Kerry Researcher wins MTU Commercial Invention of the Year 2021Leigh Mc Gowranon May 31, 2022 at 10:14 Silicon RepublicSilicon Republic
Kerry-based researcher Dr Joanna Tierney was presented with the Munster Technology University (MTU) Commercial Invention of the Year 2021.
Tierney received one of the two awards from the event, with researchers from MTU’s Centre for Advanced Photonics and Process Analysis (CAPPA) getting the Best Technical Invention Award.
The MTU Invention of the Year awards is an annual event that takes place as part of the university’s innovation and enterprise month. MTU researchers submitted 20 invention disclosure forms to the university’s Innovation and Enterprise Office during 2021.
Each submission was judged based on criteria such as scientific merit, innovative factor, development stage, potential benefit to society, marketability and patentability.
Tierney earned the award for her work on the control of coccidiosis in poultry, funded by an Enterprise Ireland commercialisation fund. Coccidiosis is caused by Eimeria protozoan parasites and is an important disease in poultry and neonates in animal farming.
Tierney’s invention employs natural, anti-parasitic, anti-microbial, immune-modulating and anti-oxidant activities as an alternative to the current industry treatments for coccidiosis control.
She said the work is important as poultry is set to become the world’s most consumed meat protein, while poultry producers face increased pressure to control the disease.
“I’m delighted to receive this award, and I’m grateful to Enterprise Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland and MTU for their support over the last few years,” Tierney said. “I’d like to thank my colleagues at Shannon Applied Biotechnology Centre, the Department of Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and the research office team in MTU.”
CAPPA’s novel optical technology
The Best Technical Invention Award was received by a group of CAPPA researchers, for their invention called the Photonic Integrated Circuit Scanner. This patent pending technology was developed by Dr Chinna Devarapu, Dr William Whelan-Curtain, Dr Uday Gowda and Adarsh Ananthachar.
From left: Senior lecturer Dr William Whelan Curtain, MTU president Prof Maggie Cusack, Dr Chinna Devarapu, PhD student Adarsh Ananthachar, Dr Uday Gouda, MTU commercialisation specialist Ronan Coleman. Image: Michael O’Sullivan/ OSM Photography.
The team said their technology is based on the Resonant Scattering Spectroscopy technique, which is the first non-invasive system to test the individual components of an optical circuit on a wafer scale
Devarapu said their novel optical technology aims to capture a significant share of the optical test market “by enabling effective testing of optical circuit elements that are fundamental to modern data communication and silicon photonics industries”.
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