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ATU researcher helps European team win EU TalentOn award
An Atlantic Technological University (ATU) researcher has helped an international team win first prize in the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission Arena at EU TalentOn 2026 in Brest, France.
Dr Samar Momin, a research assistant in ATU’s Department of Building and Civil Engineering in Galway, was part of the four-member Block2City team, which received the €8,000 first-prize award.
EU TalentOn 2026 took place from 7 to 11 September and brought together 100 early-career researchers representing 43 nationalities. Working in international teams, participants developed practical responses to challenges connected with the five EU Missions under Horizon Europe.
The resulting projects were assessed by experts from academia, business and government on their scientific merit and potential to become viable innovations.
The international Block2City team comprised Dr Samar Momin of Atlantic Technological University, Lucia Petronio of the University of Bologna, Samira Huber of Kiel University and Imen Kaabachi of Université Paris Cité.
The concept uses building data to help property owners understand their renovation options, identify potential funding and connect with relevant experts. It can also help cities build a clearer picture of local demand for renovation.
The team developed and refined the concept during the competition through ideation, validation, business modelling and pitching before presenting it to the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities jury.
Dr Samar Momin said:
Winning first prize in the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission Arena is a wonderful outcome for the whole Block2City team. What I valued most was how effectively four researchers from different disciplines and countries were able to build, test and communicate a coherent solution in only a few days.
My work at ATU on sustainable construction and structural health monitoring strongly shaped the perspective I brought to the challenge, particularly the need to translate building data into decisions that can be acted upon.
“I am very grateful to Dr Conan O’Ceallaigh, ATU, Construct Innovate and our industry collaborators for supporting this work, and I hope Block2City can continue to develop beyond the competition.”
Dr Conan O’Ceallaigh, Department of Building and Civil Engineering at ATU, commented:
“Samar’s success at EU TalentOn 2026 is a fantastic achievement and reflects his ability to connect engineering research with real-world innovation.
The Block2City concept responds to the need to make better use of building data to support sustainable renovation and the development of climate-neutral cities. We are delighted to see the research experience developed through ATU and Construct Innovate represented so successfully at European level.”
Photo 1: Dr Samar Momin, research assistant in the Department of Building and Civil Engineering at ATU, Galway City Campus, with the Block2City team following their first-prize win in the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission Arena at EU TalentOn 2026 in Brest, France.
Photo credit: Technopôle Brest-Iroise / EU TalentOn 2026.
Photo 2: Dr Samar Momin presenting at EU TalentOn 2026 in Brest, France. His team, Block2City, won first prize in the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission Arena.
Photo credit: Technopôle Brest-Iroise / EU TalentOn 2026.
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