Trinity geography professor wins Researcher of the Year award

The award was given to Professor Anna Davies by the Irish Research Council

Professor Anna Davies of the School of Natural Sciences was awarded the Researcher of the Year award from the Irish Research Council (IRC) last night.

Prof Davies, who is also the principal investigator at Trinity’s Environmental Governance Research Group, won the award for her research in environmental governance and sustainability.

The IRC also awarded the Early-Career Researcher of the Year award to Dr Karen English of Maynooth University, and the Alumnus of the Year”award to Dr Brian Egan of Wood PLC.

Medals of Excellence were also awarded to two early-stage researchers from Trinity. Joanna Poetz was awarded the Eda Sagarra Medal of Excellence for her research in medieval studies, and Hannah Prendeville was awarded the Jane Grimson Medal of Excellence for being the top-ranked postgraduate researcher in the STEM category.

Congratulating the awardees, Minister of State for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research and Development, John Halligan, said: “I would like to warmly congratulate Professor Anna Davies, Dr Karen English and Dr Brian Egan on receiving their Irish Research Council Researcher of the Year awards.”

“Their exceptional careers are a testament to the quality and calibre of people in Ireland’s research sector and I would like to commend them on their hard work and dedication to their chosen field,” he said.

“Supporting exceptional researchers from early-career stage and ensuring that we have pipeline for a broad range of expertise, is essential for our research eco-system and future-proofs our higher education sector.”

Professor Jane Ohlmeyer, Chair of the Irish Research Council, also commented on the significance of the awards: “Having a vibrant research community – and strong public support for research – is more important than ever. The Researcher of the Year awards are all about recognising the excellence in the sector and how important research is for society, the economy, and our higher education system.”

The Researcher of the Year awards are now in their second year. They recognise and commend the best of the Council’s current members or alumni working in academia, industry, civic society and the public sector.

Danielle Olavario

Danielle Olavario is a former SciTech Editor of Trinity News. She is a Microbiology graduate.