Professor Michael Coey Awarded Inaugural RDS / Intel Prize Lecture for Nanoscience

Posted on: 01 September 2011

Professor Michael Coey, Erasmus Smith’s Chair of Natural and Experimental Philosophy at  Trinity College Dublin’s School of Physics has been awarded the inaugural RDS / Intel Prize Lecture for Nanoscience in recognition of his contribution to the field of nanoscience.

Established by the RDS in partnership with Intel Ireland, the RDS / Intel Prize Lecture recognises the significant achievements being made by Irish scientists and scientists based in Ireland to the field of nanoscience.  This award recognises also those individuals who have a commitment to communicating their research to a diverse audience.

Former deputy Director of CRANN (Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructures and Nanodevices), Professor Coey’s accomplishments are in the fields of magnetism and spin electronics. Through scalability, the reduction in the size of magnets while maintaining their fundamental properties, Professor Coey and his team are breaking new ground in magnetic recording on a nanoscale.  Creating magnets which are 1 million times smaller than the head of a pin, these tiny magnets are radically transforming science and industry in Ireland.  These advancements will lead to the development of faster, smaller and more powerful computer and other electronic devices in the future.

Professor Coey has a strong commitment also to scientific outreach and communication and played a key role in the development of Trinity’s Science Gallery, Ireland’s first centre solely dedicated to scientific outreach and engaging the public with science. The RDS medal will be conferred on Professor Coey at a public lecture at the RDS in the autumn.  The lecture will be free of charge and open to the public.

The RDS / Intel Prize Lecture for Nanoscience, supported by The Irish Times, will be awarded annually and will alternate between a scientist based in Ireland and an Irish scientist based abroad.