EPS nominees

Research award

Maria Garcia-Fernandez

(School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science)

"María is a brilliant researcher who strives for scientific excellence with the overarching aim of making a positive impact on the society. She has pioneered and developed drone-mounted radar systems for landmine detection, which enable a safe and fast inspection of the subsurface. Mine contamination is a world-wide problem, causing thousands of civilian casualties every year and hampering the socio-economic development in post-conflict areas. The technology designed by María aims to make a difference towards solving this problem. She has received a prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship to further develop the technology, exploring the adoption of computational imaging.

Besides her strong social impact commitment, María has an outstanding track-record (with more than 70 publications in journals and conferences), and she holds two patents. She firmly believes in promoting international collaborations, which has led her to build a wide network of partners and to participate in several Horizon-Europe projects. In addition, she is a highly-regarded figure in the community. As an example, she has been appointed as Young Professional Ambassador of the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society, and she has been invited as keynote speaker in a flagship conference. Furthermore, she aims to inspire younger generations, hence mentoring undergrad and PhD students."

Support award

Amir Masoud Molaei

(School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science) - Nominated by 4 individuals

"Amir is recognized for outstanding contributions in mentoring, supervision, teaching and research / project management. As an Assistant Supervisor, he has provided crucial support for several PhD students in my group, resulting in successful progress reviews, presentations at top-tier conferences and world-leading publications in IEEE Transactions journals. He has established and led a significant number of external collaborations, resulting in my lab being recognized internationally. Amir leads dedicated journal clubs in my team and delivers regular workshops in CWI across multiple disciplines, from wireless communications to radar imaging. These activities facilitate learning of cutting-edge research and identification of new research directions. All these are a testament to his extraordinary support and contribution to my team (EMIS Lab) and CWI/EEECS.

In teaching, Amir successfully managed all aspects of the BSc Wireless Communications module and the MSc Wireless Communications module, achieving an over 80% pass rate. His coordination of research delivery included compiling team reports and submitting the annual project progress report on “Compressive Imaging for Real-Time Security Screening” to the Leverhulme Trust. His achievements underscore his dedication to academic excellence, impactful mentorship, and effective research management, qualifying him for the Postdoc Award."

Citizenship and Outreach award

Agnes Purwidyantri

(School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering) - Nominated by 4 individuals

"Dr. Agnes Purwidyantri, Biochemical Sensors specialist, brings extensive experience from Taiwan, Indonesia, Portugal, and the UK. Since joining CCE-QUB in 2022, she has been involved in CCE Early Career Research Academy (ECRA) to support postdocs career progression through supportive culture. She organises seminars on research funding application and team building. As a committed member of CCE Athena Swan Committee, she actively promotes programs on equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) within the school. She takes part in a range of outreach activities, such as disseminating research findings to public audiences and prospective students. In Manesiotis lab, she serves as the coordinator for implementing sustainability and is an auditor for the annual Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF) within the school.

Additionally, she represents the postdocs group on the CCE-Health and Safety Committee. She co-supervises two master’s students in nitrogen sensor project and supports teaching in Food Composition and Chemistry, and Advanced Chemistry Options. Agnes reviews research papers regularly and is an editor of IEEE OJ of Nanotechnology, Frontiers in Chemistry, and Frontiers in Food Safety and Quality Control. Beyond professional commitments, she actively supports the globalisation of Indonesian junior researchers, fostering international collaborations and advocating for higher education opportunities."

Research award

Hossein Mardani

(School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science)

"Hossein has consistently gone above and beyond his job requirements in high profile research projects, including a recent net zero project, demonstrating solar power from space, where he voluntarily takes responsibility to delegate tasks to five staff. He has extensively deepened a collaboration between QUB and Imperial College London, where he made optimum use of complimentary skills from both partners to produce a completely new type of microwave power amplifier. Hosseins skill in much sought after RF hardware engineering has been absolutely key to meeting project deliverables to UK space Agency and UK Gov DESNZ, he is a considerable unsung hero he is in this regard.

Hossein has been ready and willing to step in at short notice to produce complex hardware for showcase demonstrations, one of which appeared on Sky news. Although public dissemination is not normally included in the research award category, it is Hossein’s engineering skill to solve complex problems at short notice that is being celebrated. Hossein is co-inventor on one patent, has produced 5 publications, contributed to 7 invited talks, with several journal papers in preparation."

Citizenship and Outreach award

Estelle Lowry

(School of Natural and Built Environment)

"Throughout the last year, Estelle has put a lot of effort into establishing a stronger research community with the School of Natural and Built Environment. She has designed and implemented a number of initiatives for Postdocs and PhDs within the school – including coffee mornings, a lunchtime seminar series, an ‘away day’ trip to Hillsborough Castle Gardens, a mentorship programme (where Postdocs applied to be ‘mentors’ for PhD students who had applied to be ‘mentees’), and an upcoming summer family event – which have been extremely useful and well received. This work has gone a long way to establishing greater levels of engagement and connection between SNBE members. The events and programmes have not only provided opportunities for socialising, but have also facilitated academic engagement. This has led to the organic creation of working partnerships/collaborations across the school’s disciplines, as well as instigating greater knowledge/information sharing.

I feel that Estelle deserves to be recognised for her contributions and efforts over the last year, which have already made a positive difference to the research community with SNBE. Estelle has also provided a template that can be followed by future Postdoc reps, either in SNBE or beyond."

Research award

Abbas Haider (School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science)

Adrien Descamps (School of Mathematics and Physics) - Nominated by 6 individuals

Amir Masoud Molaei (School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science)

Antonino Masaracchia (School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science) - Nominated by 2 individuals

Giorgio Zicari (School of Mathematics and Physics)

Hossein Mardani (School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science)

Maria Garcia-Fernandez (School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science)

Masoud Pedram (School of Natural and Built Environment)

Ryan Campbell (School of Mathematics and Physics)

Support award

Amir Masoud Molaei (School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science) - Nominated by 4 individuals

Ben McAteer (School of Natural and Built Environment) - Nominated by 2 individuals

Estelle Lowry (School of Natural and Built Environment)

Neil Ogle (School of Natural and Built Environment)

Citizenship and Outreach award

Agnes Purwidyantri (School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering) - Nominated by 4 individuals

Ben McAteer (School of Natural and Built Environment)

Eric Spikol (School of Psychology)

Estelle Lowry (School of Natural and Built Environment)