Posted: 27 November 2007
UCD professor awarded RIA gold medal
Professor George Eogan, emeritus Professor of Celtic Archaeology at University College Dublin, widely regarded as one of Ireland’s foremost archaeologists, has been awarded the Royal Irish Academy Gold Medal in the Humanities. His momentous programme of archaeological work in the Boyne Valley over the course of the last 40 years has transformed our understanding of the passage tombs and the settlement history of the area. As a result, the Boyne Valley was established as a national park and designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. His crucial role in the development of Irish archaeology from the 1960s onwards has received recognition in his appointment to Seanad Éireann, in numerous awards and in membership of bodies such as Academia Europea, the German Archaeological Institute and the Society of Antiquaries, London.
Pictured (l-r): Professor George Eogan, emeritus Professor of Celtic Archaeology at University College Dublin; Minister for Education and Science, Mary Hanafin TD; Professor James Slevin, President of the Royal Irish Academy; and Dr John Fuller Atkins, SFI Professor of Biochemistry at University College Cork.
Each year, Royal Irish Academy Gold Medals are presented to two outstanding academics. They are recognised as a truly national expression of celebration for scholarly achievement. The medals are sponsored by the Higher Education Authority and the Irish Independent.
On the same day, the Royal Irish Academy Gold Medal in the Life Sciences was awarded to Dr John Fuller Atkins, SFI Professor of Biochemistry at University College Cork, who is internationally renowned for his research in the field of molecular genetics. In 1981, he was awarded as ScD for his published work, on the advice of Nobel Prize Winner, Fred Sanger and today stands as one of the leading authorities in the world on the genetic code. John Atkins found the first evidence that the code is not always a triplet showing that non-triplet decoding occurred at a low level in ordinary cells. Over the next 40 years he went on to discover and explain many other examples in which the code varies from the universal within specific sequences in a special way, for which he has coined the name recoding. He was the first Irish person to be elected to the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO) and the first Director of Biotechnology of Science Foundation Ireland (SFI).
“Professor Eogan and Dr Atkins are being honoured on the basis of their immense contribution over many decades to the Humanities and the Life Sciences,” said The Minister for Education and Science, Mary Hanafin TD. “In acknowledging their achievements we are also bringing to the wider public attention the high standards and broad range of research work that is going on in this country. Today’s recipients of the RIA Gold Medal, the highest award that can be made in Ireland in this area, stand as most influential academics renowned both nationally and internationally.”
Michael Kelly, Chairman of the Higher Education Authority explained that recognising academic excellence is a core function of higher education in Ireland. “The contributions of Prof Eogan and Dr Atkins to learning and research are richly valued by all,” he said.