Dervilla M. X. Donnelly is an Irish chemist and was Professor of Phytochemistry at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

. She was the first woman to receive the Cunningham Medal from the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned socie ...

and was recognised by WITS ( Women in Technology and Science) with their inaugural Lifetime Achievement award.

Early life and education

Dervilla Donnelly was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. She studied chemistry at

as an undergraduate and went on to complete her PhD there under the supervision of T. S. Wheeler. She pursued postdoctoral studies at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

Academic career

She was appointed lecturer in chemistry at UCD in 1956, where she specialised in

Phytochemistry Phytochemistry is the study of phytochemicals, which are chemicals derived from plants. Phytochemists strive to describe the structures of the large number of secondary metabolites found in plants, the functions of these compounds in human and ...

. She was appointed Professor of Phytochemistry in 1979. Her research in the area of wood chemistry was of particular interest to the forestry industry in Ireland and she was able to apply her findings to a number of complex problems in Irish forestry. She also developed international collaborations with researchers in France. During her academic career she supervised more than 80 PhD students.

Appointments

Donnelly was elected to membership of The

1968 and she served as three times as vice-president of the academy. She was president of the Institute of Chemistry of Ireland from 1994 to 1996. In December 1989, Dervilla Donnelly was elected the first woman President of the

Royal Dublin Society The Royal Dublin Society (RDS) ( ga, Cumann Ríoga Bhaile Átha Cliath) is an Irish philanthropic organisation and members club which was founded as the 'Dublin Society' on 25 June 1731 with the aim to see Ireland thrive culturally and economi ...

, a position she held for three years. She was the first women elected to the position after 258 years of male presidents. She had been involved in the RDS since the 1960s, was elected to the science committee in 1976 and to the council in 1985. She succeeded Dr. F. J. O'Reilly as president, who also nominated her as his successor. In 1995, she was appointed as chair of the council of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, by Niamh Bhreathneach who was Minister for Education at the time. She retained this appointment for 15 years until 2010.

Awards

Professor Donnelly was awarded UCD's Charter Day medal in December 2000, for her contribution to the country and the university. In the same year she received the Boyle-Higgins gold medal award from the Institute of Chemistry of Ireland, awarded for "an outstanding and internationally recognised research contribution to the advancement of chemistry". The Women in Science and Technology (WITS) inaugural Lifetime Achievement award was presented to Professor Donnelly in June 2011. In 2017 Professor Donnelly became the first woman to receive the

's highest honour, the Cunningham Medal, which recognises "outstanding contributions to scholarship and the objectives of the Academy".

Later life

In 2012, Dervilla Donnelly was one of five "inspiring women" interviewed for a video made by WITS. ''Inspiring Women Interviews'' was launched on

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wom ...

at the European Parliament office in Dublin. It aims to encourage 16+ year old girls to consider careers in

STEM Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure * Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...

. Donnelly was listed as one of 100 top women in science, technology, engineering and maths by Silicon Republic as part of their Women Invent Tomorrow campaign in March 2014.

References

External links

Inspiring Women Interviews
Women in Science and Technology {{DEFAULTSORT:Donnelly, Dervilla Irish women scientists Irish women chemists Scientists from Dublin (city) Alumni of University College Dublin Living people Members of the Royal Irish Academy Year of birth missing (living people) Academics of University College Dublin 20th-century Irish chemists