About IMaR

Professor Joseph Walsh is the Director of the IMaR Research Centre and holds multiple pivotal roles: he is the Project Lead of the REEdI Project, a Co-Principal Investigator at Lero, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Software, the Principal Investigator for the AgriTech Ireland Cluster, and the Executive Director of the AgriTech Centre of Excellence (ACE).

His research spans intelligent mechatronics and sensors, dairy technology, robotics and automation, autonomous systems, bio-instrumentation, and STEM education. With over 20 years of research and development experience in both industry and academia, Professor Walsh has contributed to over 200 scientific articles and has secured more than €20 million in research funding in the last five years, showcasing his significant impact in his fields of expertise.

Recently he was honoured to the Fellowship of Engineers Ireland, each year the President of Engineers Ireland is afforded the opportunity to nominate to fellowship those with the ability to shape, influence, and inspire both engineers and the future of the engineering industry.

Professor Walsh was elected to the prestigious Fellowship of the Irish Academy of Engineering (IAE) in February 2024, bestowed to distinguished individuals from academia and industry, acknowledging their substantial impact on the advancement of engineering, as well as economic and societal development in Ireland. An all-island body, the Irish Academy of Engineering (IAE) seeks 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.

He has previously received a recognition of leadership of a project in the seventh EU Framework Programme for Research at ‘Ireland’s Champions of EU research’ Presented by President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins. Also, he received the Inaugural Innovator Achievement Award at the Munster Technological University, Innovation Awards, 2023. He has been elected Fellow of the Institute of Physics (FinstP) and has been awarded the titles of Chartered Physicist and Chartered Engineer.

Tom Fitzmaurice has been managing the IMaR Technology Gateway since May 2022. Tom and the wider team within the IMaR Research Centre at MTU Kerry have access to research and engineering professionals who are available to assist companies with the research and development of new and innovative products, processes and services. Tom is also available to provide information on and assistance with the various R&D funding mechanisms available to companies for such projects. Prior to this Tom spent six years managing the Applied IoT Technology Gateway Cluster where he engaged and worked closely with hundreds of Irish SMEs and start-ups to develop collaborative projects with members of the broader Enterprise Ireland Technology Gateway Network.

Tom graduated with a B.Eng. (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering from Cork RTC in 1991 and spent the following twenty-five years in the development and delivery of large-scale, high accuracy, metrology-based engineering solutions and training programmes to industry leaders worldwide including, Airbus, GKN Aerospace, BAe Systems, Babcock Marine, Boeing, NASA, Northrop Grumman, Vestas, McLaren, General Motors and Chrysler.

Dr. Daniel Riordan is Head of Department of Technology, Engineering and Mathematics in Munster Technological University Kerry Campus, Senior Principle Investigator in the IMaR Research Centre. He is a Chartered Engineer and holds a B.Eng. in Electronic Engineering from DCU, a M.Sc. in Computer Science form MTU and a PhD from University of Limerick in the area of electromagnetic interference in electronic communication systems.

His research focuses on electronic hardware, embedded systems, autonomous robotic systems, embedded artificial intelligence systems, sensor systems, electro-magnetic interference analysis and digital signal processing. Dr. Riordan's research predominantly takes an applied approach, with specific interest in the Manufacturing and Agricultural sectors. Dr. Riordan is a Science Foundation Ireland Funded Investigator and a member of the SFI Lero and SFI VistaMilk Research Centres.

Dr. Sara Morrissey Tucker is the Centre Manager for the AgriTech Centre of Excellence at Munster Technological University - Kerry. Sara graduated in 2004 with a BSc. (Hons) in Applied Computational Linguistics from Dublin City University. Passionate about research and assistive technology, Sara was awarded joint research and industry funding from IRCSET and IBM to undertake a PhD in Computing (2008) in the prestigious Machine Translation research group at Dublin City University.

Her focus was on Data Driven Machine Translation for Sign Languages. Sara is an experience researcher and is driven by projects with clear, practical applications and working with and for people to ensure the best and most effective user experience. Since 2020, Sara has been working and researching in digital immersive technology and extended reality.

She works closely with industry partners to deliver digital and consultancy services to a range of sectors in the South West. A key achievement of Sara’s is the securing of over €1.5m in funding.

Dr. Fiona Boyle is Head of Department- STEM (Director of REEdI- Rethinking Engineering Education in Ireland) within the School of STEM at MTU- Kerry Campus. Dr Boyle was awarded a B.Sc. (Hons) in Microbiology from the University of Galway, a M.Sc. in Biomedical Science from University of Ulster Coleraine, a Ph.D. in Medical Microbiology from the University of Galway and a Diploma in Change Management, also, from the University of Galway. Fiona is also a Member of the Insitute of Engineers in Ireland (MIEI).

Fiona’s Industry experience spans over 14 years in the MedTech and Pharma sectors, holding key roles in the areas of Terminal Sterilization, Microbiological quality and Biocompatibility of life saving and life enhancing medical products. Fiona’s recent experience focuses on agility and innovation in education, with a goal to ensure the talent pipeline can meet the future skills needs of the manufacturing industry in Ireland.

This involves the use of virtual and augmented reality, emerging technologies, eLearning, and the inclusion of significant work-based project centric learning in undergraduate programmes. Fiona is extremely passionate about promoting STEM as a career option for young women and in linking employers with female engineers of the future that have the potential to identify solutions for many of the problems that we collectively face as a society.

Sarah Flaherty is the Project Manager for the Rethinking Engineering Education Project at Munster Technological University (MTU). She holds a Bachelor of Business Studies with Marketing from MTU, a Higher Diploma in Marketing Practices from the National University of Ireland, and is currently completing a Master's in Innovation and Leadership in the Public Sector. With over 20 years of experience in non-profits, start-ups, and financial investment companies across Ireland, the US, and the UK, Sarah joined MTU in 2017. Since then, she has been instrumental in supporting enterprise development initiatives, securing funding, managing innovation, promoting lifelong learning, and delivering services to industrial, commercial, and organisational clients, contributing to enterprise growth and employment.

Kieran O'Donoghue is the Educational Outreach Manager for AgriTech Ireland – Ireland’s Agricultural Technology Cluster. The cluster is a coming together of industry, academics, and government to unlock new opportunities and deliver growth to this important sector. This initiative is part of a national approach led by Enterprise Ireland through the Regional Technology Clustering Fund (RTCF) to support the growth of SMEs across multiple sectors. Munster Technological University (MTU) Kerry is the base for the AgriTech cluster whose goal is to establish, build and maintain a cluster of AgriTech companies from across Ireland to drive AgriTech SME productivity, competitiveness, and internationalisation.

Kieran's background is in an engineering environment within the manufacturing industry where he has worked for more than 20 years in a variety of engineering and management roles. During this time, he has gained a wealth of experience in all aspects of business, particularly with the leadership of teams to deliver critical business objectives in the areas of new product introduction, process & technology development, validation and continuous improvement. He holds a Master’s degree in Project Management, a Bachelors degree in Electronics and a Six Sigma Black belt.