Royal Irish Academy elects Professor Pat Guiry as President
Posted 22 March, 2023
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(opens in a new window)UCD Professor Pat Guiry has been elected the 58th President of the (opens in a new window)Royal Irish Academy, Ireland’s leading body of experts in the sciences and humanities.
The Tipperary native, who is a Full Professor of Synthetic Organic Chemistry at the UCD School of Chemistry and Director of the Centre for Synthesis and Chemical Biology, will take up the position with immediate effect.
Elected to the membership of the RIA in 2013, Professor Guiry served as the Academy’s Science Secretary from 2016 to 2020, and was a member of its Executive and Policy and Oversight Committees.
“As President it will be my privilege to work with members, officers and staff to promote the Academy as an independent, all-island learned society that provides expert scholarly advice to inform policy and civic society, responding in a flexible/timely manner to the ever-changing (inter)national research/education environment, with a particular focus on the research funding of STEM and the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences,” he said.
“I also endeavour to strengthen the presence of the Academy throughout the island of Ireland with North-South and East-West initiatives, deepening our links with sister Academies in the UK and continuing to benefit from the participation of the Academy’s experts in European and global networks and alliances.
Adding: “I will lead the development of the Academy’s 2024-2029 Strategic Plan, continuing to embed EDI into all aspects of activities, and will strengthen the Academy’s financial sustainability to achieve its strategic goals.I look forward to engaging with recently appointed Members and supporting the work of the newly established Young Academy of Ireland.”
Congratulations to chemist, Professor Pat Guiry (opens in a new window)@ucddublin who has been voted by the Members of the RIA today as their 58th President for a three-year term, replacing Dr Mary Canning effective immediately
— Royal Irish Academy (@RIAdawson) (opens in a new window)March 16, 2023
➡(opens in a new window)https://t.co/ePnIBhn0US (opens in a new window)pic.twitter.com/YwqHvPkccO
A graduate for UCD, Professor Guiry received his PhD in 1990 with Professor Dervilla Donnelly, and was a visiting PhD student in the group of Nobel Prize winner, Professor Sir Derek Barton FRS.
His research interests include the design, synthesis, and application of novel ligands in asymmetric catalysis, natural product synthesis, and medicinal chemistry.
To date, he has supervised 59 PhD students to graduation, worked with 24 postdoctoral fellows, and supervised over 120 final year undergraduate project students.
He is a recipient of a UCD President's Teaching Award, the Institute of Chemistry of Ireland’s Boyle-Higgins Medal, and a Science Foundation Ireland Mentorship Award.
An elected member of the UCD Governing Authority (third term) and of the Senate of the National University of Ireland (third term), Professor Guiry is the President of the Institute of Chemistry in Ireland and President of the EuChemS Division of Organic Chemistry.
By: David Kearns, Digital Journalist / Media Officer, UCD University Relations
To contact the UCD News & Content Team, email: newsdesk@ucd.ie
