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same date, 16 May, that Lawless died. ‘Although I did not know him personally I have climbed with Nepalese professionals that were on Everest with Shay that day. I know he was a strong climber and he had been preparing for years. I’m glad that he reached the summit, that he had that exhilaration and sense of achievement, but it is truly tragic to lose him, and so young.’ Jonathan is from a rural background in County Sligo which he says is still somewhere very important to him. ‘Just like anyone growing up on a farm, I pitched in to help. Growing up I was always interested in building new things. I studied business and management in UCD and the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School at undergraduate and postgraduate levels to better understand how to build well-functioning organisations. I picked up a lot of skills working in brand management for P&G and setting up my own company. When we sold this, it gave me space to think about what I wanted to do next. I decided to go to the US to try something new. In 2015 when I was awarded the Fulbright to go to MIT, a new world opened up for me’ he said. For the past six years he has been a research scientist at MIT at the Initiative on the Digital Economy (IDE), and lecturer in global economics and management. He recently co-founded a course on the global business of quantum computing, the first of its kind in the world. His interaction with heads of industry, leading scientists and Nobel Prize winners at the top US university gives him valuable insights. Recent publications in journals such as Harvard Business Review include multidisciplinary collaborations with other MIT faculties such as physics and computer science professors. As an educator, he seeks to give his students ‘an overview of what changes in technology might mean for them. The aim is not to make them technical experts but to teach these topics with precision and provide a framework students can use to analyse the situation for themselves after they leave the university.’ He also teaches classes in the Trinity Business School (TBS)‘because I love it and want that connection with Irish academia and students’. Going between Boston and Dublin could present a challenge but Trinity has been flexible and accommodating: ‘Normally, teaching two classes would take an entire semester but the Business School has facilitated me teaching the courses in one week, from nine in the morning to six in the evening.’ He is impressed with recent changes at TBS: ‘Physically, the school has been transformed - the new building is fantastic. And the students tend to have a very global perspective - in particular I see their awareness and commitment to environmental issues. In that regard, they may be more advanced than their US counterparts.’ He considers himself ‘lucky to spend most of my days at MIT, working alongside brilliant minds, and I feel privileged that I can bring some of that experience back to Ireland. Similarly, I learn from the international students at TBS, and bring that back to the US.’ After summiting Everest, he took only a short break before heading out on climbing expeditions to Switzerland and France. A recent successful climb of the Eiger - an Alpine peak almost as famous in mountaineering circles as Everest - was particularly rewarding: ‘The Eiger is probably best known for its North Face route, which is one of the most technically difficult in the world. What is less well known is that the first ascent was completed by an Irish man, Charles Barrington. For a short period of time, when I was on the top, it meant the first and last people to summit the amazing Eiger were Irish. That was a lovely thought.’
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