Twin tech doctors clinch €3.6m in EU funding

Twin brothers, whose passion for computers began at the age of 10 when they took their computer apart and worked out a way to make it faster, have clinched them millions in EU funding.

Now, 24 years later, the twins, technology doctors, have won €3.6m for projects that will have a significant impact on Europe’s fishing, farming, and health sectors.

Steven and Alan Davy studied computer science at Trinity and at Waterford Institute of Technology, but ended up working together at the Telecommunications Software and Systems Group at WIT where they both completed PhDs.

Alan is investigating ways of ensuring bacteria can communicate with one another so they can be effective in areas such as shrinking cancerous tumours.

Steven’s work centres on using and developing technologies from the aquaculture or fish farming industry across Europe that is shared, making industries more streamlined and efficient.

The project titled CIRCLE, which Alan is heading up, was launched at theACM Nanocom conference in Bostonover the weekend.

“It’s a tremendous boost to get this multi-million funding and the backing of the EU in our research. CIRCLE’s main objective is to integrate research activities and providing a support infrastructure for coordination in this area right across Europe,” Alan said.