5 young scientists to represent Ireland at major Nobel prize meeting

2 May 2019

The town of Lindau, Germany, will host the major Nobel prize event. Image: © Stadtblick Stuttgart/Stock.adobe.com

The Irish Research Council has selected five Irish-based researchers to represent the nation at a meeting of Nobel Prize winners.

Five of Ireland’s top young researchers are set to travel to Lindau in Germany for one of Europe’s biggest meetings of great minds.

The 69th Lindau Nobel Laureate meeting is an annual week-long conference taking place from 30 June to 5 July 2019. It will be attended by up to 40 Nobel prize-winning scientists as well as hundreds of undergraduates, PhD students and postdoctoral researchers from all over the world.

With a focus this year on cosmology, particle physics and quantum technology, the event’s aim is to build links and promote the exchange of ideas among scientists of different generations, cultures and disciplines.

The five researchers chosen to represent Ireland at the meeting were assessed by the Irish Research Council and selected by the Lindau Nobel Laureate Foundation following a rigorous and independent evaluation process. From a university perspective, the Tyndall National Institute based at University College Cork (UCC) has three representatives among the select few, followed by the University of Limerick (UL) and Trinity College Dublin (TCD) with one each.

Commenting on their selection, director of the Irish Research Council, Peter Brown, said: “The Lindau Foundation partners with science and research agencies worldwide to identify talented early-career researchers to attend.

“This is an excellent opportunity for very promising scientists – who are at the formative stages of their careers – to develop links and exchange ideas, both with their peers and with Nobel Laureates in their fields.”

The successful candidates are listed below.

Niamh Kavanagh, Tyndall at UCC

Kavanagh’s research focuses on designing, building and optimising an optical communications system to provide alternatives for future high-capacity, high-speed internet growth.

Dr Christopher A Broderick, Tyndall at UCC

Broderick is working on condensed matter theory and computational physics.

Dr Sarah Guerin, Bernal Institute at UL

Guerin is developing molecular modelling tools to predict electronic structures and certain responses of molecular crystals.

Dr Adam Kelly, TCD

Kelly’s research focuses on developing printed electronics from solution-processed 2D materials.

Dr Vijaykumar V Jadhav, Tyndall at UCC

Jadhav’s research focuses on the field of energy storage and material physics.

Colm Gorey was a senior journalist with Silicon Republic

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