DCU Voices

2021 EDITION DCU Faculty of Science and Health See Your Future with Us A place to discover, problem solve, experiment and explore. An inclusive environment that serves to innovate and inspire. Our range of multidisciplinary postgraduate opportunities will help shape the next chapter of your professional life. For more information visit: dcu.ie/pg/science-health Faculty of Science & Health Update In response to the Government’s job stimulus calls, the Faculty of Science and Health launched a number of new education programmes to focus on specialist skills for industry, including the Graduate Diploma for Specialist Skills in Biopharmaceutical Analysis. In response to the Teacher Supply Action Plan, a Professional Diploma for Teaching Physics was introduced in collaboration with UL and NUIG. Working with colleagues in the Faculty of Engineering and Computing, the Faculty introduced two new programmes (BSc Psychology and Maths, and BSc Psychology with Disruptive Technologies) and three new specialisms (Bioprocessing or Chemistry with Artificial Intelligence, and Physics with Data Analytics) in response to the Government’s Human Capital Initiative (DCU Futures). A record number of papers were published in refereed journals in 2020. 74 research projects were awarded external funding totalling almost €13m. Prof Tia Keyes, Prof John Costello, Dr Paula Meleady, and Dr Mary Pryce won SFI Frontiers for the Future awards. The Faculty also led out on the Covid-19 Research Hub, a major University-wide initiative to contribute our knowledge to the national and international effort to deal with Covid-19 and its impacts on society. Professor Deborah O’Connell was appointed as a Full Professor in Plasma Physics and Director of the National Centre for Plasma Science and Technology; one of the first HEA Senior Academic leadership Initiative (SALI) appointments at DCU. BSc in Actuarial Mathematics student, Ronan Smith was awarded the Royal Irish Academy’s Hamilton Prize. The Faculty’s two annual Richard O’Kennedy awards were presented in December. The Overall Award was presented to Dr Mary Pryce, School of Chemical Sciences and the Emerging Talent Award was presented to Dr Brian Freeland, School of Biotechnology. Michelle Butler Executive Dean, Faculty of Science and Health