Professor Máire O'Neill elected as Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering
The Royal Academy of Engineering has elected Professor Máire O'Neill, Acting Director of ECIT and Director of the £5M EPSRC/NCSC-funded Research Institute in Secure Hardware and Embedded Systems (RISE), as a Fellow.
The Royal Academy of Engineering is the UK's national academy for engineering and technology, bringing together their fellows – the most successful and talented engineers from academia and business – to advance and promote excellence in engineering for the benefit of society.
Fifty-four leading engineers from the UK and around the world have been elected as Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering in recognition of their outstanding and continuing contributions to the profession – including five-time Formula One World Champion Lewis Hamilton, who has also been admitted as an Honorary Fellow in recognition of his role in inspiring interest in engineering, especially among young people.
Professor O'Neill was formally admitted to the Academy at its AGM in London on Monday 30 September, adding her expertise to the Fellowship of nearly 1,600 eminent engineers from both industry and academia.
Professor O'Neill commented:
"I am proud and honoured to be elected as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. To join the ranks of so many internationally recognised engineers has great significance for me and is also a major recognition of the academic standing of Queen's University Belfast, where we have been leading the way in solving the many global challenges associated with emerging technologies."
Professor O'Neill is a leading cybersecurity expert and was the youngest-ever engineering professor at Queen's University Belfast. She is widely regarded as one of Europe's leading cryptography experts and the inventor of a high-speed silicon security chip that is used in more than 100 million TV set-top boxes.
Professor Dame Ann Dowling, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said:
"Our Fellows are at the heart of all Academy activities and I am delighted to welcome these highly successful, creative and inspiring engineering leaders to the Fellowship. There has never been a more important time for the Academy to advance and promote excellence in engineering so that the engineering profession can continue to contribute to societal wellbeing and economic growth."