Six NUI Galway Researchers have been awarded Fellowships by the Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology (IRCSET). Over € 3.3 million will be made available under the IRCSET Empower scheme to support a total of 37 researchers who will carry out a research and professional development programme over the next two years. The NUI Galway recipients include Dr Fiona Brennan, Dr Olivier LeRoux, Biology; Dr Rory Coffey, Dr James Murphy, Earth/Environmental Sciences; Dr Alexander Rahm, Mathematics and Dr Micheal Scanlon, Chemistry.

IRCSET programmes are aimed at knowledge creation within Ireland for the future benefit of society and the smart economy. The EMPOWER Scheme is targeted at developing the country s international reputation as an important location in which to carry out world class research, so that Ireland retains and attracts the highest level Research and Development capabilities for the future. The scheme was open to applicants worldwide who wish to carry out research in Ireland.

Announcing the posts, Martin Hynes, Director of IRCSET commented: “Now in its ninth year, the EMPOWER Scheme continues to assist in building the strong Irish research system by facilitating talented young researchers to develop their careers in Ireland. These individuals both contribute to and gain from the experience of established research teams, developing the necessary skills to equip them for successful careers in a wide range of employment sectors. The scheme also facilitates international mobility within the research community by attracting researchers from other countries to Ireland. Each year it attracts a large number of applications from very high-quality candidates worldwide, and the scheme’s international assessment committee continue to be impressed by the exceptionally high calibre of the successful candidates.”

Congratulating the six NUI Galway researchers, Vice President for Research at NUI Galway Professor Terry Smith said; “The IRCSET Empower scheme is an important scheme which gives our researchers at an early stage of their research career the opportunity to build upon and broaden their research and professional skills, which contribute to the excellent research being undertaken at NUI Galway.”

All applications to this highly competitive scheme were subject to assessment, strictly on merit, by international assessment committees who are specialist in each domain. The decision to grant funding is based on research career to date, project description, proposed research environment and references from recognised research leaders.

Further details are available at www.ircset.ie.