UCD research infrastructure projects receive more than €5.3m in funding
1 April 2025
Three projects from UCD focusing on research infrastructure have received a total of more than €5.3 million in funding.
The funding forms part of a €17.7 million investment in nine projects through Research Ireland’s Research Infrastructure Programme. The awards will contribute to the advancement of high-quality and high-impact research activities across Ireland.
Research infrastructures are facilities, resources and services used by researchers, which can include scientific equipment, archives and data.
The funded UCD projects are:
- Title: Cryo Electron Microscopy Unit National Platform
- Project lead: (opens in a new window)Professor Oliver Blacque, UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science
- Goal: To develop a cryogenic electron microscopy unit which will provide high-resolution 3D visualisation of biological structures, aiding various biomedical research applications
- Title: Characterising Earth Materials using Multi-Sensor Core Logger Analysis (Earth SCAn)
- Project lead: (opens in a new window)Professor Peter Haughton, UCD School of Earth Sciences
- Goal: To advance the characterisation of Earth materials – such as minerals, rocks, soil and water – for interdisciplinary research into climate change, energy and geohazards
- Title: Automated X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS)
- Project lead: (opens in a new window)Professor Eoin Casey, UCD School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering
- Goal: To replace aging equipment for XPS (a technique used to study the surfaces of materials) to enhance surface analysis capabilities for various research and industry applications
Projects from University of Limerick, Trinity College Dublin, Teagasc, and Dublin City University were also funded.
“This targeted investment in research infrastructure will help to future-proof the conducting of high-quality research endeavours across our higher education institutions and in a wide range of disciplines,” said Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless TD, who announced the funding.
“It is important for researchers to be equipped with the innovative tools and the conducive environments that can help deliver research excellence and impact.”
“The Research Infrastructure Programme supports the research community in building and sustaining cutting-edge infrastructure to accomplish high-quality, impactful, and innovative research,” said Celine Fitzgerald, Interim Chief Executive of Research Ireland.
“The programme encourages partnerships and collaboration between different cohorts of researchers in Ireland, across academia and enterprise.”
By: Rebecca Hastings, Digital Journalist, UCD University Relations
To contact the UCD News & Content Team, email: newsdesk@ucd.ie
