Microelectronic Engineering Inventor Receives 2025 NovaUCD Licence of the Year Award
Professor Peter Kennedy, a Professor of Microelectronic Engineering at the UCD School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, and the inventor of novel methods to address ‘wandering spurs’ in the spectrum of frequency synthesisers, which have been licenced to industry, has been named recipient of the 2025 NovaUCD Licence of the Year Award.
Professor Kennedy was presented with his Award by Professor Orla Feely, President, University College Dublin (UCD) during the annual presentation of the NovaUCD Innovation Awards which took place at the UCD University Club.
Professor Kennedy has over 400 research publications, including 5 US patents, in the fields of oscillator design, hysteresis, neural networks, nonlinear dynamics, chaos communication, mixed-signal test, and frequency synthesis.
Two of the patents of which he is a named inventor relate to novel methods to address the erratic and unwanted time-varying spectral components, known colloquially as ‘wandering spurs’, in the spectrum of frequency synthesisers.
Frequency synthesisers are critical components in modern RF (radio frequency) communication systems. Reduction in wandering spurs is critical for high precision RF applications such as, high frequency sensing/sensors, 5G and next-generation wireless communications networks and high-precision test and measurement equipment.
One of the patents relates to research carried out by Professor Kennedy and his team at UCD and the other patent relates to earlier work carried out while he was at University College Cork (UCC).
The patents were jointly licensed by UCD and UCC to Analog Devices following a collaboration between UCD and the company which successfully validated the patented methods in industrial frequency synthesisers.
The technology was subsequently implemented in an Analog Device product released during 2024 and the licensing of this technology will lead to the payment of licensing income to UCD and to UCC.
Prof. Orla Feely, President, UCD and Prof. Peter Kennedy
On receiving the 2025 NovaUCD Licence of the Year Award, Professor Peter Kennedy said, “I am honoured to receive this Award which reflects research focused on addressing the issue of unwanted wandering spurs in the spectrum of frequency synthesisers, carried out over many years by my students and me in UCD and previously in UCC.
The Award also demonstrates the value of partnering closely with industry, in this case with Analog Devices, to validate technology prior to licensing, and ultimately deliver significant benefits to both the universities and the industry partner.”
He added, “Analog Devices in Limerick is the world leader in the field of frequency synthesis microchips. They trusted us enough to tell us about the wandering spur problem, the origins of which nobody in the industry could understand at the time, let alone solve. Research Ireland funded research students in UCC and UCD and we worked with Analog Devices to validate our ground-breaking ideas in their very best synthesizers.
Our students got great experience as we developed insights and published highly influential research papers. Analog Devices’ Irish design team got a market-ready solution to the wandering spur problem. And the world has better communication systems, microwave measurement equipment, and higher quality signal sources as a result. It has been win-win-win for the students, the country, and society.”
He concluded, “I and my research team will continue to focus on improving the performance of precision frequency synthesisers and will actively engage with interested industry partners in this domain.”
A graduate of UCD and the University of California at Berkeley, Professor Kennedy rejoined UCD in 2017 from UCC where he had served as Head of the Department of Microelectronic Engineering, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and as Vice-President for Research.
In addition he is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), is a former President of the Royal Irish Academy and is founding Director of the Microelectronics Industry Design Association (MIDAS Ireland) and the Microelectronic Circuits Centre Ireland (MCCI).
The annual NovaUCD Innovation Awards highlight successes made in areas of knowledge transfer, consultancy, entrepreneurship and the promotion of an innovation culture, by members of the UCD research, innovation and entrepreneurial community.
Speaking at the event Professor Orla Feely, UCD, President, said, “UCD is committed to delivering impact from our leading research and innovation across a broad range of disciplines. The NovaUCD Innovation Awards, which have become a key annual event, recognise the achievements of our research, innovation and entrepreneurial communities and demonstrate our strength in developing talent and creating and applying knowledge to deliver impact.
I congratulate all who have received this year’s Awards and wish the Awardees every future success as they continue to deliver impact in Ireland and further afield through their commercialisation, consultancy, entrepreneurial and innovation activities."
A total of 7 Awards were presented by Professor Feely and the other Awardees are;
2025 NovaUCD Innovation Award: Professor Wenxin Wang, UCD Charles Institute of Dermatology, UCD School of Medicine
2025 NovaUCD Invention of the Year Award: Dr Emer Doheny, UCD School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Dr Jayne Carberry, UCD School of Medicine
2025 NovaUCD Spin-out of the Year Award: LaNua Medical, co-founders, Tom Fitzmaurice, Dr Cormac Farrelly, UCD School of Medicine, Dr Eoin O'Cearbhaill and Dr Sajjad Amiri, UCD School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering
2025 NovaUCD Consultancy of the Year Award: Dr Siobhan Mullan, UCD School of Veterinary Medicine
2025 NovaUCD CEO of the Year Award: Mike McGearty, Meili
2025 NovaUCD Innovation Champion of the Year Award: Professor Kevin O’Connor, BiOrbic, Research Ireland Centre for Bioeconomy and UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science.
NovaUCD is supported under the KT Boost Programme co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union, through the ERDF Southern, Eastern & Midland Regional Programme 2021-2027.
ENDS
10 April 2025
For more information contact Micéal Whelan, Communications and Media Relations Manager, NovaUCD, UCD Research and Innovation, e: miceal.whelan@ucd.ie.