On Tuesday 15 April, UCD Biological Society presented the first annual Eve McCarthy Award to Nobel prize winner Professor Morten Meldal, in a packed out auditorium in the O’Brien Centre for Science.
Formerly the George Sigerson Award for Inspiring Aspiring Scientists, the award was renamed this year to remember Eve McCarthy. McCarthy was a UCD student and committee member of UCD Bio Soc; she tragically lost her life in January, 2025.
The award ceremony marks the final event of the year for the 11th session of UCD Bio Soc, with Bio Soc Auditor Tommy Docherty taking pride in the “variety of events” and charitable efforts the society has achieved this year. Docherty shared that this award was both of “great significance” and “deeply personal”, being newly named after “someone who had a lasting impact on all of us.”
Vice-auditor Matt Mion addressed the audience, noting that this award will honour an incredible scientist in Meldal, and also the society’s “dear friend” Eve McCarthy. Mion described McCarthy as someone with passion and determination, “a true pocket rocket with contagious energy”, who inspired everyone for the better. He continued, reminding the audience that this award was created to celebrate those who inspire the next generation of scientists “just like Eve did”.
Mion then presented Professor Meldal with the Eve McCarthy Award for Inspiring Aspiring Scientists, highlighting his groundbreaking work in chemistry which earned him a Nobel prize and commending him for “profoundly impacting the way science addresses critical issues”.
Meldal, alongside colleagues Carolyn Bertozzi and Barry Sharpless, earned his Nobel prize for chemistry in 2022 for the group’s development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal reactions. The Nobel prize praised their developments for taking chemistry into the “era of functionalism”.
Accepting the award, Professor Meldal said his “main task in this world is to be an inspiration to students”, adding “I would like to immediately dedicate my award to Eve.”
Meldal urged the generation of aspiring scientists sitting in the audience to “get out of your cellphones, and do what you like to do”. He jokes that “when you get a Nobel prize, you immediately increase your IQ by 20%. You get asked about your opinion on everything; I don’t know about everything, but I know chemistry is everything.”
Meldal then presented his award lecture to the overflowing George Moore Auditorium.
Speaking to The University Observer following the event, Vice-auditor Matt Mion noted that this year marks the 100 year anniversary of George Sigerson’s death - the original namesake for the Eve McCarthy Award. He shared that UCD Bio Soc hopes the award will continue for another 100 years under Eve’s name.
He said “I’m absolutely unbelievably happy with how well the event went. It’s really fulfilling to hear Morten speaking, he’s a lovely man who cares about students, as well as being a remarkable scientist, and that makes us feel even more proud to be able to put Eve’s name on it.”