Prof. Peter McHugh

Prof. Peter McHugh is the Interim President of University of Galway

Professor Peter McHugh was appointed as Interim President of University of Galway in September 2024 after holding the position of Deputy President and Registrar in the University.

A native of Ballyhaunis, Co. Mayo, Peter holds a first-class honours BE in Mechanical Engineering from University of Galway and an ScM and PhD in Engineering from Brown University, Rhode Island, USA. He also holds a Doctor of Science (DSc) on published work from the National University of Ireland.

Peter joined the University faculty in 1991 as a Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering. He was appointed as the University’s first Established Professor of Biomedical Engineering in 2007 and he served as Head of Biomedical Engineering within the School of Engineering from 2013 to 2023. He served as Dean of College and Head of School of Engineering and Informatics from 2016 to 2019, and Head of School of Engineering from 2019 to 2021. Under his leadership as Head of School, the School of Engineering developed its gender equality action plan, and building on this groundwork, the school went on to achieve the Athena SWAN Silver Award in 2022, the first School of Engineering in Ireland to achieve the recognition.

Peter is an internationally recognised research leader in biomedical engineering and his research has been focused on fundamental developments and applications of computational and experimental methods in biomechanics, tissue mechanics and in the analysis and design of medical implants and devices, and he has published widely on these topics. He has been a pioneer in the development of biomedical engineering in Ireland and internationally, and he was the founding Director of the Biomechanics Research Centre (BioMEC) at University of Galway. In addition to research, Peter is deeply committed to undergraduate and postgraduate education.

He has received numerous awards, including membership of the Royal Irish Academy (2011), the Silver Medal of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland - Section of Bioengineering (2011), Fellowship of the Irish Academy of Engineering (2019), the Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship (1995), the Presidential Nominee Fellowship of Engineers Ireland (2009), and he is a Chartered Engineer of the Institution of Engineers of Ireland since 1996. He has also served in officer roles in the Royal Irish Academy, as Secretary for Science and as Secretary for Policy and International Relations where he was the Irish representative to several international academy organisations, including the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC).