I graduated with a PhD in Mathematics from Queens University Belfast in 1990, moving to apostdoctoral position in Toronto before appointment as lecturer in mathematics at NUI Galway in 1992. Since then, I haveenjoyed a meaningful and rewarding academic career at NUI Galway, maintaining an active research profile whilst holding the teaching and learning of mathematics central to my academic endeavour. I have enjoyed numerous international visiting researcher positions, and in like kind have hosted many eminent researchers at NUI Galway. I havereceived institutional and national awards for excellence in teaching. Mybest work and my greatest impact are in working directly with students through research-led teaching, mentoring and inspiring. Beyond contribution to the field itself, myresearch in mathematics provides both fulfillment and effectiveness in this pursuit

Analytic topology; undergraduate mathematics education

I am passionate about and deeply committed to mathematics education. My teaching interests are underpinned by my fundamental belief that understanding and its communication arekey. Thus my interests transcend subject matter and strike at the heart of how one builds ones own understanding in the first instance. I seek to convey this message to all my students but especially to students inthe BA in Mathematics and Education programme. These students, like all students, are ultimately responsible for their own mathematical thinking and development. When they become teachers however, that responsibility intensifies for they are no longer responsible only for their own learning but now and critically for the learning of each of their pupils. This is a grave responsibility and I believe it cannot be overstated for the sort of teaching excellence that we want to see in our schools.My teaching is driven by enjoyment not only of the mathematics but alsoof the communication of it and the collaboration in it.