Irish Women Innovators Play Ever Greater Part on World Stage

This article was written by Fiona Alston and published on www.theirishtimes.com.

Fields from space technology to food waste control have been changed by Irish women.

Ireland has been attempting to nurture innovation and entrepreneurship, with mixed success to date. There have been several major breakthroughs over the years. And, in the many cases the greatest disruption and innovations have been led by women. With International Women’s Day in mind we’ve picked just a small handful of the finest Irish female innovators shaping the island’s future.

Dr Nora Khaldi

Founder and chief scientific officer of Nuritas. Khaldi knew from a young age that she wanted to become a scientist. Combining science with technology, Khaldi is a mathematician with a PhD in molecular evolution and bioinformatics from Trinity College Dublin. Nuritas uses AI algorithms to predetermine the effect bioactive peptides in foods can have on fighting disease or what health benefits they can offer. Khaldi has attracted an impressive line-up of investors including Marc Benioff, Bono and the Edge. Last year she won the Woman of the Decade in Business and Leadership award at the Women’s Economic Forum.

Prof Emmeline Hill

Winner of the President of Ireland Young Researcher Award in 2004 for her research into performance traits in thoroughbred horses, Hill is co-founder of Equinome and leads the research-and-development team in Plusvital. Using genetic testing to predict the sprinting ability and stamina in thoroughbred racehorses, the information provided helps determine each animal’s best distance for optimal performance, also lending itself to breeding purposes. It’s quite the feat to bring science in to such a traditional industry.

Dr Sarah Bourke

Co-founder of space technology company Skytek, Bourke is taking big steps in this technology sector. Skytek’s technologies are used by Nasa, the European Space Agency and the International Space Station, where they’ve been using Skytek’s international procedure viewer for over a decade. The system assists astronauts on their daily execution of procedures onboard the ISS. An advocate for encouraging young women into Stem fields Bourke was awarded an EU Prize for Women Innovators in 2016.