Professor O’Neill is Director of the Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT), at the School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Queen’s University Belfast and is also Director, UK Research Institute in Secure Hardware and Embedded Systems (RISE).

President and Vice-Chancellor of Queen's, Professor Sir Ian Greer said: “I am delighted that the Royal Irish Academy is recognising Professor Máire O’Neill with a gold medal for her academic research and achievements in engineering sciences and I congratulate her immensely on this great honour.

“Queen's is renowned for its world-leading research and technical advances in cutting-edge cyber security, and we are proud of the work that takes place under the leadership of Professor O’Neill, leading the way in research and responding to emerging cyber security threats. This recognition from the Royal Irish Academy is truly deserving.”

The Royal Irish Academy only awards a gold medal in Engineering Sciences every four years.

The medals are awarded to individuals who have made a demonstrable and internationally recognised outstanding scholarly contribution in their fields.

Professor Máire O’Neill commented on her award: “It is an honour to receive this medal from the Royal Irish Academy and to have my work and that of my team at CSIT recognised at this level.

“Cyber security is more important than ever in our digital world and in all our daily lives, and the research that we do at Queen’s is vital in addressing the security needs of embedded devices and ICT systems. I am very grateful to the Academy for this award.”

The Royal Irish Academy is one of Ireland's premier learned societies and cultural institutions and has been honouring Ireland’s leading contributors to the world of learning since its establishment in 1785 and those elected by their peers.