Scholarship Recipients
2019 - Shane McDonagh
Shane is from Leitrim and completed his undergraduate studies in NUIG. He is a big rugby and GAA fan and is extremely active as a volunteer, most notably with the STEAM initiative. Shane also participates in the Big Brother Big Sister programme, along with general community outreach work. Congratulations Shane!
2018 - Conor Healy
2017 - Vera O'Riordan
2016 - Sorcha Ní Mhuineacháin
We are delighted to announce that the 2015 Dr. Elmer Morrissey Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Sorcha Ní Mhuineacháin. Sorcha, in her final year BE Energy Engineering degree, received full points in her Leaving Cert and entered UCC on a scholarship. She simultaneously continued her studies at the Cork School of Music, where she achieved her Guildhall Diploma in Violin.
Sorcha is also very involved in student life in UCC. Like our previous winner, Kevin Leahy, who was one of the founding members of the Engineers Without Border, she is currently the auditor of the Engineers Without Borders Society and has also reached out to other societies such as Doctors without Borders and the Environmental Society to initiate event collaborations.
Sorcha is also the co-founder of a technical start-up which won the “UCC Student Start-Up Weekend” event. She also co-founded her local community choir “Aluminata” which brings together past pupils of her secondary school who are united by their love of choral music.
Sorcha is currently working on her final year project which will look at how modern building practises can be applied to the refurbishment of old buildings, and in October 2016, she will be pursuing an MPhil in Engineering for Sustainable Development at Cambridge.
Sorcha is also very involved in student life in UCC. Like our previous winner, Kevin Leahy, who was one of the founding members of the Engineers Without Border, she is currently the auditor of the Engineers Without Borders Society and has also reached out to other societies such as Doctors without Borders and the Environmental Society to initiate event collaborations.
Sorcha is also the co-founder of a technical start-up which won the “UCC Student Start-Up Weekend” event. She also co-founded her local community choir “Aluminata” which brings together past pupils of her secondary school who are united by their love of choral music.
Sorcha is currently working on her final year project which will look at how modern building practises can be applied to the refurbishment of old buildings, and in October 2016, she will be pursuing an MPhil in Engineering for Sustainable Development at Cambridge.
2015 - Kevin Leahy
We are excited to announce the very first recipient of the Elmer Morrissey Memorial scholarship! The award was given to Kevin Leahy, a 1st year PhD student at University College Cork. After reviewing a number of excellent applications, the selection committee felt that Kevin most fully embodied Elmer's innovative spirit, his intelligence, and his drive to improve the world around him.
Kevin's doctoral study focuses on “Data analytics to improve the performance of coastal wind turbines”. His aim is to develop a commercially viable wind turbine performance monitoring system, which uses artificial intelligence to monitor and detect faults and predict future maintenance issues within wind turbines.
In 2013, Kevin became one of the founding members of Engineers without Borders. EWB is a group of international organisations who use the expertise and analytical skills of engineers to solve problems in the developing world. The society has won college level and national awards. This year, Kevin is vice-auditor of EWB.
As part of EWB, Kevin has been involved in a design competition in which secondary schools were asked to design and build a wind turbine from easily obtainable parts. He volunteers on many outreach programs and he is presently introducing STEM education to primary schools through an 8 week teaching program in engineering which he developed himself. He also works for the Centre for Talented Youth Ireland as an engineering instructor for gifted 8-12 year olds.
In September, 2015 Kevin is traveling to UC Berkeley to continue his PhD research. The Elmer Morrissey Memorial Scholarship will assist him in funding his travel to Berkeley to undertake this program.
Kevin's doctoral study focuses on “Data analytics to improve the performance of coastal wind turbines”. His aim is to develop a commercially viable wind turbine performance monitoring system, which uses artificial intelligence to monitor and detect faults and predict future maintenance issues within wind turbines.
In 2013, Kevin became one of the founding members of Engineers without Borders. EWB is a group of international organisations who use the expertise and analytical skills of engineers to solve problems in the developing world. The society has won college level and national awards. This year, Kevin is vice-auditor of EWB.
As part of EWB, Kevin has been involved in a design competition in which secondary schools were asked to design and build a wind turbine from easily obtainable parts. He volunteers on many outreach programs and he is presently introducing STEM education to primary schools through an 8 week teaching program in engineering which he developed himself. He also works for the Centre for Talented Youth Ireland as an engineering instructor for gifted 8-12 year olds.
In September, 2015 Kevin is traveling to UC Berkeley to continue his PhD research. The Elmer Morrissey Memorial Scholarship will assist him in funding his travel to Berkeley to undertake this program.
