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SCIENCE FOUNDATION IRELAND ANNUAL REPORT 2015
Key achievements of SFI
Research Centres in 2015
Combined cumulative KPI results for the initial seven
SFI Research Centres against their targets from
inception to the end of 2015
Key Performance Indicators
The SFI Research Centres were funded with
a primary objective to deliver significant
economic and societal impact to Ireland.
Their success is strongly driven by a number
of key performance indicators (KPIs). Each SFI
Research Centre sets targets for the relevant
indicators and is continually measured against
these targets. The SFI Research Centres are
also mandated to maintain a minimum level of
30% cost share from industry partners which
includes a minimum of 10% cash.
The 15 KPIs are reported and validated with
SFI Research Centre on a six monthly basis.
The following table shows the cumulative KPI
results against target for the seven 2012 SFI
Research Centres from when they started in
June 2013 until the end of 2015.
CASE
STUDY
6
Cumulative
Target Result
1,012 1,837
Conference Publications 719 940
MSc/MEng Graduates 37 28
PhD Graduates 36 108
% Trainee departures, with
industry as first destination 24% 23%
Participation in EU projects 72 71
Coordinations in major EU
initiatives 22 24
ERC awards granted 9 11
Funding from non-exchequer,
noncommercial sources €54m €58m
Industry cash received €10m €14m
% Industry cost share (cash) 10% 13%
% industry cost share (total) 30% 28%
Enterprise Ireland
commercialisation awards 58 122
Licence agreements 24 61
Spin out companies 4 10
Journal Publications
Down to the detail: Cutting edge atom-level imaging
with new state-of-the-art microscope
Bolstering success in accruing European Research Council (ERC) funding,
Prof Valeria Nicolosi, an investigator in the Centre for Advanced Materials
and BioEngineering Research (AMBER) in Trinity College Dublin, was
recently awarded €2.5 million for an ERC Consolidator Grant, making this
her fourth ERC award in the last five years.
Prof Nicolosi is expanding on previous work in the field of nanomaterials
and energy storage. Her latest research will focus on developing
exceptionally long lasting batteries that can be easily embedded into
smartphones, clothing and medical devices.
Prof Valeria Nicolosi.
2015 also saw the final build and installation of the new NION TM Scanning
Transmission Electron Microscope (STEM) in the Advanced Microscopy
Laboratory in AMBER. This new world class tool can analyse single atoms
and objects a million times smaller than a human hair. Prof Nicolosi led
the proposal which was funded through the Science Foundation Ireland
Infrastructure Call. With only a handful of NION STEMs in existence, the
presence of this technology heralds a new era of research in a wide range
of materials ensuring that Ireland remains at the forefront of world-class
materials research which ultimately will benefit society at large.