Dr Luke Geever, Principal Investigator at APT Ireland was presented with a Fulbright Award in Dublin on Wednesday, 4 June 2015.
Dr Geever, who leads one of Ireland’s largest polymer research groups and was one of the founding Principle Investigators in APT, will go to Harvard Medical School and the Mayo Clinic as the Fulbright-Enterprise Ireland Scholar. Dr Geever will undertake collaborative research with world leading experts while exploring the clinical applications of novel biomedical polymers.
Thirty-one Fulbright Awards were announced by Minister for Diaspora Affairs, Jimmy Deenihan TD, and the US Ambassador to Ireland, Kevin O’Malley, in Iveagh House on Wednesday.
Minister Deenihan commented: “The range of specialist knowledge amongst Fulbright awardees makes them a very strong group of representatives for Ireland. This year’s awards reflect the rapid global developments in digital technology. Through the Fulbright TechImpact Awards and the Fulbright-University of Notre Dame TechImpact Scholar Awards, six awardees will explore digital advancement in areas including wearable sensing technologies, app development and language-learning resources.”
Ambassador O’Malley noted: “Year on year US and Irish Fulbrighters provide a fascinating insight into the direction of global research in a wide variety of fields. This year we have seen a particular increase in research in the areas of health and technology. The Fulbright programme provides a unique platform for international scholars to break new ground, to collaborate with other world class researchers and to make a difference.”
Director of Research, Innovation and Enterprise at AIT, Paul Killeen, added his congratulations. “This is a fantastic honour for Luke and also for AIT. The Fulbright Award is an endorsement of the excellent quality research being conducted at AIT and the global relevance of this work, particularly in polymer science. It also strengthens our relationship with Harvard and the Mayo Clinic, which was forged through Dr Declan Devine’s previous Marie Curie scholarship.”
Chair of the Ireland-United States (Fulbright) Commission for Educational Exchange, Prof John Hegarty commented: “We are very thankful to the state agencies that sponsor Fulbright Awards including CRH plc, Enterprise Ireland, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Marine Institute and Teagasc. We were delighted to welcome SEAI as a new sponsor this year. We would also like to acknowledge the ongoing support of Irish and US higher colleges, the Irish Department for Foreign Affairs and Trade, the US Department of State, and the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, and the National Lottery who support the Irish language awards.”
Since 1957, the Fulbright Awards are given annually by the Irish and US governments and provide Irish students, scholars, and professionals with the opportunity to study, lecture and research at top universities and institutions throughout the United States.
