November 2002 NUI Galway academic honoured for his contribution to the Crystal Industry

Professor Michael J. Hynes of the Department of Chemistry in NUI Galway has been awarded the prestigious John Cope Memorial Award for his distinguished contribution to the Crystal Industry in Ireland and Europe. He has had a long association with Galway Irish Crystal. The award was presented recently at the International Crystal Federation (ICF) Technical Exchange Conference hosted by Waterford Crystal in Waterford.

Professor Hynes has carried out a number of research projects relating to the lead crystal industry and has been a member of the International Crystal Federation since its inception. He has lectured all over Europe on aspects of health and safety, risk assessment and EU legislation relevant to the crystal industry. A recent project supported by the EU involved studies of the properties of novel glass compositions.

Professor Hynes' main field of academic research involves studies of the kinetics and mechanisms of reactions in solution. Recent work has involved studies of the reactions of metal ions, particularly iron and aluminium, with some of the phenolic components present in green tea. The late John Cope after whom the award is named was the Technical Director of the tableware division of Waterford-Wedgwood and a specialist in ceramics or 'keramics' as he preferred to call it. He liked to describe himself as a 'simple potter' but in fact he was a man of great technical knowledge, ingenuity and imagination who also had considerable expertise in legal matters relevant to the Glass and Ceramics Industries. He was a founding member of the ICF, whose interests he represented at the OECD, the European Commission and the European Union.

Information from: Máire Mhic Uidhir, Press Officer, NUI Galway. Tel. 091 750418