Dundalk IT engineering excellence honoured at annual awards

Engineering students at Dundalk Institute of Technology have been recognised for their innovative projects at the Institute’s annual award ceremony, where the Peter Rice Medal and Dr Niamh Shaw Awards were presented.

Mechanical engineering graduate, Rebecca Lambe Fagan was awarded The Peter Rice Medal for the best Level 8 Engineering student project at DkIT for her project titled “Re-inventing the Commercial Dog Kennel” while Johnathon McManus was named winner of the Dr Niamh Shaw Award for his electronic/electrical project titled “Greenhouse Monitoring and Control.”

The Peter Rice Medal pays tribute to Dundalk-born engineer Peter Rice, who is celebrated for his work on some of the 20th century’s most iconic structures, including the Sydney Opera House, the Pompidou Centre, the Louvre Pyramid, and Lloyd’s of London.

Civil engineering graduate Paul Kiernan and Electronic and Electrical Engineering graduate Shane Moran were also finalists for this award. Paul presented his project, “Urban Cycle Infrastructure, an Evaluation of Connectivity,” while Shane shared his project titled “Pedestrian/ Vehicle Automated Recognition System.”

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The Dr Niamh Shaw Award celebrates Dundalk native, Dr Niamh Shaw, an engineer, scientist, writer, performer, and one of Ireland’s leading voices in science communication.

Civil Engineering student Jamie Rafferty and Nathan Clarke, a Mechanical Engineering student were also finalists for this award.

Jamie presented his projecttitled “Truss Analysis: Comparing Hand Calculations and MasterSeries,” while Nathan shared his project titled: “NRG Lift System- Design and Development.”

Engineers Ireland Northeast kindly sponsored both prizes, and representatives of the body at the event spoke of the impact of young engineers and the positive roles they play in society.  Maeve Martin, Student and Graduate Engagement Officer at Engineers Ireland also gave insights into the organisation’s vision, and opportunities it can provide for students.  

Maryellen Kelledy, Chairperson of the Engineers Ireland Northeast Region and DkIT Programme Director opened the event and commended the students for their dedication and outstanding work. She said: “These awards play a vital role in highlighting the outstanding quality of engineering education at DkIT and the exceptional calibre of graduates across the North-East region.

^{Above: The Peter Rice Medal - L to R: Sean McCarthy, Peter Nowak, Amanda-Jane Gainford, Rebecca Lambe Fagan, Breen Jackson, Adam Graham and Mary Arthur-Smyth}

"The event offers students a valuable platform to showcase their hard work and achievements. We were delighted to present the Dr Niamh Shaw Award for the third time alongside our Annual Peter Rice Medal Award, and it was a pleasure to have Niamh join us to share her inspiring explorations and recent projects.”

Dr Niamh Shaw delivered a keynote speech in which she reflected on how her passion for engineering, science and space has shaped her identity, reshaping her views on failure and success. She shared stories from her worldwide travels, highlighting her recent, captivating journey to the Arctic with a collective of artists and storytellers.

She spoke about the profound signs of planetary change she witnessed there, as well as the DkIT engineering projects that accompanied her on the expedition.

Addressing the audience, Niamh said: “It is a real privilege to be invited back each year, and still surreal to have an award in my name. To think that it might inspire students to pursue a career shaped by their own interests, alongside the legacy of someone as remarkable as Peter Rice, is an honour I never take for granted.”

Speaking at the event, Dr Breda Brennan, Head of School of Engineering, DkIT said: “Congratulations to all the competitors and thank you to all the judges for their participation and engagement in this fantastic competition. The creativity of our students and graduates was evident in the diverse range of projects on display.

"We are incredibly proud of our engineering community, and it is inspiring to see the strengthening partnerships between industry and education across the region.”

The judging panel for this year’s final event was led by Sean McCarthy and consisted of Adam Graham, Amanda-Jane Gainford, Breen Jackson, Mary Arthur-Smyth and Peter Nowak. A huge thanks to all the fantastic judges who worked on the review process prior to the final.