John Hegarty

John Hegarty was appointed Provost of Trinity College Dublin in August 2001. Born in Co Mayo in 1948, he completed his PhD in Physics at University College Galway. Following a postdoctoral stay at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he was a Research Scientist at Bell Labs, New Jersey, for six years. He returned to Ireland in 1986 as Professor of Laser Physics at Trinity College.
 
The focus of Dr Hegarty’s research is the study of light: how it interacts with matter, how it can be used to unveil the secrets of nature, and how it can be harnessed for applications.  

Producing over 140 publications, and developing a number of patents, Dr Hegarty was a co-founder of Optronics Ireland and of campus company, Eblana Photonics. He was Visiting Professor, University of Tokyo and Sony Corporation Japan (1995). Dr Hegarty is a member of the Royal Irish Academy and a Fellow of the Institute of Physics.

Dr Hegarty served as Provost of Trinity College from 2001-2011, following a period as Dean of Research and as Head of the Physics Department.

Dr Hegarty is married to Neasa Ní Chinnéide and they have two children.