Seamus McKeague, President of the Irish Academy of Engineering handed the Fellowship Parchment to the Academy’s only Dutch Fellow, prof. Luuk van der Wielen
Seamus McKeague, President of the Irish Academy of Engineering presents the Fellowship Parchment to the Academy’s only Dutch Fellow, Professor Luuk van der Wielen, Bernal Professor of Biosystems Engineering and Design, Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Limerick
Thursday, 20 June 2024

A leading University of Limerick academic has been conferred as a fellow of the Irish Academy of Engineering.

Professor Luuk van der Wielen, Bernal Professor of Biosystems Engineering and Design, Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Limerick, was one of nine new Fellows welcomed at a conferring ceremony.

Awarded alongside Professor van der Wielen – the only Dutch fellow of the Irish Academy of Engineering (IAE) - were Eamonn O’Reilly, Joseph Walsh, Frances Hardiman, David Porter, Anne Marie Conibear, Barry O’Sullivan, Dick Meaney and Leo Clancy.

The aim of the IAE is to advance the wellbeing of the country by marshalling the expertise and insights of eminent engineers to provide independent advice to policy makers on matters involving engineering and technology.

The IAE is an all-island body concerned with issues where the members, based on their wide and diverse experience, can make a unique contribution to economic, social and technological development.

At the ceremony, a short citation was read out by Academy Honorary Secretary Joe Harford and parchments were presented by Academy President Seamus McKeague.

President Seamus McKeague said: “It is a pleasure to welcome the new Fellows to our Academy and we are in awe of their contribution to the Engineering profession.”

Professor van der Wielen was the first Director of the Bernal Institute UL and continues as Bernal Professor of Biosystems Engineering and Design. A Distinguished Professor in the Bio-based economy at TU Delft, he is also a member of the Shannon Estuary Economic Taskforce and was specially tasked with the development of the focused RD&I program in the Taskforce’s Final Report which was launched last July.

He has over 350 publications/patents, supervised 47 PhD, 75 Engineering Doctorates and over 100 MSc students have graduated under his supervision.