ProfKevin McGuigan

Prof Kevin McGuigan is Professor of Medical Physics in the RCSI Dept. of Physiology & Medical Physics and also the Director of the RCSI Solar Disinfection Research Group which develops appropriate solar-based technologies for water treatment in resource-poor rural environments. Kevin is the 2019 UNESCO-Equatorial Guinea International Prize Laureate for Research in the Life Sciences which “rewards the projects and activities of an individual which have led to improving the quality of human life.”   

He has coordinated field studies of these technologies in Uganda, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, S. Africa, Malawi, Cambodia and India. His research activities include:

• Co-Principal Investigator of the €1.3M SURG-Water, Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Future Innovator Programme – SDG Challenge. “Supporting climate-resilient health facilities in Malawi through sustainable access to water using solar disinfection of harvested rainwater. Feb 2023 – Jul 2026. ( Contract No. 22/FIP/SDG/10720). 
• Coordinator and Principal Investigator of the €4.9M EU Horizon 2020 PANIWATER Project (contract 820718, see www.paniwater.eu) in which 18 partner organisations across Europe and India are developing new technologies for the treatment of drinking water and wastewater.
• Coordinator and Principal Investigator of the €3.6M EU Horizon 2020 WATERSPOUTT Project (contract 688928, see http://www.waterspoutt.eu) in which 18 partner organisations across European and African countries developed new solar water treatment technologies which were piloted in Malawi, Ethiopia, Uganda and S Africa.
• Coordinator and Principal Investigator of the €1.8M EU FP6 SODISWATER Project (contract 031650) in which 9 partner organisations across European, African and Asian countries, conducted health impact assessment studies of SODIS technologies in Kenya, S Africa, Zimbabwe and Cambodia.

He is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics (FInstP) and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC). He has supervised to completion 6 PhD and 3 MSc projects and has published over 100 refereed articles in peer-reviewed journals. In parallel to his research activities, he teaches Physics to Medicine, Pharmacy, Physiotherapy and Advanced Technology & Therapeutics students.