UCD Vice-President for Research, Innovation and Impact
Now the first woman president of UCD, Orla has been part of the university leadership for a decade. During this time, she has championed the advancement of women through two gender equality action plans. She is currently Vice-President for Research, Innovation and Impact and a Professor in Electronic Engineering at UCD.
Orla has been a member of the University management team since 2014. Under her leadership, annual research grants, publications, citation impact and innovation success for UCD have substantially increased, with major initiatives in areas such as sustainability, food, quantum technologies and personalised medicine. Her leadership of UCD’s innovation activities has seen a significant increase in space at NovaUCD, the University’s centre for new ventures and entrepreneurs, the launch of the University Bridge Fund to support early-stage companies and the development of an AgTech Innovation Centre at UCD Lyons Farm.
She has supported the advancement of women in UCD through the development and delivery of two successive gender equality action plans, which secured two Athena SWAN Bronze awards for the University. She is also a director of the Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition.
It’s very important to us as an institution that all members of the university community and leadership are involved in our continued improvement. We want to draw on the ideas, the creativity and the contribution of all members of our community to make UCD a truly inclusive environment.
As Professor of Electronic Engineering, her research is in the area of nonlinear circuits and systems, and she has been awarded research grants and prizes from a number of national, international and industry sources for this work. In 2022, Orla chaired the UCD Decade of Centenaries Committee, and oversaw the organisation of the National Conference held at UCD in December 2022 on the Foundation of the Irish State.
She is a member of the Board and former Deputy Chair of the Higher Education Authority. She is a member of the Royal Irish Academy and a fellow of the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), Engineers Ireland and the Irish Academy of Engineering. She has served as President of Engineers Ireland, as Chair of the Irish Research Council, the EU Advisory Group on Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions and the IEEE Technical Committee on Nonlinear Circuits and Systems, as Vice-President for Resources and Treasurer of CESAER (the Conference of European Schools of Advanced Engineering Education and Research), as a director of the Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition, and as a member of a number of Editorial Boards.