University College Dublin

👩‍🎓🎞️ UCD alumna and internationally celebrated artist-filmmaker Vivienne Dick returned to campus to receive UCD FilmSoc’s Humphreys Award in recognition of her lasting contribution to cinema.

Her work explores urban street life, social and sexual politics, and the history of ideas, and has been shown in cinemas, film festivals, and galleries worldwide. After working in London with 16mm and video, she returned to Ireland, where she continues to make new work.

Named after former society member and Dublin International Film Festival director Gráinne Humphreys, Vivienne is the first recipient of the Humphreys Award in UCD FilmSoc’s 39th session. Many congratulations, Vivienne!

Sharing memories of her time as an archaeology student at the University in the late 1960s alongside reflections on her filmmaking career, she also brought along her original UCD FilmSoc membership card.

Born in Donegal, Vivienne began making Super 8 films in New York in the late 1970s and became a key figure in the city’s No Wave scene, an avant-garde community of musicians, filmmakers, and artists.

Reddan 🧑‍🔬🏅👩‍🔬 Ruddin: Huge congratulations to UCD PhD researchers Ben Reddan and Grace Ruddin, who have been named joint winners of the 2026 Conway Festival Gold Medal. @ucdconwayinstitute.bsky.social

A judging panel, including Conway Institute Director Professor Helen Roche and international scientists from MIT and Harvard, the Francis Crick Institute, and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, selected Reddan and Ruddin from several shortlisted early-career researchers.

Professor Jeremy Simpson, College Principal of UCD College of Science, presented the jointly awarded medals.

This novel fluorescent probe can detect CO₂ in living cells. The research demonstrates its potential as a new tool for investigating mitochondrial function. Having completed his doctoral research, he is now developing technologies to overcome long-standing technical challenges in CO₂ biology.

“Winning this award is a sign of recognition for the excellent work being carried out by Dr Eoin Cummins in the wider field of CO₂ biology,” he said, highlighting the potential for discoveries in underexplored areas of science.

The research demonstrates its potential as a new tool for investigating mitochondrial function. Funded through a collaboration between Taighde Éireann – Research Ireland and Fighting Blindness, her work demonstrates that RGR loss causes visual behaviour deficits and disrupts eye structure.

Working with Conway Fellow Associate Professor Eoin Cummins at UCD School of Medicine and the UCD Conway Institute, Ben Reddan investigated CarboSenR2.

Working in the Ocular Pharmacology and Genetics group led by Conway Fellow Professor Breandán Kennedy at UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science (SBBS) and the UCD Conway Institute, her research investigates RGR, a protein that plays a critical role in maintaining vision.

Working with Conway Fellow Associate Professor Eoin Cummins at @ucdmedicine.bsky.social and the UCD Conway Institute, Ben investigated CarboSenR2. This novel fluorescent probe can detect CO₂ in living cells.

The pair jointly received the award at the closing ceremony of the UCD Conway Festival of Research and Innovation, a two-day showcase featuring research by 150 early-career researchers, talks from leading scientists, and discussions on career opportunities beyond research.

“I am incredibly honoured to have been awarded the Gold Medal at this year’s UCD Conway Institute Festival of Research & Innovation,” Grace said, acknowledging the support of her research group and the importance of collaboration in scientific discovery.

Their research offers new insights into mitochondrial function and the genetic causes of vision loss, with Ben developing a new tool to detect CO₂ in living cells and Grace examining the role of the RGR protein in maintaining vision.

🧑‍🎓🏆 Huge congratulations to Applied & Computational Mathematics student Tim Callanan on winning the prestigious Hamilton Prize, one of nine students recognised by @ria.ie for their mathematical excellence.

The lecture addressed the theory and application of ongoing mathematical research into prime numbers and touched on ways that recent advances in AI are creating new opportunities and new challenges in the field of mathematics.

ucd.ieRIA honours UCD student with prestigious Hamilton prize

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In recognition of their mathematical excellence, each student received a cash prize and a certificate of achievement. They also attended an exclusive masterclass with Professor Maynard.

This year’s lecture explored ‘The mysteries of prime numbers’: their importance in mathematics and the real world, and how modern mathematics advances questions dating back to the ancient Greeks.

🔹 Artem Tarasenko, Trinity College Dublin 🔹 Liam Timothy Waldron, University College Cork

This year’s prizes were presented by the 2026 Hamilton Speaker, James Maynard, Professor of Number Theory at the Mathematical Institute at the University of Oxford and winner of a prestigious Fields Medal in 2022, the highest honour a young mathematician can attain.

The nine 2025 Hamilton Prize winners are: 🔹 Tim Callanan, UCD School of Mathematics and Statistics 🔹 Freddie Costello, University of Limerick 🔹 Caoimhe Dooley, University of Galway 🔹 Vladimir Filatov, Technological University Dublin

🔹 Daniel Hilfeldt, Maynooth University 🔹 Finn McGlade, Dublin City University 🔹 John McKay, Queen’s University Belfast

The awarding ceremony took place at the Royal Irish Academy on Thursday, 16 October, a date marking the anniversary of famed Irish scientist William Rowan Hamilton’s discovery of quaternion algebra on 16 October 1843.

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Professor Dan Carey, President of the Royal Irish Academy, praised the awardees, saying that Ireland “has a rich history of scientific excellence that should be celebrated and recognised”.

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University College Dublin has launched Ireland’s first university-led Artificial Intelligence Institute to empower researchers across all disciplines, accelerate scientific discovery and impact policy and regulation. Read more: www.ucd.ie/newsandopini...

🚴‍♀️👩‍🎓 Double World Champion! An incredible performance from UCD alumna Lara Gillespie at the UCI Track World Championships in Shanghai has seen the Irish cyclist claim her second world title, powering to gold in the Points Race and securing another rainbow jersey.

"...helping me get fast for the track, so I really just want to say thank you to everyone,” she added. This is Gillespie’s second World Championship title in two years, having taken gold in the Elimination in Chile in 2025.

ucd.ieUCD alum Lara Gillespie claims second world title at UCI Track World Championships

The Ad Astra Elite Sports Scholarship programme is UCD’s flagship scholarship initiative, supporting students who compete and succeed at the highest levels of sport while pursuing their university studies. Congratulations Lara! @cyclingireland.bsky.social www.ucd.ie/newsandopini...

She also thanked Cycling Ireland, Sport Ireland and those who had supported her training and preparation.

“Overall a really good week and I really just can't thank Cycling Ireland and Sport Ireland enough for all the support over the last few years and all the people back home who are getting those key sessions in with me..."

A graduate of UCD School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science, and a former member of UCD Cycling Club, the 25-year-old’s latest victory follows a historic year in which she became the first Irish cyclist to win gold at the European Track Championships.

Reflecting on her victory, Gillespie said: “It's all sinking in now. I'm just so happy I could pull this off. I came really close the other day and I think that really just pushed me on there today because I was really annoyed with that second place.”

The former UCD Ad Astra Academy Elite Sports Scholar secured the title after a dominant performance in the Points race. Gillespie finished her 100 laps race with 42 points, five ahead of Denmark’s Amalie Dideriksen, who took silver, while Belgium’s Shari Bossuyt claimed bronze with 35 points.

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View a new display of items from UCD Special Collections, celebrating UCD Global Week (19-22 October), now just next to the entrance to the James Joyce Library. @ucdarchives.bsky.social @ucdglobal.bsky.social @ucddublin.bsky.social @ucdischool.bsky.social @artshumanitiesucd.bsky.social

🌍🏆 A welcome recognition: Huge congratulations to the UCD Big Zero Programme team, who have won Best Higher Education Institution 2026 at the inaugural CANIE Climate Awards. @ucdsustainability.bsky.social #UCD #ClimateAction #Sustainability #InternationalEducation #CANIEClimateAwards

Organised by CANIE: Climate Action Network for International Educators, the awards celebrate CANIE Accord signatories turning climate commitments into practical progress across international education.

The first awards drew entries from 48 organisations, and CANIE announced the winners on 15 October at The Forum on Education Abroad’s EMEA Conference in Lisbon.

Activities include helping to establish and restore natural habitats with Hometree, taking part in zero-waste cooking workshops at Airfield Estate, and developing personal Climate Action Plans to put their learning into practice beyond their time in Ireland.

Congratulations to everyone involved in developing and delivering the programme, and to the students putting climate action at the heart of their experience at UCD.

Co-funded by UCD Global and UCD Sustainability and delivered in partnership with Big Pond Education and Zeroverse, the programme brings climate education and practical sustainability activities into students’ learning-abroad experience at UCD.