Cork student wins Lee Fields Medal for maths

Munster Technological University (MTU) has announced the results of the 2025 Lee Fields Medal mathematics competition.

The event, now in its seventh year, has attracted 99 student participants and was again supported by Etelligence, a long-standing industry partner of the competition.

This year’s winner is Alan MacDonald, a second-year instrument engineering (Hons) student, with a score of 90%. This is the second-highest mark recorded to date, and Alan becomes the first student to win the medal twice.

Second place goes to Abhitha Abeysinghe, a fourth-year mechanical engineering (Hons) student, who achieved 87%. Abhitha previously received the Best First Year award in 2022.

“Each year, the Lee Fields Medal showcases the talent and commitment of our students, and this year’s results set a new benchmark,” JP McCarthy, lecturer at the Department of Mathematics at MTU, said.

“Alan, Abhitha, Thao [Foley], and Lasse [Kossira] have demonstrated exceptional problem-solving ability, and we are very proud of their achievements.”

Best First Year for 2025 was awarded to Thao Foley of mechanical engineering (Hons) Year 1, who placed fifth overall with 68% — while Best Level 7 was awarded to Lasse Kossira, a second-year management and enterprise Erasmus student, who scored 65% and became the first recipient from the Faculty of Business and Humanities to win a prize in the competition.

Etelligence sponsored all prizes, providing €100 and a medal for Alan, and €50 each for Abhitha, Thao, and Lasse.

Other strong results include Peter O’Sullivan of information systems (Hons) 4, who achieved 82% for third place, and James Conway of mechanical engineering (Hons) 4, who placed fourth with 70%.

The 2026-2027 Lee Fields Medal competition will take place in October 2026, once again supported by Etelligence.