A physicist has been elected as the provost of Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland's most prestigious university. John Hegarty, a laser physicist, beat four other candidates in the election and will start his 10-year term as provost in August. He has promised to encourage innovation in teaching, increase the number of students from under-represented groups and to promote excellence in research.
Hegarty, who is 52, is a graduate of St Patrick’s College in Maynooth and obtained a PhD in physics from University College Galway. After spells at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Bell Laboratories in the US, he moved to Trinity as professor of laser physics in 1986. Since then he has also served as head of the physics department and dean of research.
