Leading environmental geographer Prof Frances Fahy has been appointed director of University of Galway’s Ryan Institute.
A Fulbright scholar, Frances Fahy was previously head of geography at the university and is the past president of the Geographical Society of Ireland.
She currently leads several international research teams on sustainable consumption and energy citizenship research.
Marine research is one of the areas covered by the Ryan Institute.
Her appointment was welcomed by University of Galway president Prof Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh, who has described her as “an accomplished researcher in her field and an exemplary colleague” who would build on the work of Prof Charles Spillane.
“This work carries a particular resonance in Galway, given our location, and the Ryan Institute is a fulcrum of this work,” he said.
Fahy has said it is “a great privilege to be given the opportunity to lead the largest research institute in the University of Galway and to support all of our colleagues who pursue breakthroughs in science, sustainability, the marine, the environment and in so many fields of the natural sciences”.
“I would also like to acknowledge the work of the outgoing director, Prof Charles Spillane, who led the Ryan Institute since 2017 and wish him the very best in his future research and academic work,”she said.
Fahy has more than 100 publications to her name, including four books. She has coordinated more than 20 funded research projects and obtained competitive research funding, totalling more than €36 million, including from Horizon Europe, H2020, JPI-Climate, Interreg, the Marine Institute, National Economic and Social Council and the Environmental Protection Agency.
She has also won numerous awards for her research and academic life, including the President’s Award for Research Excellence (2017); Societal Impact (2017); Teaching Excellence (Team Award 2020); and the Irish Research Council’s National Ally Award for Mentoring and Supervision (2023).
She joined University of Galway as a postdoctoral research fellow in 2005 and lives with her family in Corcullen.
