Jane Grimson (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Wright), is an Irish computer engineer. She is Fellow Emerita and Pro-Chancellor at Trinity College Dublin.

Education

Grimson attended Alexandra College Dublin. She was the first woman to graduate in engineering from Trinity College Dublin obtaining a first class honors degree and gold medal in 1970. She received a Masters in Computer Science from the University of Toronto in 1971, and a PhD from the University of Edinburgh in 1981.

Research and career

In 1980, Grimson was appointed to a Lectureship in Computer Science at Trinity College Dublin where she spent her entire academic career, holding a Personal Chair in Health Informatics prior to her retirement in 2014. Her major research interests are in

Health Informatics Health informatics is the field of science and engineering that aims at developing methods and technologies for the acquisition, processing, and study of patient data, which can come from different sources and modalities, such as electronic hea ...

, a field concerned with the application of Information and Communications Technology to improve the quality and safety of healthcare.

Senior positions

Grimson served as Dean of Engineering and Systems Sciences from 1996-1999, as pro-Dean of Research in 2001 and as Vice-Provost from 2001-2005, being the first woman to ever take these roles. She was appointed Pro-Chancellor of the

University of Dublin The University of Dublin ( ga, Ollscoil Átha Cliath), corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a university located in Dublin, Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dubl ...

in 2016. A chartered Fellow of the Institution of Engineers of Ireland (now Engineers Ireland) and a

EUR ING European Engineer (EUR ING) is an international professional qualification and title for highly qualified engineers used in over 32 European countries. Contemporary EUR ING engineers are degree-qualified and have gained the highest level of profess ...

, Professor Grimson served as President of Engineers Ireland from 1999-2000, again the first woman to hold this role. She is a Fellow and Past-President (2002) of the Irish Academy of Engineering and of the

Irish Computer Society Irish Computer Society was founded in 1967 as the professional representing information and communication technology professionals in Ireland. Its objective is to promote professional information and computer skills. The ICS is a member of the C ...

(2000-2004). She was President of the Healthcare Informatics Society of Ireland from 1999-2006. Professor Grimson was partially seconded to the newly established Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) as its first Director of Health Information in 2007, where she led the development of national standards for health information. In 2014, she was appointed Acting Chief Executive of HIQA, just prior to her retirement. She has served on numerous boards including Science Foundation Ireland, the Energy Research Council, the European Research Advisory Board, and the Mary Robinson Foundation - Climate Justice and was Chair of the board of Mount Temple Comprehensive School and the Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology.

Diversity work

Professor Grimson is an outspoken advocate for the advancement of women in engineering and in research more broadly. She helped to establis
WiSER
(the Centre for Women in Science and Engineering Research) at Trinity College Dublin, and also chaired a Department of Education and Science committee aiming to increase female representation in Science, Engineering and Technology. She also chaired the Gender Equality Task Force at NUI Galway from 2015-2016. She is an honorary member of Women in Technology and Science.

Awards and honours

Professor Grimson was elected as an International Fellow of the

Royal Academy of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering. The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senior ...

in 2004. She was awarded the

O'Moore Medal The O'Moore Medal is awarded by the ''Healthcare Informatics Society'' of Ireland to individuals or organisations that have made a major contribution to Healthcare Informatics. The award is named after Professor Rory O'Moore, who received the awa ...

in 2007 in recognition of her contribution to the field of Health Informatics. In 2009, she was elected as a member of the Royal Irish Academy. In 2017 she was awarded an honorary degree by NUI Galway.

Personal life

Professor Grimson's father was Professor Bill Wright, Chair of Civil Engineering in Trinity College Dublin. She married a fellow Engineering student at Trinity, Bill Grimson.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grimson, Jane 1949 births Living people People educated at Alexandra College Irish women engineers Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Female Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Members of the Royal Irish Academy 21st-century women engineers Academics of Trinity College Dublin Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Fellows of Trinity College Dublin Scottish women engineers