This summer the death of Prof. Rory O'Connor, head of the DCU School of Computing was announced. He died unexpectedly, but very peacefully, while on holiday in France with his beloved family. Colleagues described him as a gifted and enthusiastic researcher, educator, a kind and generous colleague and a great friend. It was a shock, a huge loss for all of us in the School of Computing and, of course, enormous loss for his young family.
Twice graduate of DCU (BSc in Computer Applications, 1993; MSc in Computing 1995), Rory undertook his PhD(2000) at City, University of London, after which he joined the School of Computing. He was a visiting professor at the University of Iceland in 2006-2007, and had close research ties with Dundalk Institute of Technology.
Rory led the School of Computing for almost 6 years (2014-2019), during which time there was very significant expansion in research activities growth in academic and research staff, major facilities upgrade and important programme innovations (including delivery of a master’s programme abroad). Rory was a mentor to PhD students, early career researchers and academics, and taught by example the value of ongoing professional development. He was student-focused in all of his work. Within the University he was a member of serval key university committees, including the IT governance Committee and the Academic Promotions Committee.
Dr. Richard Messnarz, General Chair of the EuroSPI Conference series, announced the establishment of the annual Rory O’Connor International Award for Research Excellence on the 20th September 2019. The first recipient of the award is Dr. Béatrix Barafort of Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST).