Hilary Grubb
Staff Writer
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On the 23rd of October 2011, ten students of Trinity College Dublin were awarded an Oscar Wilde Gold Medal for excellence at the Undergraduate Awards ceremony in Dublin Castle. The awards were distributed by President Mary McAleese, in what was her last time presenting them before she abdicates her role. Initiated by two graduates of Trinity College in 2008, Oisin Hanrahan and Paddy Cosgrave, the Undergraduate Awards Programme is an annual event that celebrates the academic excellence of students.’The Undergraduate Awards aims to inspire generations of graduates by supporting and celebrating their ideas, ultimately creating a global community of future innovators, influencers, entrepreneurs and thought-leaders’ say its founders.The winners are to be congratulated for their endeavours, as this year there were 2381 submissions with a huge increase of 778 submissions from last year. In order to submit to the Undergraduates Awards Programme, students must be degree students in their ultimate or penultimate year. Applicants include those of every third level institution from Ireland, Northern Ireland and some of the top Universities selected from the USA, the UK and Canada. Trinity students took ten of the twenty-three winners’ places this year. Each received the Oscar Wilde Gold Medal for excellence and was published in the Undergraduate Journal, the publication produced for Undergraduate Awards. It consists of all the winning articles, is available to purchase online and is stocked in all third-level institution libraries.
This year, a new category was added – the International category – with the award granted to David Molloy for his essay entitled ‘Discuss the past, present and possible future effects of social media on society, business & technology‘.
Among the other winners were Michael Clear, School of Computer Science and Statistics, who won the Computer Science & Information Studies category for his essay entitled Efficient Quantum-Resistant Identity-Based Cryptography, Gavin Kenny, School of Natural Sciences, who won the Agriculture & Environmental Sciences category for his essay entitled A description of the Tapponier-Molnar model for major strike-slip extrusion of SE Asia during the late Cenozoic.
Christoph Walsh, School of Business, won the Business & Economics category for his essay entitled Testing the Expectations Hypothesis for the Euro Interbank Offered Rate, Cillian Murphy, School of English, won the English Language & Literature category for his essay entitled The Relationship between Love and Death in Romeo and Juliet, Katie Hill, School of Nursing and Midwifery, won the Nursing & Midwifery category for her essay entitled Pediatric Palliative Care in Ireland, Jeremy Kingsley, School of Social Science and Philosophy, won the Philosophical Studies category for his essay entitled Truthmaking and Future Contingents.Grace Holmes, School of Natural Sciences, won the Life Sciences category for her essay entitled The Ecology of Developmental Biology, Joan Redmond, studying History and Political Science, won the Historical Studies category for her essay entitled Religious Violence and the 1641 Rebellion: Divided Communities in Seventeenth-Century Cavan, Laura Sinnott, studying German and History, won the Languages & Linguistics category for her essay entitled The audio-visual juxtaposition of Günter Grass’ Die Blechtromme.
