Powering the Smart Economy
through Research, Development
& Innovation
Science Foundation Ireland
The Emerald Isle has a rich history of scientific
discovery. All digital computer logic is derived
from Boolean Logic, conceived by George Boole of
County Cork. Wind is measured by the Beaufort
Scale, originated by Francis Beaufort of County
Meath. The Kelvin Scale was developed by William
Thomson of County Down. The spiral nature of
galaxies was first discovered by William Parsons of
County Offaly. Another County Offaly man, John
Tyndall, is responsible for greatly enhancing our
understanding of the nature of light. County Offaly
was also the birthplace of the man that first coined
the term, “electron” – George Johnson Stoney,
while his nephew, - George Francis FitzGerald of
County Dublin, first discovered an important result
of Albert Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity.
These historical achievements are not destined to
be Ireland’s last. The field of scientific discovery
in Ireland today is one that is being nurtured and
studiously developed as a matter of government
policy.
Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), is the State
agency that facilitates scientific funding throughout
the Republic of Ireland. The mission of the
Foundation is:
“to build and strengthen scientific and engineering
research and its infrastructure in the areas of
greatest strategic value to Ireland’s long term
competitiveness and development”.
Academic research projects in the nation’s Higher
Education Institutions (HEIs) - the Universities
and Institutes of Technology, - receive considerable
funding from SFI. Research, Development &
Innovation has been prioritised by the Irish
government, as evidenced by the fact that SFI