Research focusing on 3D printing and alternatives to fossil fuels are among projects that are to share some €78 million funding from Science Foundation Ireland.
Four research centres are being established and two of them will be led by lecturers from University College Dublin, Prof Denis Dowling and Prof Kevin O’Connor.
Prof Conor McCarthy of the University of Limerick’s centre for research will examine automated technology, and how machine automation can be rolled out in industry.
A research lab run by Prof David Henshall of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland will look at the diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of rare neurological diseases.
Prof Dowling’s project will examine the process of 3D printing, and the potential for improvement in the manufacturing side of the new technology.
Prof O’Connor’s work will look into how different biological materials and natural resources can be used as alternative energy sources to fossil fuels.
Eighty businesses and private industry firms have signed up to partner and support the four new world-class research centres, SFI said.
The research centres are due to open in September, and SFI said an additional €38 million in funding is expected to be provided to the four projects by private industry partners.
SFI director general Prof Mark Ferguson said the four centres to be opened this year would bring the total number of SFI research labs to 12.
He said the labs “are making important scientific advances, enhancing enterprise and industry, developing critical skills, supporting regional development, and enhancing Ireland’s international reputation”.
The SFI centres are focused on funding academic research work in key areas that can best benefit the wider economy and businesses, said Prof Ferguson, who is also the chief scientific adviser to the Government.
SFI said it was hoping to secure State funding for another four research centres in the coming years, with hopes these might focus on innovation in dairy production, the examination of human diseases on a molecular level, and biopharmaceutical manufacturing.
