Launch of new UCD Hyperspectral Imaging Laboratory funded by the European Research Council
UCD Biosystems and Food Engineering Associate Professor Aoife Gowen recently commenced her European Research Council funded research project entitled 'Development of new chemical imaging techniques to understand the function of water in biocompatibility, biodegradation and biofouling' (BioWater). Her new hyperspectral imaging laboratory funded through her ERC Starting Independent Researcher Grant was officially launched on June 24th 2016 by EU Commissioner Phil Hogan.
Associate Professor Gowen applied for her ERC award during her EU-funded Marie Curie Research Fellowship in the UCD School of Biosystems Engineering. Associate Professor Gowen's research area is multidisciplinary, involving applications of sensor technology and chemometrics to biological/food systems.
Associate Professor Gowen was awarded the funding for her proposed research on novel chemical imaging techniques to understand important processes affecting biomaterials, such as biodegradation, biocompatibility and bio-fouling. A key question in her research is the role of water in these processes. This will be addressed using experimental chemical imaging approaches, combined with statistical analysis and molecular dynamics simulations. More information on this project can be found at the website: www.ucd.ie/biowater.
The ERC is a flagship component of EU research funding. Its main goal is to recognise the best research ideas, and confer status and visibility on the best brains in Europe, while also attracting talent from abroad. ERC grants are awarded to individuals to enable them to pursue cutting-edge fundamental research. Grants are awarded through open competition to projects headed by starting and established researchers, irrespective of their origins, who are working or moving to work in Europe. The sole criterion for selection is scientific excellence.
Pictured at the official launch of the ERC funded hyperspectral imaging laboratory (left to right): Ronan Dorrepaal (PhD candidate), Sindhuraj Mukherjee (PhD candidate), Phil Hogan (EU commissioner for Agriculture), Prof. Andrew Deeks (President of UCD), Assoc. Prof. Aoife Gowen (Principal Investigator), Dr. Jose Martinez-Gonzalez (Postdoctoral research fellow).