Dr Willie Donnelly is head of Telecommunications Software and Systems Group (TSSG), Waterford IT.

Education: 1968-74, Patrician Brothers Secondary School, Newbridge, Co Kildare; 1980, re-sat the Leaving Cert; 1980-84, BSc in applied science (physics and maths) DIT Kevin Street; PhD particle physics, UCD.

Career: 1974-80, worked as an operative in various factories including Solus, Bray; 1989-90, software engineer at PCAS, Carlow; 1991-96 technical research leader in Broadcom Eireann Research, Dublin.

Also worked on behalf of Telecom Eireann as a technical expert on a number of EUROSOM funded projects; 1996, joined WIT as a lecturer in computer science TSSG: established by Willie Donnelly in 1997, with two research staff.

Now has 30 full-time research staff including 14 masters' students. Awarded €5 million under the Higher Education Authority's PRTLI Cycle 3 funding initiative. This is the largest PRTLI award to date to be given to an institute of technology and it represents a first for WIT.

Memberships: includes the Government-established Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology; board member of TecNet; editorial board member of Interoperable Communications Networks Journal; steering committee member of the South East Information Society Strategy Group

Family: married to Manuelle; son, Yann, aged 10.