Dr Anthony Cronin
Anthony is a mathematician in the School of Mathematics and Statistics. His research interests include nonnegative matrix theory, mathematics education and support. He lectures Linear Algebra on the Mathematical Sciences pathway and moderates both mathematics modules on the Access to Science, Engineering, Agriculture and Medicine programme. Anthony is an advocate for active learning and utilises technology-enhanced learning to engage and motivate students in both large lecture, and smaller tutorial and support settings.
He has piloted student-centred pedagogies including:
Qwizdom, to initiate in-class interactive audience responses, Q&A discussions and to poll students on content as a formative assessment tool, the e-assessment portal Bolster Academy which affords peer-group activities, weekly practice and feedback, and peerAssign, where students both assess and give feedback to their classmates, affording them a unique opportunity to view and learn from their peers. Anthony also manages the UCD Maths Support Centre, a university-wide resource for students registered to level 0-2 modules experiencing difficulty with the mathematical/statistical component of their programme. The centre facilitates 6,000 student visits each year. Qualitative and quantitative feedback from each student-tutor interaction is electronically and anonymously fed back to over 70 module coordinators at UCD.
Dr Jennifer Mitchell
Jennifer is Head of Microbiology and Lecturer/Assistant Professor School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science. Having completed her degree and PhD in Trinity College Dublin, Jennifer has worked in UCD College of Science since 2009. She is a Marie Curie Fellow and has worked in University of California San Francisco.
Dr Gavin Stewart
Gavin is a comparative physiologist working in the School of Biology & Environmental Science. His research interests focus on the cell membrane transporters responsible for controlling epithelial transport mechanisms. His laboratory studies the role of both urea and short chain fatty acid transporters in various tissues – including rumen, colon, bladder and brain. He also has a keen interest in educational research, having published journal articles on gender bias in assessment and making improvements in Stage 1 teaching. He is currently involved in two studies funded by the Higher Education Authority investigating student stress and how to improve the provision of academic advice.
Dr Tom McCormack
Tom is a lecturer in the School of Physics. His research interests include laser-produced plasma and their applications such as sources for EUV lithography, x-ray microscopy and absorption spectroscopy for supernova-like events in astrophysics. He has lectured at a range of levels and currently lectures modules on foundational physics and thermal physics as well as being a module coordinator in the stage 3 and 4 advanced teaching laboratories. He is an enthusiastic adopter of in-class demonstrations to enhance teaching, as well as the use of software tools such as Socrative to aid interactive learning during lectures and peer-assisted learning through Peerwise. He is also actively involved in Physics Education Research with on-going projects in problem-based learning in the undergraduate laboratory and gender bias in STEM subjects.
Dr Leila Negahdar
Leila is assistant professor in the School of Chemistry. Before coming to UCD, Leila was Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellow at University College London. Her current research focuses on applying catalysis and innovative approaches for tackling the grand global challenges such as climate change, pollution, and sustainable energy. She is associate fellow of higher education academy, and she is interested to improve accessibility and inclusion in higher education.
Dr Andrew Hines
Andrew is a computer and electronic engineer based in the School of Computer Science. His research interests include machine learning, multimedia quality of experience, software modelling and machine ethics. He received his education at Trinity College Dublin (BAI, MA, PhD), University College Dublin (MSc, MBA) and DIT (Pg. Dip. T&L). He is a Senior member of IEEE, an Engineering and Computer Sciences Committee member at the Royal Irish Academy and a founding committee member of the Audio Engineering Society (Ireland Section). He has completed the Universal Design Digital Badge and has a particular interest in better programme and module design for neurodiversity.
