November 2017 Marine Institute Awards Research Infrastructure Funding to NUI Galway Scientists

NUI Galway Ryan Institute scientists lever over €800,000 in research infrastructure investment by Marine Institute

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed TD, this week announced the awarding of grant funding through the Marine Institute to research projects in specialist marine equipment to six scientists from NUI Galway’s Ryan Institute.

The funding awards of over €800,000 will strengthen the Ryan Institute’s research capabilities in a range of research areas including aquaculture, climate change, biogeochemistry and using autonomous systems for upper ocean profiling. The funding grants have been made in the area of specialist marine equipment and small infrastructure from the Marine Institute.

Minister Michael Creed, said: “I’m delighted to announce these funding grants which herald the next step forward for many new projects in our marine sector. The funding for marine research equipment helps to target a gap in funding that exists between supports available to Higher Education Institutes via the HEA and support from Ireland’s development agencies such as SFI and Enterprise Ireland. These grants will allow the marine research and innovation community to purchase specialist equipment needed to support their current and future research activities.”

Welcoming the funding awards, Professor Charles Spillane, Director of the Ryan Institute at NUI Galway, said: “Research infrastructure funding is critical for Ireland’s research community to maintain and advance its international competitiveness. Such infrastructure will foster research collaboration and partnerships with both public and private sector partners, nationally and internationally. The Ryan Institute’s research community really welcome this infrastructure funding support from the Marine Institute, which provides the basis to further develop our research excellence and socioeconomic impact in marine and aquatic sciences and innovation.”

Marine Institute Research Infrastructure Investment Award Recipients  

• Professor Peter Croot - Analysis of Trace Metals in Seawater for Marine Research
• Professor Charles Spillane - Smart Aquaculture Feeding Trials Research Infrastructure
• Dr Audrey Morley - Particle Size Analyser for Transdisciplinary Research in Marine Sciences
• Professor Olivier Thomas - Marine Chiroptics
• Professor Paul Murphy - Continuous Flow Chemistry Equipment for Sugar Research
• Professor Peter Croot - Analysis of climate relevant gases in seawater
• Dr Brian Ward - Next generation of Autonomous Upper Ocean Profiling Platform

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