Maynooth University Department of Mathematics and Statistics

Please Note: The Department will ordinarily award a prize only if there is at least one student with an outstanding performance in an associated examination.
 

The Hamilton Prize
An annual prize is awarded to the best undergraduate mathematics student in his or her penultimate year of study, as nominated by each Irish university. It is presented at a ceremony in the Royal Irish Academy by that year’s Hamilton Lecturer, often a Nobel Prize winner or Fields Medallist.
The Hamilton Prize in Mathematics celebrates the life and work of the Irish mathematician William Rowan Hamilton (1805-1865), who discovered quaternions and made major contributions to several areas of mathematical science.

The Huxley Prize for the History of Mathematics
This prize is awarded to the student obtaining the highest mark and a First Class Honours mark in the History of Mathematics module MT382A, chosen from those who have obtained an overall First Class Honours in Mathematical Studies, Pure Mathematics, or Applied Mathematics.
Instituted in honour of George Huxley, former Adjunct Professor of Mathematics and Ancient Classics, Maynooth University.

The Huxley Prize for Euclidean Geometry
This prize is awarded to the student obtaining the highest mark and a First Class Honours mark in the module MT251P ("Foundations of Euclidean Geometry"), chosen from those who have obtained an overall First Class Honours in 1st year Pure Mathematics.

The Spelman Prize
The Monsignor Joseph Spelman Prize is for the best performance in either 1st year Theoretical Physics and Mathematics or second year Mathematics and Mathematical Physics.

The Delort Prize
This prize is awarded for outstanding performance in Pure Mathematics in the First Year Examinations.
Instituted in honour of the Peter Justin Delort, first Maynooth Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy (1795–1801).

The McMahon Prize
This prize is awarded for outstanding performance in Pure Mathematics in the Penultimate Year Examinations.
Instituted in honour of the late James J. McMahon, a former Maynooth Professor of Mathematics (1960–1974).

The De Brún Prize
This prize is awarded for outstanding performance in Pure Mathematics in the Degree Examinations.
Instituted in honour of the late Pádraig De Brún, a former Maynooth Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy (1913–1945), perhaps best known as author of the poem "Thánaig Long ó Valparaiso".

The Huxley Prize for Pure Mathematics
This prize is awarded to the student obtaining the highest average mark across the three modules MT434P, MT441P, MT451P in the Pure Mathematics Degree Examinations.
Instituted in honour of George Huxley, former Adjunct Professor of Mathematics and Ancient Classics, Maynooth University.

The Lennon Prize
This prize is awarded to the student obtaining the best result in Mathematical Studies in the First Year Examinations. This prize is open to students of both Maynooth University and the Pontifical University.
Instituted in honour of the late Francis Lennon, a former Maynooth Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy (1864–1912).

The Pamela Manly Prize
This prize is awarded to the student obtaining the best result in Mathematical Studies in the Second Year Examinations. This prize is open to students of both Maynooth University and the Pontifical University.
Instituted in honour of the late Pamela Manly, a former student at Maynooth University.

The Denvir Prize
This prize is awarded to the student obtaining the best result in Mathematical Studies in the Degree Examinations. This prize is open to students of both Maynooth University and the Pontifical University.
Instituted in honour of Cornelius Denvir, a former Maynooth Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy (1813–1826), best known for introducing Nicholas Callan to electricity and magnetism.
 

The Boole Prize
This prize is awarded to the student obtaining the best result in Standard Mathematics in the First Science Examinations.
Instituted in honour of the mathematician George Boole (1815-1864), who laid the foundations for Computer Science.

The Gauss Prize
This prize is awarded to the student obtaining the best result in Standard Mathematics (20 ECTS) in the Second Science Examinations. Instituted in honour of the mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855), who made major contributions to many areas of mathematical science.

The Donaghy Prize
This prize is awarded to the student obtaining the best result in Applied Mathematics in the Third Year Examinations.
Instituted in honour of the late John Donaghy, a former Maynooth Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy (1912–1913).

The Stokes Prize
This prize is awarded to the student obtaining the best result in Applied Mathematics in the Degree Examinations.
Instituted in honour of the Irish mathematician George Gabriel Stokes (1819–1903). The Navier-Stokes equations were named in his honour, and are the subject of a million dollar prize.
 

The Geary Prize
This prize is awarded to the student obtaining the best result in Statistics or Data Science in the First Arts or First Science examinations.
Instituted in honour of Robert (Roy) C. Geary (1896–1983), founder of both the Irish Central Statistics Office and the Economic and Social Research Institute known for his commitment to providing evidence-based research to inform public policy debate and decision-making.

The Wilcoxon Prize
This prize is awarded to the student obtaining the best result in Statistics in the Second Science or Second Arts examinations.
Instituted in honour of Frank Wilcoxon (1892–1965), born in Co. Cork, a chemist and statistician known as a pioneer in the field of nonparametric statistics for his development of several statistical tests which still bear his name.

The Nightingale Prize
This prize is awarded to the student obtaining the best result in Statistics in the Third Science or Third Arts examinations, or in the Higher Diploma in Statistics.
Instituted in honour of Florence Nightingale (1820–1910), known in statistics as a pioneer of data visualisation and the first female member of the Royal Statistical Society, whose graphical representations of data profoundly affected healthcare and other social reforms.

The Gosset Prize
This prize is awarded to the student obtaining the best result in Statistics or Data Science in the BSc degree examinations.
Instituted in honour of William S. Gosset (1876–1937), the statistician who published under the pseudonym ‘Student’, pioneered small-sample experimental design, and invented the famous t-test while working for Guinness Brewery in Dublin.

The Darré Exhibitions
These exhibitions are awarded on entry to students in First Year Double Mathematics, on the basis of marks in Leaving Certificate Higher Mathematics and on their satisfactory participation in the course at Maynooth University.
Instituted in honour of André Darré, a former Maynooth Professor of Logic, Metaphysics and Ethics (1795–1801), and Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy (1801-1813), and author of the textbook Elements of Geometry.

Past Prize Winners