Manus is CFO and founding partner at Dublin-based renewable energy investment company, Aer Soléir, founded in 2020 to invest in clean energy projects in Ireland and Europe. It was his background in investing in renewables and sustainability – previously he worked with Airtricity, Mainstream Renewable Power and NTR – that led to his invitation to join the Trinity Investment Committee in 2015. ‘The university had just taken the decision to diversify the Endowment Fund away from government bonds and into renewables and infrastructure, and I was approached because of my background in sustainable investment.’ HOW THE ENDOWMENT FUND IMPACTS TRINITY Over the past several years, the contributions of the Endowment Fund have been instrumental in advancing research and innovation throughout the university. Without the support of these funds, critical projects and initiatives would not have been possible. Dr Don Panoz, who died in September 2018, left part of his estate to Trinity. A visionary and entrepreneur, he first became known around the world for his work in the pharmaceutical industry, founding and running companies in the USA and in Ireland, including the Elan Corporation. Dr Panoz had close connections to the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and previously provided significant funding for the Panoz Institute, a purpose-built home for the School. The Don Panoz Chair in Pharmaceutical Biology was enabled by an endowed benefaction from the estate of Dr Panoz. Established to promote innovation in advanced pharmaceutical product development and to pay tribute to Don Panoz’s legacy as a pharmaceutical innovator, Professor Sakis Mantalaris started in post as the Panoz Chair of Pharmaceutical Biology last year. Professor Mark Cunningham is the Ellen Mayston Bates Professor of Neurophysiology of Epilepsy in Trinity and Professor Colin Doherty, Head of the School of Medicine, also holds the Ellen Mayston Bates Chair in Epileptology. Both these endowed posts were established through a transformational gift left by Ellen Mayston Bates (nee Breese) in 2012. Her legacy has helped launch a major epilepsy research programme in Trinity which is enabling discoveries to benefit people all over the world suffering from this serious brain disorder. One of the newest prizes established in college through an endowed gift is the McCormick Student Chemistry Prize. Established in 2023 by a gift from Dr Joan McCormick in honour of her parents, this prize will be awarded annually on the recommendation of the Trinity Access Programme to a student entering a Chemistry Degree in Trinity through the Foundation Course in Science. Dr Joan McCormick is a Trinity alumnus and had a distinguished career as a research chemist in college prior to her retirement. She established the award to inspire Trinity Access Foundation Course students to pursue further studies in Chemistry. ENDOWMENT EXPLAINED >> MORE ABOUT THE FUND HOW TO DONATE TO THE FUND >>
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