A panel of 10 judges will make the initial assessment of Boyle Medal applicants and reduce their number to up to five finalists. The panel includes eminent Irish scientists who cover a broad spectrum of disciplines.
The panel will be chaired by Prof Dervilla Donnelly, emeritus professor of chemistry at University College Dublin. She is also chairwoman of the Council of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies and a member of the European Science and Technology Assembly. She is a past president of the RDS and governor of The Irish Times Trust Ltd.
Prof Derek R. Boyd is professor of organic chemistry at Queens University, Belfast. He has published over 200 research papers and is currently head of research in the school of chemistry at Queens. He has conducted research at the National Institutes of Health and MIT in the US.
Prof Emer Colleran of NUI Galway is an associate professor of microbiology and also an adjunct professor of environmental science at the Central European University in Budapest. She is a board member of the Irish Council for Science, Technology and Innovation.
Prof Patrick Cunningham of Trinity College Dublin is professor of animal genetics and received the 1996 Boyle Medal. He was formerly deputy director of An Foras Taluntais and director of the animal production and health division of the FAO.
Prof Brian Harvey is the director of the Wellcome Trust cellular physiology research unit at University College Cork.
He was formerly charge de recherche at the French Atomic Energy Commission and directeur de recherche at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in France.
Prof John Hegarty is professor of laser physics and dean of research at Trinity College Dublin. He is a member of the HEA and the National Research Fund Board. He spent nine years in research in the US at Bell Laboratories.
Prof J. Peter Neary is professor of political economy in the department of economics at University College Dublin.
He is a fellow of the Econometric Society, a member of Academia Europaea and the Royal Irish Academy, and a research associate of the London School of Economics.
Mr Frank McCabe is vice-president of technology and manufacturing at Intel and general manager of its Irish operations. He started up General Electric Semiconductor's Dundalk plant and was managing director of Digital Equipment Corporation's European manufacturing and engineering operations.
Mr Chris Shouldice is an energy technologist formerly with Teagasc. He is chairman of the RDS science and technology committee.
Mr Dick Ahlstrom is science editor of The Irish Times and a deputy news editor. He edits the newspaper's weekly Science Today page.