The Royal Irish Academy (RIA) has revealed the list of the first 40 members of the Young Academy Ireland (YAI) network, including nine researchers and innovators currently or formerly affiliated with Trinity.
The forty inaugural members were selected from a talent pool of early career researchers and innovators (ECRIs) from across Ireland, and after a recruitment process led by the RIA last year.
The YAI is intended to provide ECRIs with more opportunities and increased engagement with their respective fields of study, through the development of skills, networks, and leadership roles.
Among the nine researchers with links to College include three outgoing assistant professors and one adjunct assistant professor, as well as past and present research fellows, postdoctoral researchers and a former lecturer. The list also includes three Trinity graduates.
Ann Cleare is an Assistant Professor of Music and Media Technologies, and received an honorary doctorate from the National University of Ireland in 2019 for her contribution to music. She also holds a PhD from Harvard University.
Declan O’Loughlin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, with his research specialising in impedance and the use of non-invasive body imaging and monitoring. His previous studies in the University of Galway focused on the development of a radar-based breast imaging device.
Michael Gibbons, an Assistant Professor in Advanced Heat Transfer and Research Fellow in Trinity’s School of Engineering, has spent over a decade in heat transfer research in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Canada. He also currently leads the Thermal Fluids and Energy research group in College.
Karina Doorley serves as an Adjunct Assistant Professor and is also the head of the Tax, Welfare and Pensions group at the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), whilst Eimear Dolan, a current Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Galway, was a former postdoctoral researcher in Trinity.
Also among the forty members of YAI is Fiona Doyle, a former lecturer and Research Fellow in the School of Education and Engineering at Trinity. She is currently an Associate Professor of Art History and Cultural Policy at University College Dublin, and held the post of Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Harvard University.
The list also includes three former Trinity PhD alumni – Fatemeh Golpayegani, who holds a PhD in Computer Science from College; Deirdre Robertson, who was also an Irish Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow at Trinity; and geneticist Kevin Gerard Daly, who is still based in College following his undergraduate and postgraduate education.
Welcoming the announcement of the list, Pat Guiry, President of the RIA, said: “The Royal Irish Academy has established this platform for early career researchers to empower talented, emerging leaders and future leaders, and to give early career researchers a distinct voice in research and policy discussions.”
“The first cohort of Young Academy members are based across the island of Ireland and are planning to make a significant contribution to society by addressing many pressing national and global challenges,” Guiry continued.
Upon its foundation, the YAI will join the global Young Academies network as its 51st member group.
The forty researchers officially take their posts on April 25, serving membership terms of four years.
