Hollymount native Eimear Dolan has been named the runner-up in level eight of the Engineers Ireland Student Innovation Awards 2010 for her project named 'Stabilising the matrix with natural components'.
Eimear who is daughter of Louis and Bernie Dolan, Hollymount, is a former pupil of Roundfort National School and Mount St. Michael Secondary School, Claremorris.
The Engineers Ireland Awards, sponsored by Siemens, are now in their 12th year and celebrate the importance of innovation and its relevance to the 'smart economy' framework.
Eimear was runner-up to James O'Meara from DIT, who won the level eight category for a farming invention. John Kelly and Declan McGovern of IT Sligo won first prize in level seven of the awards for their innovative design for a multi-purpose farm machine.
Eimear's project focuses on the ongoing natural versus synthetic tissue engineering materials issue. Synthetic materials have controllable mechanical properties and can be manufactured in large reproducible quantities. However, when implanted, they often trigger the foreign body reaction, rendering the device ineffective. Eimear's project examines the potential of oleuropein, an olive tree extract, as an efficient cross-linking scaffold for in-vitro tissue engineering.
John Power, director general of Engineers Ireland, said the participants can help Ireland become a genuine home-grown innovation economy that can compete in the global market again.
"I strongly believe that the long-term growth in Ireland will be fuelled by innovative companies so it is very encouraging to see such home-grown engineering creativity among our students today. It is imperative we can bring new techniques, processes and skills across all sectors so that we can compete on a global stage with our competitors.
"I would like to congratulate all of the participants in this year's awards, which embodied the creativity that will underpin Ireland's recovery and sustainable economic success."
The Engineers Ireland Student Innovation Awards took place in Engineers Ireland HQ, Clyde Road, Dublin 2.