John Halligan T.D., Minister of State for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research and Development with Julie Sinnamon, CEO of Enterprise Ireland presented Professor Suzanne Kingston with an outstanding achievement award to acknowledge her reaching the pinnacle of European research at ‘Ireland’s Champions of EU Research’ event which took place in the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin.

Professor Kingston has been recognised for her success in securing funding from the European Research Council (ERC) for an ERC Starter Grant examining ‘Effective Nature Laws’ – the project focuses on ‘Legal Architectures: The Influence of New Environmental Governance Rules on Environmental Compliance’. The award distinguishes researchers whose projects exhibited outstanding leadership in their respective programme areas and Professor Kingston achieved the highest ranking for an Irish applicant for this grant type.

The aim of the event was to recognise the immense contribution of the sixteen award winners and all project leaders from Ireland to Ireland’s success in the €75 billion Horizon 2020 EU Framework Programme for research and innovation. ‘I congratulate the UCD recipients of these very important awards, and hope that their success will inspire further success in Horizon 2020 across the University’ said Professor Orla Feely, UCD Vice President for Research, Innovation and Impact.