Student Awards

Book Prize in Chemistry

The value of the Prize, originally the interest on €64, donated to Chemistry by Dr. Thomas Dillon, former Professor of Chemistry, is now €125. The interest will form a Book Prize to be awarded to the student who obtains the highest marks at the Second Year Science Examination in Chemistry.

Brennan and Company Awards

Brennan and Company Awards (Medals and Monetary Awards) for the best overall degree result in each of:

• Science (Biochemistry major)
• Biotechnology
• Biomedical Science (Biochemistry major)

Dr. Richard John Anderson Book Prize in Biology

The Prize was founded under the Trusts of the Will of the late Dr. Hannah Perry Anderson in memory of her husband, Professor R. J. Anderson, Professor of Natural History in this University (1883-1914). The value of the Prize, originally the interest on €127, being the amount of legacy bequeathed, is now €125. In accordance with the Terms of the Will, the interest is to form a Book Prize in Biology to be called the Richard John Anderson Book Prize.

The Prize shall be awarded to the second year student who, in the opinion of the Professor, has the highest qualifications in Biology.

Fidelity Investments Prize

The prize consists of a crystal trophy and a cash award. The Prize and trophy is awarded each year for the best final year project in the BSc in Information Technology. The project may be a group or an individual project. The Prize will be awarded to the project deemed to have the highest academic and practical standard. This prize is sponsored by Fidelity Investments.

Hamilton Lecture

The Academy is in a position, thanks to the sponsorship of DePfa Bank, to fund the visit of an eminent mathematician from abroad to participate in the day’s activities. This person, possibly a Fields Medalist or mathematician of similar stature, will deliver a public lecture at a venue in central Dublin. He/she will also present the Hamilton Prizes to the students. It may also be possible to have the visitor deliver a seminar in Academy House, to an invited audience of professional mathematicians, around the same time. Further details will be advised when available.

Hamilton Prizes (Royal Irish Academy)

The Royal Irish Academy/Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann (Physical, Chemical and Mathematical Sciences Committee) organises the annual Hamilton Day celebrations on 16 October every year to commemorate the anniversary of William Rowan Hamilton’s eureka moment when he scratched his formula for quaternion algebra onto Broome bridge in Cabra, Dublin.  The Academy is in a position, thanks to the sponsorship from Ibec, to fund the visit of an eminent mathematician from abroad to participate in the Hamilton Day celebrations. This person is generally a Fields Medallist or mathematician of similar stature.

The Hamilton Prize for students of Mathematics is part of the Academy’s Hamilton Day celebrations which are sponsored by Ibec.  Each year Universities from across the island of Ireland are invited to nominate their “best” student in their penultimate year of undergraduate mathematical studies. The selection of the best student will normally be based either on the results of the annual assessment of the year’s performance or on the best performance in the ordinary university examinations in Mathematics at the end of the penultimate year. However, it is left to the discretion of School of Mathematics in each of the Universities to decide on the most appropriate method of selecting which student should be awarded the prize in each case.

The Hamilton prize winners are invited to the Royal Irish Academy on or near 16 October to attend a masterclass with a distinguished mathematician who has been invited to the Academy. This gives students the opportunity to hear more about the mathematician’s career path and field of expertise and affords them the opportunity to ask questions in an informal setting.

The masterclass is followed by a prize giving ceremony in Academy House for the students, university representatives, family and friends. At the ceremony the nine prize winners are awarded an official certificate acknowledging their Hamilton Prize achievement and the sum of €250. Prizes are presented to the students by the distinguished guest mathematician.

In the evening, the annual Hamilton public lecture is given by the invited distinguished mathematician in a city centre location. It is expected that the prize winners will attend the masterclass, ceremony and lecture.

IT Prize for Best Fourth Years BSc IT Business Plan

This cash prize is awarded each year for the best final year Business Plan in the BSc in Information Technology. This prize is sponsored by the Department of Information Technology.

Ivan Heffernan Memorial Medal in Marine Science

The medal is awarded annually on the results of the Honours Denominated B.Sc. Degree Examination in Marine Science. It is funded jointly by the Marine Programs Section, The University of Georgia (USA) and The Martin Ryan Marine Science Institute, National University of Ireland, Galway.

Laing O’Rourke Undergraduate Scholarship Scheme

Laing O’Rourke provide financial support to students for the duration of the undergraduate degree. Students studying for the BE degree at NUI Galway are eligible to apply. Work placements within the company are organised during vacations and/or any industrial training period.

Máire Brazil Scholarship in Civil Engineering

This will be adjudicated annually by the Dean of Engineering and Informatics (or his / her nominee) and will be awarded to the eligible female candidate who demonstrates the highest overall grade in her First Year University exams in Engineering. Successful candidates will receive a Scholarship of €2,000 each year for 3 years of study, namely 2nd, 3rd and 4th year of her BE (Civil) degree. Retention of the scholarship from year to year will be conditional upon recipients’ maintaining an honours grade standard in subsequent year examinations (i.e. 2nd, 3rd and 4th year).

Mairin De Valera Prize in Botany

The Máirín de ValéraPrize is awarded in memory of Professor Máirín de Valéra, who held the first Chair of Botany in UCG (now NUI Galway) from 1961–1977. Professor de Valéra was a botanist who specialised in the study of marine algae (phycology). In an academic career that spanned more than four decades, she carried out extensive field work along the western Irish seaboard.

This prize, valued at €100, is awarded to the student with overall best performance in the second-year Botany and Plant Science course.

MBryonics Prize in Physics

The mBryonics Prize in Physics is awarded to the student who obtains the best final-year project mark in the BSc Honours Physics Degree programmes. The value of this prize is €250 to the winning student.

MCS Kenny International Prize in Mechanical Engineering

MCS Kenny International sponsor this cash prize for the best individual project by a student of Mechanical Engineering in the final year of the course leading to the BE Degree.

Medtronic Prize in Biomedical Engineering

The Medtronic Prize is awarded to the student of Biomedical Engineering who achieves first place in the final year of the course leading to the BE degree. This is a cash award.

Merit Medical Prize

In accordance with a recommendation from Dr. Marie Coggins, the College of Science approved the introduction of two Merit Medical Prizes, one  for the best final year project on the BSc Environmental Health and Safety programme and a second for the best student on the B.Sc. Environmental Health and Safety programme. Both annual prizes (subject to annual review) will be to the value of €250.

Nortel Networks Prize

The Prize consists of a cash award and a commemorative trophy. The Prize is awarded to the project deemed to have the highest academic and practical standard with strong emphasis on the level of innovation shown by the student(s) involved. The Prize is not be limited to any specific technical area in Electronic Engineering.

Ó Carra Medal

The discipline of Biochemistry awards the ó Carra Medal annually to the student who demonstrates overall best performance in the second year Biochemistry course. The Medal is in memory of the late Pádraig ó Carra , Associate Professor of Biochemistry at NUI Galway from 1978 to 1999.

P.J. Tobin and Co. Gold Medal and Research Scholarship in Civil Engineering

The Gold Medal is awarded annually, on the results of the BE Examination in Civil Engineering, and on the recommendation of the Professor of Civil Engineering after consultation with representatives of the donor company.

P.J. Tobin Research Scholarship in Civil Engineering

The Research Scholarship is awarded annually on the recommendation of the Professor of Civil Engineering after consultation with representatives of the donor company. IT is available only to a graduate registering for a higher degree in Engineering and undertaking research work in Civil Engineering. The Scholarship is intended to help to defray travel and other costs incurred by the candidate in the pursuit of his/her research.

RPS Prize

This prize is awarded by RPS Group to the students who achieve 1st Place in 3rd Year B.E. Environmental Engineering Degree and for 1st Place in 3rd Year BE Civil Engineering Degree. The RPS prize is a monetary prize.

Ryan Hanley Award (West Region) Student Engineering Prize

The competition is intended for final year engineering undergraduates taking full time degree courses at third level institutions located within the West Region. The competition is designed to promote excellence in research, written submissions and presentation skills among undergraduates. Winners are awarded a cash prize.

Steris Prize in Physics

The Blayney Exhibition in Science (founded By The Late Lord Blayney)

The Blayney Exhibition was established under a bequest left to the University by the 12^th Baron Blayney. Cadwallader Davis Blayney was born in London in 1802. He served in the British House of Commons as an MP for Monaghan in 1830-34. On the death of his father, the 11^th Baron, in 1834, he was elevated to the title Baron Blayney. Seven years later Baron Blayney was elected as one of the representative peers of Ireland and joined the House of Lords. His family seat, which was sold in 1852, was Castleblayney in Co. Monaghan. Baron Blayney died aged 71 at the Carlton Club in London, leaving no heirs. The Exhibition that bears his name is the oldest surviving student prize awarded by the University.

An Exhibition in Science, originally established under the Blayney Bequest and now valued at €500, is awarded each year, on the following conditions:

1. The Exhibition is divided equally between the following categories: (i) Life and Field Sciences and (ii) Physical, Chemical and Mathematical Sciences in the Undenominated Science programme
2. The Exhibition is awarded each year to one student in each category set forth in 1 above who obtains the highest mark in any subject for the B.Sc. Honours Undenominated Science degree set forth in 3:
3. The Exhibition will be awarded in 2014/15 to the student who obtains the highest mark in any of the following subjects in the B.Sc. Honours degree examination:

• Life and Field Sciences
  Anatomy, Biochemistry, Botany, Earth and Ocean Sciences, Microbiology, Pharmacology, Physiology, Zoology
• Physical, Chemical and Mathematical Sciences
  Applied Mathematics, Applied Mathematics and Physics, Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics and Applied Physics

1. darás na hOllscoile retains the power of withholding, or of awarding only a portion of, the Exhibition.
2. In the event of two or more students in either or both categories achieving the same highest mark an Exhibition will be awarded to each student with the value of the award being divided between the awardees.
3. The Blayney Exhibition may be held along with any other Grant or Scholarship.

The Frank Lydon Award

Arup Consulting Engineers sponsor the Frank Lydon Award for the best Final Year Project in Civil Engineering, at NUI Galway. This annual award is in honour of Frank Lydon, the former Managing Director of the company, who was a graduate of Civil Engineering. The winning student will receive a cash prize, which is doubled if the student goes on to postgraduate study.

The Graham Technology Award

The prize consists of a cash award. The Prize will be awarded each year for the best project in the HDip in Applied Science (Software Design & Development). The project may be a group or individual projects.

The Michael A. Hayes Prize in Continuum Mechanics

The Michael A. Hayes Prize is awarded in memory of Professor Michael A. Hayes MRIA, who was a graduate of University College Galway (now NUI Galway).  In 1953 he recieved an Open State Scholarship to study Mathematical Science in Galway through Irish, gaining his BSc in 1956, followed by an MSc.  He was awarded the Sir Joseph Larmor Prize and then an NUI Travelling Studentship, and was an Assistant Lecturer in Mathematics and Mathematical Physics.  He left Galway to pursue a PhD in Applied Mathematics at Brown University and went on to become an outstanding applied mathematician, with special interests in the field of elastic wave propagation and the use of ellipses in mechanics.  Throughout a long and distinguished career abroad and in UCD, where he was Head of the Mathematical Physics Department for many years, Professor Hayes always kept a special memory of his time in Galway.

This yearly prize, valued at €100, is awarded to the third-year student with overall best performance in the Continuum Mechanics course offered by the School of Mathematics, Statistics and Applied Mathematics.  It will be presented to the student at the Lá na nGradam ceremony.

The Pat Morgan Medal for Academic Achievement in Biotechnology

The Peel Prizes

Two Prizes (originally founded by Sir Robert Peel) value €1,000 each, are offered each year for competition among candidates who are Matriculated students of the National University of Ireland, and who have not obtained in any preceding year credit for a course or a part of a course leading to an Examination in the National University or in any other University. One Prize is offered in English Composition and the other in Geometry.

The course for the Examination in Geometry is the Honours Course for the Leaving Certificate Examination.

The Examinations will be held in the Michaelmas term. Due notice of the arrangements for these Examinations will be posted on one of the University notice boards.

A Peel Prize will not be awarded unless some candidate reaches the standard fixed by the Examiner.

A Peel Prize will not be paid unless the successful candidate thereof is a student of the University. A Peel Prize in Geometry will not be paid unless the successful candidate thereof has taken out a Course in Mathematics.

 The Professor Emer Colleran Medal in Environmental Science

The School Of Chemistry Medals

The School of Chemistry awards a medal to the student who demonstrates the overall best performance in each of the courses offered within the School of Years 2-4.

The School of Physics Second Year Laboratory Gold Medal

This medal is awarded to the student who achieves the highest mark in the second year physics laboratory, provided that a high overall mark is obtained in the subject.

The School of Physics Third Year Laboratory Gold Medal

This medal is awarded to the student who achieves the highest mark in the third year physics laboratory, provided that a high overall mark is obtained in the subject.

The Sir Joseph Larmor Prize

1. The Prize was founded, under the Trusts of the Will of the late Sir Joseph Larmor, F.R.S., former Professor of Natural Philosophy at Queens College, Galway, in remembrance of his Professorship in that College.
2. The value of the prize is now €300.
3. The Prize will be awarded in National University of Ireland, Galway, each year on the results of the B.A. or B.Sc. (Honours) Examination in any ONE of the subjects:- 
   Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, or degree subjects in which Physics is a major component.
4. The standard required shall be that of First Class Honours in the Degree in that subject.
5. In case the Prize be not awarded in any year, Údarás na hOllscoile shall apply the money so accruing either by adding to the value of the Prize or to the giving of an additional Prize in the next or following years in the same subjects and under the same regulations.
6. he successful candidate must take out a course leading to the M.A. or M.Sc. Degree in one of the subjects of the Degree Examination on the results of which he/she has been awarded the Prize. The course may be taken out either in National University of Ireland, Galway, or in a University approved by the Professor of the subject.
7. One half of the Prize will be paid in October and one half in the following April, if the Professor under whom he/she has taken the course is satisfied with the successful candidate’s progress.

The William King Medal

This medal is named after Professor William King, the first Professor of Geology at NUI Galway. He was one of the founders of modern paleontology. The medal may be awarded to a student(s) who demonstrate outstanding performances in their final year B.Sc. (Hons.) in Earth & Ocean Sciences. Such performances will include first class standard on written and practical exams, first class standard in field project work and largely first class in semester projects