The ADAPT Recognition Awards celebrate outstanding service, research excellence, societal impact, and groundbreaking scientific collaboration. This year, we were delighted by the enthusiastic response from the ADAPT community, with 100 nominations submitted across seven categories. It is inspiring to see ADAPT members recognising and celebrating one another’s achievements and commitment.
Seven awards were presented this year to individuals who embody these exceptional qualities:
The ADAPT Researcher of the Year Award recognises those who have contributed greatly to scientific progress or who have had a significant scientific breakthrough.
Winner – Andrew Hines: In recognition of his exceptional contributions to research over the past year. In 2024, he published 12 papers, including a groundbreaking NeurIPS main track paper—the first from an Irish research institution in over seven years—recognised among the top 5% of submissions. His research has driven significant impact, with tools like ViSQOL widely adopted by companies like Google, Meta, and Microsoft for audio quality testing at scale, including daily monitoring of millions of YouTube videos.
The shortlist included:
Harshvardhan Pandit, for his notable research achievements this year, including winning the Best Paper Award at the Annual Privacy Forum (APF) in September 2024, organized by ENISA and the EU Commission. His paper, “Implementing ISO/IEC TS 27560:2023 Consent Records and Receipts for GDPR and DGA,” was the result of an international collaboration with Jan Lindquist, co-editor of the ISO/IEC TS 27560:2023 standard, and Georg Philip Krog, chief legal counsel and founder of the consent and compliance management platform Signatu.
Declan O’Sullivan for his work on the FAIRVASC project of which two major ADAPT publications emerged from in 2024 including The largest ever study performed in ANCA vasculitis, made possible by a federated analysis across 6 countries and a new disease classification system made possible by this analysis.
The ADAPT Early Stage Researcher of the Year Award recognises an individual’s research breakthrough and its scientific importance, whether it has been presented or accepted for publication in a peer reviewed conference or journal.
Winner – Kanishk Verma: In recognition of his outstanding contributions as a PhD Researcher funded through a prestigious Google/IRC Fellowship. His research focuses on leveraging AI to detect cyberbullying among (pre)teens, showcasing significant societal impact. This work involves close collaboration with his industry mentor and external mentor, Dr. Rebecca Umbach, as well as ongoing engagement with the Google Safety Engineering Center (GSEC) in Dublin since 2021. Highlighting the recognition of his expertise, Kanishk was recently invited to deliver a Google Tech Talk on his research in May 2024.
Shortlist included:
Sara Carta in recognition for her work shedding new light on the difficulty that hearing impaired individuals experience in noisy environments. Sara’s study pinpoints a specific brain process that is particularly affected by this phenomenon in hearing impaired individuals. This work is expected to contribute to the improvement of hearing aid devices.
Alex Randles in recognition of his work on the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland (VRTI) project. He developed two websites to facilitate search and editing of the VRTI Knowledge Graph by historians with no technical expertise required and conducted two user evaluations with the respective end users to refine and enhance the design.
Dipto Barman for his contributions to research and industry collaboration. His impactful journal paper, “The Dark Side of Language Models: Exploring the Potential of LLMs in Multimedia Disinformation Generation and Dissemination,” has garnered over 25 citations in six months and contributed to a deeper understanding of the societal challenges posed by LLMs. He also secured the prestigious SFI RD&I Industry Fellowship with Workday as his industry partner.
The ADAPT Education & Public Engagement Research Excellence Award recognises an individual, or a teams, outstanding contributions to society by effectively engaging and involving the public in ADAPT research.
Winner – DigiAcademy (Athi Ralarala, Shalom Pagidipally, Peter Delaney and Esther Murphy) for breaking barriers in digital inclusion by addressing the severe digital divide faced by individuals with intellectual disabilities. This initiative is transforming the education and employment landscape, by leveraging inclusive methodologies like paid citizen advisory panels and co-designed digital skills programs to empower learners as leaders across Europe engaging with 700+ individuals with ID/autism, families, educators and health professionals.
Damon Berry for his impact on public understanding and engagement with Artificial Intelligence through a series of innovative and inclusive initiatives which engaged 16000+ people in 2024. Damon’s work bridges the gap between cutting-edge AI & robotics research and society, empowering diverse communities including older adults to explore the many positives of AI technology and also to examine and discuss ethical challenges of the technology.
Eileen Culloty for her exceptional contributions to EPE this year, particularly in advancing media literacy and AI literacy. As co-chair of Media Literacy Ireland and a leader of the EDMO Ireland Hub, Eileen has been at the forefront of efforts to equip the public with critical thinking skills to navigate today’s complex media landscape.
Michał Wieczorek for his work on prospective developments in the use of artificial intelligence in education and their ethical impact. Michał has demonstrated exceptional dedication to advancing public understanding of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its ethical dimensions through his contributions to EPE initiatives.
The ADAPT Industry Collaboration Award recognises successful industry collaboration by an individual whose contributions have significantly benefited the industry project or spinout.
Winner – Mani Dhingra for her work as ADAPT Digital Twin Research Lead, pioneering a cross-cutting partnership with Smart Dublin and Dublin City Council since December 2022, now also contributing to the EMPOWER spoke. Mani has, within a year, initiated and led numerous academic-industry projects to develop a ‘Digital Twin ecosystem’ with Ireland’s largest local authority. Her work exemplifies the impact of engaged research, leveraging ADAPT’s expertise in data ethics, inclusion, capacity-building, and citizen engagement across diverse, non-academic, and public sector contexts locally and internationally.
Dara Meldrum for her work as lead researcher driving Vertigenius, an ADAPT spinout company that has developed an innovative platform to aid in the recovery from vertigo. This year, Vertigenius successfully raised over €2 million in seed investment—a remarkable milestone for any startup. This funding provides the critical capital needed to advance the company’s development and expansion plans, paving the way for transformative societal impact by reducing vertigo recovery times and improving patient outcomes.
Harshvardhan Pandit for his considerable commitment in shaping and co-creating a research collaboration with Fidelity Investments supporting a joint collaboration with Lero which helped underpin and secure a key Empower research collaborative engagement. His application of his research in linked data and semantic web technologies and Data Privacy Vocabularies to-date has been acknowledged by the Industry Partner as a key component to the successful deliverable of the project milestones.
The ADAPT International Research Programmes Award recognises an individual who has made significant contributions in engaging with international research programmes, had significant success in winning funding or had a significant impact on the field of research or policy within such programmes.
The winner is Harshvardhan Pandit in recognition of his international contributions to ADAPT’s growth and impact through international collaborations and strategic research initiatives. His exemplary career highlights his expertise in securing significant funding, including approximately €1.1 million through NENC funding this year, and managing projects with a combined value of around €2 million. These projects span critical areas such as AI, privacy, data regulations and standards and policymaking reflecting Harsh’s remarkable influence and leadership.
The ADAPT Outstanding Professional Staff Member Award recognises a professional staff member for their exceptional dedication and notable contributions within the framework of their role. This award seeks to celebrate those with a track record of outstanding commitment to their work.
Winner – Valerie De Moor: In recognition of her exceptional contributions as Project Manager of the Horizon TechConnect project and the MSCA Doctoral Network LegumeLegacy. Her seamless transition from managing Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions to Horizon Europe projects highlights her strategic acumen and meticulous attention to detail. Her efficiency, composure, and ability to address urgent challenges with tireless commitment have made her an indispensable leader, elevating both the projects’ outcomes and ADAPT’s reputation for excellence.
Ivan Bacher for his work as an indispensable member of the DLAB team. He consistently delivers excellence in terms of technical expertise, client collaboration and teamwork. He was specifically nominated for his outstanding work this year on the Cultivate project where he has made a huge contribution to the creation of a Food Sharing Initiative database and user guide.
Jane Dunne who has been instrumental in managing the relationship with the Department Tourism Sport Culture Media and of the ESTÓR project, an extension of the National Relay Station. She approaches leadership with enormous consideration and empathy for others and deals with issues with kindness and understanding, all the while attending to her many tasks professionally.
Theo Little for his excellence in leadership and management of the DLab team. Theo is committed to improving processes and his track record of delivering consistent, high-quality results have significantly contributed to the betterment of ADAPT and its members.
The ADAPT GEDI Recognition Award, introduced this year, honours significant contributions made by an individual, group, or team to promote equality, diversity, and inclusion within ADAPT. This includes advancements in accessibility and inclusivity across workplace activities, training, community engagement, research innovations, communication, or other aspects of ADAPT’s work.
Winner – Shaun O’Boyle for his contributions to equality, diversity and inclusion through his work and his dedication to inclusivity in STEM as demonstrated by his work on the ISL Glossary, the SignON project and on Art-Science projects developed in ISL as a way to engage with Deaf and hard of hearing communities about the future of artificial intelligence (AI).
Iona Gessinger for her work on building an inclusive culture in ADAPT, promoting responsible and representative data collection and in her supportive collaboration with external stakeholders to ensure they are fairly represented and compensated when participating in research and dissemination.
Alex Irwin for her exceptional dedication in managing and facilitating the GEDI committee. Her contributions and proactive suggestions have significantly enhanced the committee’s initiatives.
Congratulations to this year’s winners and shortlisted candidates. We look forward to seeing what we can achieve next year!
