research

About

About BiOrbic

Ireland’s National Bioeconomy Research Centre

On this page
Our Mission
EDI
Committees

Our Mission

BiOrbic brings together over 200 researchers

across 12 Irish universities & research organisations

Our researchers come from over 29 countries and span a wide variety of disciplines and backgrounds.

Our Mission

To co-create knowledge and develop competitive real world sustainable circular bioeconomy solutions through interdisciplinary research collaboration and innovation.

Our Vision

For bioeconomy to be a cornerstone of national and global economies; fostering sustainable regeneration, resilience and a just future while supporting the planet, communities and industries to thrive.

To achieve our vision and mission the centre has set out five strategic priorities.

  • Responsible and excellent research, discovery, invention and innovation for the bioeconomy
  • Address global challenges that are locally relevant through the translation and application of our research
  • Create future leaders for the bioeconomy
  • Inclusive collaboration with a wide range of actors at a local, national and global level
  • Engage, inspire and involve the public and societal actors

EDI

Equality, Diversity, Inclusion

Community Where Everyone is Welcome

Nationalities

%

LGBTQ+ member

%

Female Members

%

Male Members

IMG20220208170457 - Melanie Baur

Committed to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

  • Year-round EDI training, including workshops on gender, bias, leadership, and LGBTQIA+ careers in STEM.
  • Formal leadership roles ensured for women across governance committees.
  • Dedicated EDI committee with cross-institution and multi–career level representation.
  • EDI embedded in leadership, with regular reporting to Executive and Governance Boards.

View EDI committee members ->

Gain a competitive edge

BiOrbic Research Ireland Centre for the Bioeconomy is inviting researchers and industry partners to collaborate on projects that help drive Ireland’s transition to a sustainable circular bioeconomy.

MORE INFORMATION

Committees

BiOrbic Committees

Guided by Excellence

Our governance structure and associated committees support and advise our leadership team ensuring optimal performance and oversight of activities and development.

  • Governance Committee

    To provide oversight of BiOrbic’s strategic vision and measure performance against this vision.

    Michael Scannell (Chair)
    Retired, European Commission

    Prof Kevin O’Connor
    Director of BiOrbic

    Prof Kate Robson Brown
    Vice President for Research, Innovation and Impact, University College Dublin

    Prof Sinead Ryan
    Dean of Research, Trinity College Dublin

    Prof Pat Dillon
    Director of Research, Teagasc

    Prof John Cryan
    Vice President for Research and Innovation, University College Cork

    Dr Fiona Grant
    Head of International Programmes, Marine Institute

    Rory Caren
    Director Business Development, Meicnic Teoranta

  • Scientific Advisory Committee

    Provide the Centre with independent and impartial advice on recent scientific trends and developments worldwide, to ensure that the Centre is at the forefront of international state-of-the-art.

    Prof Luuk Van Der Wielen (Chair)
    Technische Universiteit Delft
    Netherlands

    Prof Sarah McLaren
    University of New Zealand
    New Zealand

    Prof Diana Sousa
    Wageningen University and Research
    Netherlands

    Prof Michael Lee
    Harper Adams University
    United Kingdom

    Prof Frank Convery
    EnvEcon
    Ireland

  • Industry Advisory Committee

    Advise the Centre Director, Industry Spokes Committee, and Centre Governance Committee of BiOrbic as to prevailing industry trends and needs.

    Dirk Carrez
    Executive Director, Bio-based Industries Consortium (Europe)

    Alex Ward
    Director of Public and Institutional Partnerships, Origin Materials (Ontario, Canada)

    Colette Shirley
    Director of Sustainability for its Corporate & Markets Division, Bank of Ireland

    Karen Boyd
    Director of Product Sustainability, World Energy (Colorado, USA)

    Sean Boyle
    CEO and Co-founder, UnitMode (Ireland)

  • Executive Committee

    Develop and maintain a long-term strategic plan for the Centre and ensure on-going, smooth operations of the Centre through the effective implementation that its long-term strategic plan.

    Prof Kevin O’Connor
    Director

    Derek O’Brien
    Executive Director

    Prof Jane Stout
    Co-Principal Investigator

    Prof Tommy Boland
    Co-Principal Investigator

    Prof James Lyng
    Co-Principal Investigator

    Prof Brijesh Tiwari
    Co-Principal Investigator

    Prof Ramesh Babu
    Co-Principal Investigator

    Prof Maeve Henchion
    Co-Principal Investigator

    Prof Nick Holden
    Co-Principal Investigator

    Prof Fiona Doohan
    Co-Principal Investigator

    Prof Eoin Casey
    Co-Principal Investigator

    Prof Fionnuala Murphy
    Co-Principal Investigator

    Prof Pat Guiry
    Co-Principal Investigator

    Prof Yurii Gun’ko
    Co-Principal Investigator

  • Research Programme Committee

    To monitor research progress across all Centre-funded projects. Meetings occur every 6 months to review progress reports from anyone funded through BiOrbic.

    Chair: Prof Kevin O’Connor
    University College Dublin

    Co-chair: Dr Rosanna Kleemann
    University College Dublin

    Pillar 1: Dr Matthew Saunders
    Trinity College Dublin

    Pillar 2: Prof Maurice Collins
    University of Limerick

    Pillar 3: Dr Ajay Menon
    University College Dublin

    Pillar 4: Dr Eoin Syron
    University College Dublin

    CDT: Prof Pat Guiry
    University College Dublin

  • EDI Committee

    To progress the EDI principles of the Centre and provide a support for Centre members to contact regarding EDI.

    Grace Vaughan
    BiOrbic Operations Team
    Chairperson

    Ajay Menon
    Lecturer / Assistant Professor, UCD
    Co-chairperson

    Máire Nic an Bhaird
    Assistant Professor, Maynooth University

    Unza Jamil
    PhD Researcher, UCD

    Ali Sultan Khan
    Post-doctoral Researcher, University College Cork