SCIENCE FOUNDATION IRELAND ANNUAL REPORT 2015
Professor Sir Tom Blundell, Director of Research and Professor
Emeritus in Biochemistry, University of Cambridge
Professor Sir Tom Blundell is Director of Research and Professor Emeritus in
Biochemistry, University of Cambridge. He has previously held teaching and
research positions in the Universities of London, Sussex and Oxford and leads an
active research team in structural and computational biology. Co-founder of Astex
Therapeutics, he has also been a member of a number of Boards or Scientific
Advisory Boards of both pharma & biotech companies including SKB, Celltech
and UCB. Tom has held a number of prestigious roles in public bodies, Royal
Commissions and Charities including as a member of the advisory group to the
Prime Minister and founding CEO and Chair of the UK Biotechnology and Biological
Sciences Research Council. Tom was knighted in 1997 and is a member of several
academies. He has received numerous international awards, prizes, medals and
honours for his research work and holds Honorary Doctorates from 16 Universities.
Mr Liam Madden, Corporate Vice President of Engineering, Xilinx
Liam Madden leads a world-wide organization of R&D professionals, including
teams in Dublin and Cork. Mr. Madden has spent more than 30 years in the US
semiconductor industry where he has contributed to a range of industry leading
products and technologies. Based in Silicon Valley, he has worked with established
companies and start-ups, including a leadership role in a successful IPO. Mr.
Madden has extensive experience incubating novel technologies, most recently
commercialising the industry’s first 3D stacked computer chip. He holds five
patents in semiconductor technology. He is a Fellow of Engineers Ireland and
in June 2013 was appointed an Adjunct Professor of Electrical, Electronic and
Communication Engineering at UCD.
Dr. Rita Colwell, Professor both at the University of Maryland at
College Park and at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of
Public Health and Chairperson of CosmosID Bioinformatics Inc.
Dr. Colwell served as the 11th Director of the US National Science Foundation (NSF)
from 1998-2004. In her capacity as NSF Director, amongst other initiatives, she
broadened the NSF range of programmes including cyber infrastructure and also
special interaction in science and mathematics education, graduate science and
engineering education and the increased participation of women and minorities in
science and engineering. Dr. Colwell is a member of the U.S. National Academy of
Sciences and has a number of honorary doctorates and serves on science advisory
boards worldwide. She received the National Medal of Science from the President
of the United States in 2006.
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