Professor Dermot Diamond

D.Sc., Ph.D., M.Sc., B.Sc., MICI, FRSC, C.Chem.

Vice President for Research, Dublin City University

Professor Dermot Diamond in the Science Building, DCU

Introduction and Background Information Curriculum Vitae Scientific achievements Biographical Sketch of Principle Investigator Senior Management of Research & Development Teams Career Progression Professional Qualifications and Board Memberships Publications Patents

Introduction and Background Information

I was born in Belfast in 1953, and attended St. Mary's CBS in Barrack Street and the Glen Road. In 1972 I went to Queen's University, leaving in 1976 with a B.Sc. in Archaeology, and a background in Geology, Statistics and Chemistry. During the summers of 1975 and 1976, I worked on digs at Carrickfergus as part of team under the direction of Dr. Tom Delaney, where we uncovered many features of the medieval and post-medieval town. However, there were few career opportunities in Archaeology in those days, and upon graduating, I completed a postgraduate certificate course in education the following year and returned to my old school, St. Mary's, where I stayed for 10 years, teaching chemistry and science.

Teaching chemistry rekindled my interest in science, and, following a successful Open University course in physical chemistry (1980), I enrolled in a part-time taught M.Sc course at Queen's University Belfast in Instrumental Methods of Analysis (1981). I found the subject matter fascinating, particularly the relationship between molecular structures and analytical signals, and immediately after graduation, (1983) I began a part-time Ph.D. under the supervision of Dr. Gyula Svehla. The doctoral research involved constructing chemical sensors based on PVC membranes doped with molecular receptors. I was particularly lucky to obtain a new series of receptors called calixarenes from Professor Anthony McKervey, who had developed them for use in 'Superglue', as part of a joint research project with Loctite (Ireland). These turned out to be excellent dopants for the PVC membranes, and in 1986, I published the first paper describing the remarkable characteristics of sodium sensors based on calixarene tetraesters. I presented the paper that year as a poster at a conference called 'Electroanalysis Na-hEireann', which was organised by a young Dr. Malcolm Smyth (now a Professor and also Dean of Faculty of Science & Health, DCU), at the National Institute for Higher Education, Dublin! Little did I realise then how important NIHE Dublin would be in my future life.

The calixarene tetraesters are now recognised world-wide as the best receptors for making sodium sensors, and they are now employed extensively in hospital analysers for routine blood sodium measurements. I continued to publish papers on calixarene-based sensors, and rapidly branched from Electrochemical sensors to optical. In 1989, University status was granted, and NIHE Dublin became Dublin City University. That same year, the Sensors Research Centre (SRC) was founded by Malcolm Smyth, Han Vos, Brian MacCraith, Richard O'Kennedy, and myself, a unique alliance between researchers from the schools of Chemical, Biological and Physical Sciences, as they were then called. A major boost for sensor research came through the formation of the 'Biomedical and Environmental Sensor Technology (BEST) Centre' in 1995, funded by the International Fund for Ireland, with partners at UUJ, QUB and UL. The return of Robert Forster from the USA further strengthened the team, and in 1999, our National prominence was recognised through our successful bid under the first round of the HEA PRTLI programme, under which we were awarded ca. €11 million to build and equip the 'National Centre for Sensor Research' or NCSR.

Research highlights include cover articles in the international journals 'Analytical Chemistry' (American Chemical Society, Washington), and 'The Analyst' (Royal Society of Chemistry, London), the award of the first Royal Society of Chemistry Medal for Sensor Research in June 2002 (sponsored by Nycombe Amersham), and the award of D.Sc. by Queen's University Belfast in July 2002

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Curriculum Vitae

(a) Scientific Achievements

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(b) Biographical Sketch of Principal Investigator

Degree	Place	Year	Subjects
B.Sc.	QUB	1976	Archaeology, Chemistry, Statistics, Geology
M.Sc.	QUB	1983	Instrumental Methods of Analysis (taught, joint top of class)
Ph.D.	QUB	1987	'The Construction and Application of Neutral Carrier-based Ion-Selective electrodes'
D.Sc.	QUB	2002	'Autonomous Sensing Devices - The Democratisation of Analytical Measurements'

 

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(c) Senior Management of R&D Teams

2002 (July): Vice President for Research, Dublin City University:

In the spring of 2002, Dublin City University created the position of Vice President for Research, in response to the rapidly improving research environment in Ireland, and the need to adopt a more professional approach to research within the university. I was unanimously selected from a number of highly qualified applicants by the interviewing panel for this prestigious position, and became the first Vice President for Research at DCU in July 2002.

1999-2002 Associate Director NCSR:

Together with the NCSR director, Prof. Brian MacCraith, and other colleagues, I have built the combined sensor research team at DCU to around 130 full-time people, funded almost entirely from external sources such as National Research programmes (Basic, Strategic, Applied) EU-4th and 5th Framework, Health Foundations and Industry Sponsorship. The centre is organised into a number of specialist clusters focused on a number of key knowledge domains required for progress in sensor research. The team has by far the best profile for research in chemical sensors and biosensors in Ireland today, and is clearly world-class in terms of publications and citations. The scope of activities is broad, ranging from the design and synthesis of chemo-receptors, through isolation of bioreceptors, surface microscopy, immobilisation of receptors, optical sensing, electrochemical sensing, and applications development for sectors of national and international importance (Agri-food, medical devices/diagnostics, process optimisation, and environmental monitoring). The Centre maintains a balance between basic and applied research, and this is seen as very beneficial, as the applied research benefits from a broad basic knowledge of the various knowledge domains mapped by the research clusters, and the basic research is informed by the emerging trends/needs in the marketplace.

1995-99 Director BEST Centre at DCU:

The Biomedical and Environmental Sensor Technology (BEST) Centre was the first multi-disciplinary research Centre at DCU involving a partnership between biologists, chemists and physicists. During this period, the sensor research effort at DCU grew from around 20, to 50 full-time people, with the emphasis shifting from almost entirely postgraduate researchers, to a significant number of more experienced postdoctoral researchers.

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Career Progression

2002 Vice President for Research, Dublin City University
1998 Professor of Analytical Chemistry, DCU
1994 Senior Lecturer in Analytical Chemistry, DCU
1990 Lecturer in Analytical Instrumentation, DCU
1989 Founder Member of Sensors Research Centre, DCU
1987 Assistant Lecturer in Analytical Instrumentation, NIHE Dublin

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(d) Professional Qualifications and Board Memberships

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(e) Publications

92 refereed papers in international peer-reviewed journals,
7 book chapters,
2 books
140 presentations at seminars/conferences

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(f) Patents