Congratulations Dr. Owen Kearney
Warm congratulations to Owen Kearney, who successfully completed his viva voce examination on 26 January 2026. His doctoral thesis, “Functionalized Water-Resistant Surface Structures for Optical Detection of Microorganisms,” was supervised by Prof. Izabela Naydenova and Dr Alan Casey, and examined by Prof. Dermot Brabazon (Dublin City University) and Dr Furong Tian (TU Dublin).
Owen demonstrated an excellent understanding and knowledge of the multidisciplinary field of bacterial adhesion control through optical surface structuring. His innovative work paves the way for new approaches to point‑of‑care bacterial detection technologies.
Following his graduation from the BSc (Hons) Science with Nanotechnology programme in 2021, Owen joined the Centre for Industrial and Engineering Optics at TU Dublin. His doctoral research was supported by the Irish Research Council through the Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship.
Throughout his four‑year PhD journey, Owen published multiple research papers, presented his work at national and international conferences, and played an active role in the TU Dublin Optica and SPIE student chapters. His dedication to undergraduate teaching—as a Tutor Senior Demonstrator in the Physics laboratories—made a significant and much‑valued contribution to the university community.
Wishing Owen every success as he embarks on the next stage of his career.