Three academics from Ulster University have been recognised as among Ireland’s world class researchers.
Admitted to the prestigious Royal Irish Academy (RIA) for their “extraordinary contributions” were Monica McWilliams, an Emeritus Professor who co-founded the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition, coastal management researcher Professor Andrew Cooper and linguistic expert Professor Raffaella Folli.
Founded in 1785, the RIA honours Ireland’s leading contributors to the world of academia.
Notable past members included Nobel Laureates such as the Irish poets WB Yeats and Seamus Heaney.
Commending all three on their success, University Provost Professor Cathy Gormley-Heenan said: “It is very fitting that Emeritus Professor Monica McWilliams is being recognised by the RIA this week – almost 25 years to the day that Northern Ireland voted to approve the Belfast Good Friday Agreement, for which Monica and her fellow co-signatories worked so hard.
“Monica is a renowned contributor to human rights organisations and initiatives internationally, she has worked to advance peace and equality with great courage and consideration throughout her incredible career and is fully deserving of this honour.”
She added that Professor Cooper’s research on the coastal response to climate change and appropriate human intervention was significant “at a crucial tipping point for our planet,” while Professor Folli’s work had “driven societal transformation” in relation to language in Northern Ireland.
“Heartfelt congratulations to all three recipients today on behalf of the entire University - this is a great achievement for each of them and for Ulster University.”
As Emeritus Professor of Women’s Studies in the Transitional Justice Institute, Ms McWilliams’ has published numerous ground-breaking research on domestic violence in Northern Ireland.
Previous roles have also included time as chief commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission.
As a specialist in conflict resolution, she has chaired the international peace-building NGO Interpeace and served on the Board of Trócaire, the Irish development agency.
“I am delighted to be recognised by the RIA in this way, having followed the excellent work the Academy has undertaken and the contribution it has made to research and an informed analysis on the island of Ireland,” she said.
“This work is so much needed and I look forward to being a part of that in the challenging times ahead.”
Professor Cooper is considered to be among the world’s leading coastal researchers, with an independent review putting him in the world’s top ten, and another in the top one per cent of the world’s geoscientists.
As a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa and the Geological Society of America, he said: “This is a challenging time for coastal environments worldwide and they are in the front line when it comes to climate change and sea-level rise. Understanding how coasts respond to such changes and what modern societies can or should do in response, is a major societal challenge.”
Professor Folli formerly served as Provost of Ulster University’s Jordanstown campus.
After post-doctoral awards in Cambridge and Arizona, she has produced world leading research in theoretical linguistics.
“I am delighted to have been elected to membership of the RIA. I am particularly pleased that my election has come in a year when two other Ulster University colleagues have also been honoured,” she said.
