THE ROYAL IRISH ACADEMY IS IRELAND'S LEADING BODY OF EXPERTS IN THE SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

The Royal Irish Academy/Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann champions research. We identify and recognise Ireland’s world class researchers. We support scholarship and promote awareness of how science and the humanities enrich our lives and benefit society. We believe that good research needs to be promoted, sustained and communicated. The Academy is run by a Council of its members. Membership is by election and considered the highest academic honour in Ireland.

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John O'Donoghue

TCD

Dr John O’Donoghue is the RSC Education Coordinator in the School of Chemistry at Trinity College Dublin (TCD). He coordinates the education and public engagement (EPE) course for PhD researchers and teaches a “chemistry in society” module for undergraduate students. On behalf of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) he also supports trainee and established science teachers through the provision of continuous professional development (CPD) workshops and the development of new teaching resources. 

He holds a B.Sc in Chemistry and a Ph.D in Bio-Inorganic Chemistry from University College Cork (UCC) as well as a Higher Cert in Business Development from Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) and a Professional Cert in Academic Teaching and Practise from Trinity College Dublin (TCD). He also completed a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at Queens University Belfast (QUB) in materials chemistry. He is now a Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) principal investigator for a secondary school informal education and public engagement project entitled Current Chemistry Investigators (CCI) which has established a new partnership between Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and the Atlantic Technological University (ATU) Sligo.

John has amassed over a decade of experience in both formal and informal education, as well as science communication and public engagement. He has also developed and published chemistry education research projects in peer-reviewed journals and teacher magazines, as well as spoken at numerous conferences like the US Chemistry Education Conference and festivals such as the Abu Dhabi Science Festival. He also serves as secretary and mentor for the National Chemistry Olympiad Ireland (ChOIRL) competition for secondary students. 

In recognition of his achievements to date, he was co-awarded the 2018 Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) “Outstanding Contribution to STEM Communication” National Award specifically for developing and strengthening the communication skills of PhD students. 
 

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