Academic achievement

A microbiology professor from Dublin Dental University Hospital has become the first academic staff member to be accepted into the prestigious Royal Irish Academy (RIA).

Professor David Coleman, professor and chair of oral and applied microbiology at the school’s Microbiology Research Unit, was elected in recognition of his outstanding academic achievements.

The RIA was founded by Royal Charter in 1785 and works to promote Irish academic research, support scholarships and to recognise Ireland’s world-class researchers.

Professor Mary E Daly, president of the Royal Irish Academy, said that all those elected “have made world renowned contributions to research in the sciences or humanities”.

She continued: “Irish scholars are highly sought after and are increasingly being head-hunted for top positions in leading universities and research centres throughout the world.”

Other members who signed the RIA’s roll book at the end of May included Steve Myers, who was the director of accelerators at CERN when the Higgs boson was discovered in 2012; Martin Naughton, who is one of Ireland’s leading innovators and philanthropists; Orla Feely, who was the first Irish woman elected a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; and Bernadette Whelan, a leading scholar in the history of Irish-American relations.