14/01/2004

Funding boost for Ireland-based research

Investment awards of over €69 million recently approved by the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), the National Foundation for Excellence in Scientific Research were confirmed by Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Harney.

This brings the investment commitments made by SFI since 2001 to over €320 million in support over 750 world-class researchers working in the fields underpinning Biotechnology (BioT) and Information and Communications Technology (ICT).

One of the most significant end of year awards announced was funding of €10 million for a new SFI Centre for Science, Engineering and Technology (CSET) at Trinity College Dublin (TCD) in partnership with University College Cork (UCC) and University College Dublin (UCD).

The Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructures and Nanodevices (CRANN) will develop tools and techniques to build new structures and devices atom by atom with endless possibilities for BioT and ICT.

TCD will also receive a further €11 million for the provision of a specialised nanoscience research facility that will meet the exacting environmental and vibration standards required for cutting edge nanoscience research.

An additional CSET Award of €15 million has been awarded to NUI Galway for the establishment of the Regenerative Medicine Institute (REMEDI). Regenerative Medicine is an emerging discipline that will be used to repair tissues and organs and promises to partially replace current conventional medicine with its reliance on invasive techniques. Industry partners will include Medtronic Vascular (Galway). The REMEDI CSET will play a vital role in embedding high value added R&D research activities in Ireland and will sustain the future growth of Biotechnology firms in the country.

Announcing the awards, the Tánaiste said: "CSETs such as CRANN and REMEDI linking academic researchers with industry partners in Ireland will play a significant role in building Ireland's new knowledge-driven economy. They are of strategic importance to the entire country as we believe that building partnerships between academia and industry will support the creation of new ideas and products, sustain the supply of research skills and talent into the 21st century and produce the innovation and development that successful wealth generating economies need to grow."

Dr. William C. Harris, Director General of SFI, said, "All SFI CSETs have been established to create highly competitive academic research teams linking academia and industry as part of SFI's effort to create and sustain a lasting indigenous research base that produces ideas, products, and jobs based on knowledge and innovation. Ireland's future depends on exploiting ideas and the creativity of talented researchers here. Expectations for CRANN and REMEDI are high and I am confident that they will be met under the distinguished leadership of Professors John Pethica FRS, (CRANN) and Timothy O'Brien (REMEDI) respectively."

Other award highlights include over €8.5 million for three new Research Professorships, under the SFI Fellows-Research Professorship programme, which assists Irish research institutions to attract outstanding researchers (SFI Fellows) to their institutions from outside the state.

Details of the remaining €25 million in awards for other centres were also confirmed.

(SP)

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