QUEEN'S AWARDED RARE REGIUS PROFESSORSHIP

06 June 2016

Queen’s University has received one of only twelve prestigious Regius Professorships announced to mark the 90th birthday of Her Majesty the Queen, which recognise the highest-quality research at UK universities.

The Queen has awarded the title to the electronics and computer engineering department, which has undertaken pioneering work in the field of cybersecurity. The University can assign the title to an existing professor or appoint a new professor to hold the title.

Last month the Prince of Wales officially opened Queen’s first Global Research Institute (GRI) at the University’s Institute of Electronics, Communications and Information Technology (ECIT).

Professor Patrick Johnston, Vice-Chancellor of Queen's, welcomed this latest ‘royally approved’ announcement: “Queen's is enormously honoured to be the recipient of Northern Ireland's first Regius Professorship,” he said.

“As a very rare privilege and significant accolade, which celebrates the highest and most outstanding levels of research, this is a reflection of the exceptionally high quality of research, innovation and research translation at ECIT.

“Queen's ambition to be a world-class university, which is making a game-changing contribution to current and emerging global challenges, is reflected in this esteemed award.”

The Regius Professorships, an honour granted only by the sovereign, are bestowed to recognise research excellence and to celebrate the key role of research in driving growth and productivity.

Only two Regius Professorships were granted in the 20th Century. Twelve awards were created for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 and Queen's is the first institution in Northern Ireland to be awarded such a royally-sealed professorship.

In the past, Regius Professorships were created when a university chair was founded or endowed by a royal patron. This time around, universities were invited to compete for the awards in an open competition and entries were judged by an independent panel of business and academic experts.

Professor John McCanny, director of ECIT, collected the award on behalf of the university. “As one of Queen's GRIs, ECIT brings together a critical mass of excellent researchers from a wide range of disciplines, in world-class facilities, to tackle some of the greatest global issues of our age,” he said.

“The remarkable recognition provided by the awarding of this esteemed and exceptional Regius Professorship, underlines not only the international excellence of our staff and PhD students, but also the importance of their work in protecting global society.

“The Regius Professorship will play a key role in the future leadership of ECIT and will contribute strongly to enhancing its already very successful achievements in research translation, working with industry, and economic impact,” he added.

For further information on ECIT visit: www.ecit.qub.ac.uk/

Media inquiries to Claire Kelly, Communications Officer for Research at Queen’s; telephone +44 (0)28 9097 5391.

 

 

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