TCD secures IR£46.2m in research funding

Posted on: 21 December 2001

The Provost of Trinity College, Dr. John Hegarty welcomed the announcement by the Minister for Education and Science, Dr. Michael Woods, TD of projects receiving funding under the HEA’s Programme for Research in Third-level Institutions (PRTLI) on Friday 21 December 2001. Each of Trinity’s eight submitted proposals were successful, securing funding of IR£46.2m.

“A key element of our overall research strategy is to promote the development of a balanced portfolio of research across and between disciplines and this is reflected in the range of our successful proposals in science and the humanities”, stated the Provost. “There has been an increased focus on areas in which the country currently lacks the needed concentration of expertise and in which Trinity, whether on its own or working in conjunction with other institutions, has the potential to meet a national need at an international standard”, he continued.

The establishment of the Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience and the National Neuroscience Network (TCINN & NNN) will incorporate an integrated programme of research aimed at identifying the mechanisms of change in the central nervous system. It will assist in the understanding of neurodegenerative diseases and potential treatments for them.

The HEA’s decision to support the establishment of a Centre for Transportation Research and Innovation for People (TRIP) as an ‘Area of New and Emerging Potential’ is important, according to Prof. Mike Gibney, Dean of Research as it ” reflects Trinity’s strategy of identifying new and emerging areas of research enquiry”. The TRIP team will conduct a series of research projects in the areas of: Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for transport; transportation demand and supply; safety improvements across all modes; environmental impacts of transport and their management; and quality of life.

Other successful proposals include:
The establishment of the Trinity Centre for Bio-engineering (TCBE) and a research programme to be carried out in partnership with the National Centre for Biomedical Engineering in NUIG. Together these two centres will provide national leadership in the search for bio-engineering solutions to skeletal diseases.

The development of research under the PRTLI Cycle 1 funded Institute for Information Technology and Advanced Computation (IITAC). An infrastructure will be developed to support High Performance Computing and Visualisation.

The development of research under the PRTLI Cycle 1 funded Institute for Advanced Materials Science (IAMS) – further research will be carried out in the area of nanomaterials and nanotechnology in collaboration with DCU.

The establishment of an Institute for International Integration Studies (IIIS) will conduct research in issues of international integration, or ‘globalisation’ as it is commonly known, under the research themes: The world economy; Globalisation and the nation state; and International regulation.

A second phase of research in Mediterranean and Near Eastern Studies funded under Cycle 1 including research in Egyptology/Assyriology and Islamic Studies.

A new research programme in Irish Scottish Studies funded under Cycle 1.