our determination to support the emerging talent pool of scientists and engineers and create the jobs of tomorrow.
‘Today’s Science Foundation Ireland awards are a very important contribution to our innovation ecosystem and a core component of the Government’s economic recovery project,’ said Minister O’Keeffe.
Science Foundation Ireland directly supports more than 3,200 researchers who are collaborating with almost 400 indigenous and multinational firms here.
Among the research fields targeted by today’s funding are energy, environmental protection, health, agriculture and telecommunications.
Intel, Sigma Aldich, Seagate, ESB and Eirgrid are among the partner companies involved in the research projects which will result in new products, services and jobs.
The Director General of Science Foundation Ireland, Professor Frank Gannon, said the Principal Investigator Programme has been the cornerstone of the agency’s work agenda.
‘The track record shows that by selecting excellent researchers we can develop key partnerships with leading industries in Ireland, as well as producing high-quality publications and highly skilled workers.
‘That is the promise of the Government’s strategic investment in high-value research and human capital,’ said Professor Gannon.
ENDS/ETI2202
Editors’ Note
Summary list of the awards.
Bernard Mallee
Special Adviser on Press and Communications
Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation
Kildare St
Dublin 2
Tel: +353 1 631 3944
Fax: +353 1 631 2828
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Email: bernard_mallee@entemp.ie
Science foundation ireland principal investigator Awards
(1) Information Communications & Emergent Technologies Awards (x 12):
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PI: Max Ammann – Dublin Institute of Technology (Dublin Institute of Technology) Title: Footwear Telemetry Antennas for the Next Generation of Body-Centric Sensor Networks |
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PI: Andrew Fowler – University of Limerick Title: Mathematical modelling of bacterial growth and water quality in natural and commercial environments |
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PI: Dr Damian Flynn, University College Dublin Title: Enhancement of short-term power system flexibility at high wind penetration levels |
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PI: Dr Michael Connelly, University of Limerick Title: Semiconductor Optical Amplifier based All-Optical Signal Processing for Ultra High-Speed Photonic Systems |
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PI: Prof Nick Campbell, Prof Ailbhe Ni Chasaide/Dr. Christer Gobl, Trinity College Dublin Title: FASTNET - Focus on Actions in Social Talk: Network-Enabling Technology |
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PI: Prof Joao Marques-Silva, University College Dublin Title: BEACON: BoolEAn-based deCision and OptimizatioN procedures - Constraint Programming |
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PI: Dr Attilio Cafolla, Dublin City University Title: Formation, characterisation and exploitation of covalently bonded porphyrin nanostructures. |
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PI: Simon Elliot, Tyndall National Institute, Cork Title: ALDesign - Process design for atomic layer deposition |
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PI: Dr Justin Holmes and Dr Michael Morris, University College Cork Title: Novel Nanowire Structures for Devices |
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PI: Paul Hurley, Tyndall National Institute, Cork Title: Investigating Emerging Non-Silicon Transistors (INVENT) |
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PI: Liam Barry, Dublin City University Title: Applications of Wavelength Tuneable Lasers in Access and Metro Networks |
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PI: Prof. Barak Pearlmutter, NUI Maynooth Title: Higher-Level Efficient Numerics and Machine Learning
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(2) LIFESCIENCES AWARDS (x15)
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PI: Prof Steffen Backert, University College Dublin (UCD) Title: Importance of bacterial factors and signaling cascades in host cell invasion of the food-borne pathogen Campylobacter jejuni |
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PI: Dr Kevin Mitchell, Trinity College Dublin Title: Molecular Genetic Analyses of Thalamocortical Connectivity |
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PI: Prof O’Connell and Dr Winter, University College Dublin Title: Colonisation by sulphate reducing bacteria (SRB) subspecies in normal and inflamed colon and colonocyte responses to the SRB metabolite hydrogen sulphide |
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PI: Dr Michael Berndt, University College Cork Title: A novel pathway initiating adhesion-dependent platelet thrombosis |
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PI: Dr. Ross McManus, Trinity College Dublin Title: Post-genomic investigation of coeliac disease susceptibility genes |
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PI: Prof Jeremy Simpson, University College Dublin Title: Dissecting plasma membrane to endoplasmic reticulum trafficking pathways in mammalian cells – potential new avenues for improved drug delivery |
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PI: Prof Oliver Dolly, Dublin City University Title: Novel therapeutic approaches to normalise the exocytosis of transmitters from nerve endings in disease states via voltage-activated K+ channel and SNARE proteins. |
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PI: Dr Evelyn Murphy. University College Dublin Title: Functional analysis of NR4A receptor activity during distinct phases of acute and chronic inflammation |
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PI: Dr Mary McCaffrey, University College Cork Title: Functional analysis of the Rab11 and Rab14 GTPases and their associated proteins in eukaryotic membrane trafficking, with potential identification of targets for therapeutic intervention in the treatment of human disease |
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PI: Prof Dan Bradley, Trinity College Dublin Title: Bovine Genetic Variation and Disease Susceptibility |
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PI: Prof. Grace Mulcahy, University College Dublin Title: Helminth co-infection as a modulator of the bovine immune response |
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PI: Dr. Justin McCarthy, University College Cork Title: Functional characterization of presenilin-dependent regulated intramembrane proteolysis of cytokine receptors: Relevance to presenilin biology and immune systems |
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PI: Prof. Mathias Senge, Trinity College Dublin Title: Molecular Tuning of Porphyrins for Biomedical Applications |
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PI: Prof. Declan Gilheany, University College Dublin Title: Construction of P-Stereogenic Components of ProTide Drug Candidates |
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PI: Prof. Martin Hegner, Trinity College Dublin Title: Nanomechanics of molecular motors and cantilever array bio-diagnostic devices |
Last modified: 28/04/2010
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