Two Lero members were among a number of leading Irish broadcasters, entrepreneurs, and academics honoured with Fellowship of engineering representative body, Engineers Ireland, at a ceremony in Dublin’s InterContinental Hotel.

Fellowships were awarded to 16 people who have made significant contributions to the engineering profession in Ireland, with titles being presented by the President of the organisation, Dr Edmond Harty. The awarding of the title of Fellow by Presidential invitation is a unique honour, in recognition of individuals’ contribution and ability in shaping, influencing and inspiring engineers and the future of the engineering industry.

Among those receiving the distinction was Joe Gibbs, General Manager at Lero, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Software. Mr. Gibbs is a seasoned manager with over 30 years of expertise spanning technical and business management across diverse industries such as software, automotive, oil, gas, and aerospace. He has overseen large R&D teams across multiple countries and has played a pivotal role in business development in Europe, establishing new distribution channels.

Professor Joseph Walsh of Munster Technological University and Co-Principal Investigator with Lero was also named a Fellow of Engineers Ireland. Prof. Walsh is Head of the School of STEM and Head of Intelligent Mechatronics and RFID (IMaR) Research Centre at MTU, Kerry. With more than 20 years research experience, his research encompasses the field of intelligent mechatronics and sensors, dairy technology, robotics and automation, autonomous systems, bio‐instrumentation and STEM education.

Engineers Ireland represents more than 28,000 members and this year, almost 400 members have been conferred with professional titles such as Chartered Engineers at conferring events in Belfast, Cork, Galway, Limerick, London, and Mullingar. Chartered Engineer status is awarded for demonstration of consistently high competence and is widely regarded as a gold standard within the engineering profession. Chartered Engineers are awarded the title following assessment by Engineers Ireland, leading to the awarding of an internationally recognised seal of excellence.

Acknowledging the success of recipients of all professional titles this year, Engineers Ireland President, Dr Edmond Harty, said:
“All engineers conferred with professional titles stand as exemplars of our profession and will act as industry leaders at a time when Ireland needs engineers more than ever.

“I also wish to specially commend those named as Fellow by Presidential Invitation today, for the outstanding contributions they have made to promoting the value of engineering in Irish life.

“Our role as an organisation is, not only to educate, regulate, and advocate for the profession, but to drive engineering excellence and innovation. Challenges in housing, water infrastructure, energy, climate action, AI and digital applications all require engineers’ expertise and experience to navigate and engineers will play a central role in shaping Irish society over the coming decades by pursuing innovative and entrepreneurial solutions.”