Some €28.5 million has been announced in new research funding to 53 different projects in universities and other organisations.
The projects are funded through a new partnership between Science Foundation Ireland and the Irish Research Council, and is targeted to support academics at early stages of their careers.
Twenty-one of the 36 research projects in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, will be led by female academics. The funding will allow postdoctoral researchers to carry out their work over a four-year period.
Research backed by the funding ranges from projects examining if prosthetic limbs can be developed that feel sensation, to a study of religious persecution in Ukraine during the time of the Soviet Union.
Gerry Thornley: Ireland’s fitful displays made for a rather disconcerting month
Nil Yalter: Solo Exhibition – A fascinating glimpse of a historically influential artist
Katie McCabe and Ireland fully focused on their qualification goal ahead of Wales match
A Californian woman in Dublin: ‘Ireland’s not perfect, but I do think as a whole it is moving in the right direction’
Other research to receive funding includes a study into domestic violence among the south Asian migrant community in Ireland, and research by semi-State body Teagasc looking to identify the healthiest variety of Irish-grown oats.
Academics in University College Dublin had the most research projects funded at nine out of the 53, followed by eight in Trinity College Dublin and University of Limerick.
Commenting on the funding announcement, Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris said the scheme had focused on improving the representation of female researchers in the higher education system.
“We want to continue to increase the number of females participating in research and funds like this are crucial to helping us achieving this,” he said.
