May Academic Awarded SFI-Royal Society Research Fellowship at NUI Galway

Dr Mark Howard has joined NUI Galway’s School of Mathematics, Statistics and Applied Mathematics having been awarded a Royal Society – Science Foundation Ireland University Research Fellowship.

The University Research Fellowship scheme is for outstanding scientists who are in the early stages of their research career and have the potential to become leaders in their field. This fellowship provides the opportunity to build an independent research career.

The Fellowship is part of a collaboration between the Royal Society and Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) where both institutions partner on a University Research Fellowship Scheme. This award, funded by Science Foundation Ireland allows Irish research scientists to follow in the footsteps of giants like Boyle, Hooke and Newton and join a fellowship of many of the world’s most distinguished scientists drawn from all areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Dr Howard’s research is in the field of Quantum Computing. By building quantum computers, computers that exploit the laws of quantum mechanics, scientists will unlock new problem-solving capabilities. His fellowship applies mathematical techniques in order to design realistic quantum computers. Quantum computing could be used in optimising and simulating molecules and materials for drug design and delivery, in banking security, or in supply chain and logistics.

Speaking about his new Fellowship at NUI Galway, Dr Mark Howard, said: “I was delighted to receive this award, not only because of its prestigious nature but because it provides one of the most precious assets an academic can have - time; time to develop as an independent researcher, time to pursue ambitious research goals and time to build an academic group of one's own.”

The award, worth over €500,000 covers salary, overheads and research expenses for five years with an option to apply for an additional three-year extension. In addition, Dr Howard has won a Royal Society Research Enhancement Award, which enables him to hire a Postdoctoral Researcher, as well as providing funding for Undergraduate Summer Studentships.

Dr Mark Howard also contributed recently to an article on the ‘Heart of Quantum’ in New Scientist, to read in full, visit: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24132210-300-the-quantum-world-is-infamously-weird-now-we-might-know-why/

Dr Howard’s research was published in a Nature paper in 2014, to read the full paper, visit: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature13460

The Royal Society are the independent scientific academy of the UK and the Commonwealth, dedicated to promoting excellence in science. For more information, visit: https://royalsociety.org/

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