Shane Kenny Memorial Biotechnology Lecture

Dr. Shane Kenny, UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science, passed away unexpectedly in his sleep on 27 July 2020. It came as a huge shock to his colleagues and friends at UCD, who are still suffering as a result of their loss. Shane was a huge personality with so much energy and dedication. He was based in UCD for over a period of nearly 20 years.

Shane was a graduate of Industrial Microbiology from SBBS and joined the laboratory of Prof Kevin O' Connor as a PhD student, where he studied a combination of Chemistry and Microbiology to convert waste plastic to biodegradable plastic.  He continued his research as a postdoctoral researcher in Prof O' Connor’s lab and published his work in the American chemical society journal Environmental Science and Technology. This paper has been cited over 100 times since 2008. His research was also successfully patented in the US and EU and licensed to the UCD spin-out company Bioplastech.  Shane became Bioplastech's first employee and led the development of the technology through multiple international collaborations and scale up projects.

Shane helped so many undergraduate students, visiting students, graduate students and postdocs during his time at UCD together with the MSc Biotechnology students placed with Bioplastech. He was always willing to help, always willing to do that little bit extra for the success of a project. His energy and willingness to help others meant he was forever fixing and maintaining equipment so that projects could keep going. In a university and in a start-up his skills and his mindset were critical to keeping the boat afloat and moving forward. His passing has left a huge hole and his absence is felt every day. 

The annual Shane Kenny Memorial Lecture hosted by the School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science and BiOrbic Bioeconomy SFI Research centre honours his legacy of contributions to biotechnology and science education. This year’s lecture, by Professor Keith Murphy, will be held in the Conway Lecture Theatre on Thursday, 27th February 2025, at 12:00 PM. All are welcome.