Eileen Armstrong is an Assistant Lecturer in Physics and Materials, within the Life Sciences Department at IT Sligo. Eileen received a B.Sc in Applied Physics (Hons) from the University of Limerick (UL) in 2010 where her undergraduate work on hydrothermally synthesised Cadmium Sulphide was awarded the 2010 Earnshaw Medal by the Institute of Physics in Ireland. In 2015 Eileen obtained a PhD in Chemistry from University College Cork (UCC). Her doctoral research focused on developing three-dimensionally ordered macroporous (3DOM) cathodes for use in Lithium-ion batteries. This involved investigations into several growth methods for the formation of artificial opal photonic crystal templates by the colloidal self-assembly of polymer spheres and the synthesis of inverse opal vanadium pentoxides using solution precursors and electrodeposition strategies for active material deposition. During her PhD Eileen was awarded a 4 month SFI Travel Fellowship with the Photonic and Phononic Nanostructures group at the Institut Català de Nanotecnologia in Barcelona where she carried out work relating to the fabrication and optical characterization of artificial opals, as part of her work towards high energy density, 3DOM battery electrodes. Following her PhD she continued with the Applied Nanoscience Group in UCC as a postdoctoral researcher before taking her current post at IT Sligo. Her research interests include the development of nanostructured materials namely artificial opal templates and inverse opal materials with possible applications in the fields of energy storage/generation, optics, drug delivery and biomedicine.