In 2019, the Waterford Institute of Technology recognised the significance of the scientific achievements of Dr Alan Howard and his support of the work of WIT by awarding him an Institutional Fellowship,  the highest award WIT can bestow.

Sadly Dr Howard passed away in June 2020. Therefore, in tribute to his considerable achievements in the science of nutrition and his significant role in supporting the Nutrition Research Centre Ireland, the School of Health Sciences at WIT has decided to hold an annual lecture entitled ‘The Alan Howard Memorial Lecture’.

The annual memorial lecture involves inviting a leader in a field of science in which Dr Howard was interested, or which his foundation supports, to give a lecture on their subject to an invited audience. The inauguration of the annual Alan Howard memorial lecture for 2021 was given by Professor John Nolan, the Director of the Nutrition Research Centre Ireland (NRCI).

Professor John Nolan is a Fulbright Scholar, European Research Council fellow and Howard Chair for Human Nutrition Research at the School of Health Science, WIT, Ireland. He is the Founder and Director of the NRCI and has published 110 peer-reviewed scientific papers.

His lecture for the Alan Howard Memorial Lecture 2021 was entitled “Turning Points: A Macular Pigment Story”. The video of this lecture can be viewed below.