Christopher Finnegan, a PhD student at Institute of Technology Carlow, has been awarded the Environmental Science Association of Ireland (ESAI) Postgraduate Researcher of the Year for 2016.
Christopher, from Mullingar and who is a doctoral student at Institute of Technology Carlow’s enviroCORE research centre, was bestowed with the honour for his research work Bioremediation of Tributyltin (TBT) in Irish marine sediments: Microbial screening and process optimisation. Tributyltin (TBT) is synthetic organotin compound recognised as the most toxic chemical ever knowingly introduced into the marine environment. Christopher’s research has the potential to produce a commercial product to degrade TBT in sediment and soil and would be of great significance to the field of bioremediation and waste management.
ESAI council member Liam Mc Carton presented Christopher with his award at a special ceremony in The Dargan Centre, Institute of Technology Carlow’s multi-million euro research centre last Friday (25th November, 2016). Christopher was congratulated by friends, colleagues and academic staff, including his three supervisors, Dr. Guiomar Garcia-Cabellos, Dr. Anne-Marie Enright and Dr. David Ryan.
Speaking at the event, Dr. Guiomar Garcia-Cabellos, said, “I am very proud of Christopher. He has demonstrated to the rest of the country what I already knew - that he is a fantastic researcher and the quality of his work is outstanding. EnviroCore postgraduate students are continuing to achieve international and national success, highlighting their ability to hold their own in the international research world.”
Dr. Thomae Kakouli-Duarte of Institute of Technology’s enviroCORE research hub commented, "Chris' award is a great victory for him; he competed against numerous papers nationally and the decision to award him was made unanimously by the judges. At the same time, this is also a victory for enviroCORE, affirming the good work that takes place in the centre and demonstrating that the work we here is amongst the best in the country in environmental sciences".
Commenting on his award, Christopher said, “I am very happy and honoured to receive this award, particularly as there are a great many wonderful research projects currently ongoing, as evident to me from attending conferences and interacting with fellow researchers.”
Now in its third year, the ESAI Postgraduate Researcher of the Year Award is open to students undertaking a PhD or Masters degree by research in an environmental topic. Candidates had to outline research objectives, background to research, why research is necessary and novel, environmental relevance, methods, results, accomplishments, awards, publications/patents, the potential impact of the research (economics/environmental/societal), and outline and dissemination activities related to the projects.
ESAI has invited Christopher to give a short presentation at the ESAI AGM which will take place at ENVIRON 2017 in Athlone IT on Tuesday 11th April.
Founded in 1995, the ESAI is a body for individuals working in or with an interested in the environmental sector in Ireland. The association’s members is drawn from several disciplines and sectors, including: biology; ecology; microbiology; engineering; chemistry and law. Since its inception, the association has been strongly connected with the Irish environmental research community and organises the largest environmental research conference in Ireland every year.
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For reference: Alma Feeley, Communications Dept., Institute of Technology Carlow
e: alma.feeley@itcarlow.ie t: 059 9175098
