Irish entrepreneur makes CNN’s list of ‘tech superheroes’

Irish entrepreneur Jane Ní Dhulchaointigh has been named on CNN’s list of seven “tech superheroes” to watch in 2015.

The 35-year-old invented a material called Sugru, a moldable glue that sticks to anything from glass to wood and which then turns into a strong, flexible rubber overnight.

“This self-setting material allows people to ‘hack their products’ – modifying, fixing and generally making regular objects better. Added to that, Sugru is waterproof, adhesive and heat-resistant,” CNN said.

Genotyping service

Others on the list are

Kathryn Myronuk

, who helped create Singularity University in Silicon Valley;

Lynette Kucsma

, co-founder of Natural Machines; Rosalind Picard, co-founder of computing and human analytics start-up

Empatica

; and Anne Wojcicki, founder of personal genomics and biotech firm 23andme. The company’s genotyping service can screen for common genetic diseases such as cystic fibrosis or sickle cell anaemia.

Ms Ní Dhulchaointigh came up with the idea for Sugru in 2003 while a student at the Royal College of Art in London. She thought that instead of people buying new things all the time, it would be better if they could fix and improve what they already had to make it work better.