Energy Research

Energy Research in the Department focuses on the development of next-generation renewable energy technologies, while also examining topics such as energy recovery and behavioural change to address sustainability. Two prominent initiatives exist under this research theme: Trinity Haus, an innovation centre focusing on energy in buildings and sustainability in the built environment; and the Solar Energy Applications Group (SEAG), a leading research group working in the field of solar energy and solar photovoltaic (PV) systems.

Projects

Dr. Julie Clarke

Assistant Professor, Civil Struct & Env. Eng.

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Biography

Dr. Clarke's research focuses on risk and the built environment. She conducted her PhD entitled "Risk Assessment for Masonry Buildings due to Tunnelling-Induced Settlement" at University College Dublin. Since then, her research has focused on vulnerability and risk modelling for critical infrastructure networks due to natural hazards and climate change impacts. Dr. Clarke led the implementation of a novel quantitative risk methodology to determine the losses for two case study regions in Europe due to extreme hazard events, as part of the INFRARISK EU-funded H2020 project. More recently, she acted as Principal Investigator for the EPA-funded TACT project, which developed a risk assessment framework to quantify the costs of climate change impacts and adaptation strategies for land and maritime transport networks in Ireland.

Prof. Biswajit Basu

Professor, Civil, Structural & Environmental Engineering

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Research Expertise

Nonlinear Waves, Hydrodynamics, Mathematical Oceanography, Nonlinear Analysis, Renewable Energy Technologies, Smart Grid, Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Turbines, Wave Energy, Structural Health Monitoring, Passive, Active and Semi-active Vibration Control, Random Vibrations, Wind & Earthquake Engineering, Time-frequency and Wavelet Analysis, Non-stationary Processes, Traffic Flow Theory and Control

Awards and Honours

  • Best conference paper award in the 6th International Conference on Condition monitoring, British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing, Dublin, IrelandJune 2009
  • Best conference paper on 'Soil Dynamics' in the 13th Asian Regional Conference on Geotechnical Engineering, International Society of Soil mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE), Calcutta, IndiaJan 2007
  • Best paper award in the Proceedings of the Society of Earthquake and Civil Engineering Dynamics, SECED, Bath, UK2005
  • Best conference paper in the 7th Railway Engineering Conference, London, UK2004
  • Dr K.S.Krishnan Research Fellow Award2004
  • Guest Professor, Aalborg University, DenmarkJuly - Aug 2011
  • Visiting Scholar, Rice University2004 & 2005
  • Phil Doak Award, J Sound & Vibration2015 

Memberships

  • Member IEI2002
  • Member ASCE2006
  • Member ASME2006
  • Member IEEE2007

Dr. Sarah McCormack

Associate Professor, Civil, Structural & Environmental Engineering

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Research Expertise

Electricity Storage; Energy Conversion Processes or Cycles; Environmental Impacts, Interactions; Integration of Renewable Energy Systems; Nanotechnology; Optics; Photovoltaic systems, cells and modules manufacturing; Polymers; Renewable energies.

Awards and Honours

  •  World Renewable Energy Network Pioneer Award2020
  • Elected Fellow of Trinity College Dublin2018
  • Ireland Champion of EU Research - Dept of Jobs Enterprise & Innovation (& Enterprise Ireland)2017
  • TCD Kinsella Challenge-Based E3 Project Awardee (Collaborator)2021
  • Invited Speaker to ERC - A Sustainable Future for Europe - The Contribution of Frontier Research2019
  • H2020 IDEAS Project Awardee (Coordinator)2019
  • Aurora - Role Model2018
  • ERC Starter Grant Awardee2016
  • Aurora - Advance HE's leadership development initiative2015
  • Master in Arts (jure officii) - Trinity College Dublin (Honorary)2012
  • Britain's Young Engineer, December 20032003
  • Poster Prize Winner in Solar Applications at World Renewable Energy Congress, Cologne2002

 Memberships

  •  Secretary of the Solar Energy Society of Ireland2006 – Present
  • Member of the Association of ERC Grantees2022 – Present
  • Member & Mentor of Global Women's Network for the Energy Transition (GWNET)2020 – Present
  • Member of the International Solar Energy Society2000 – Present
  • Committee Member of Women in Research Ireland2020 – Present
  • Member of the Environmental Science Association of Ireland2007 – Present
  • Fellow of the International Association of Advanced Materials2020 – Present

Prof. Aonghus Mc Nabola

Professor, Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering

+353 1896 3837 person Full Profile

Biography

Prof. McNabola is a Professor in Energy and the Environment at the Dept of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, TCD. His research interests lie in the field of Environmental Fluid Dynamics where he has applied this expertise in air pollution, energy efficiency and/or water services sectors. He has been active in this field of research for over 15 years.Prof. McNabola teaches at postgraduate and undergraduate levels in the subject areas of hydraulics, air pollution and renewable energy. He holds a qualification in teaching and learning at third level and has been involved in teaching activities in Italy and India.Prof. McNabola is a Visiting Reader at the Global Centre for Air Research(GCARE), at the Dept of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the University of Surrey, UK. He is also a Colaborador Honorario (Adjunct Professor) at the Hydraulic division of the Agronomy Department at University of Córdoba, Spain.Prof. McNabola is an Associate Editor for the international journal, Transport Research Part D: Transport and the Environment. He is also a regular reviewer for journals such as Renewable Energy, Atmospheric Environment, Water Resources Management, etc.Prof. McNabola currently leads a group of 3 PhD students and 8 postdoctoral researchers and is involved, primarily as the lead partner and principal investigator, in a number of national and international collaborative projects, funded by SFI, Enterprise Ireland, INTERREG ERDF,SEAI and the EPA.Prof. McNabola has a h-index of 36 and an i-10 index of 83. He has generated funding of over €6.5 Million from national and primarily EU sources in over 36 funded research projects since 2008.

Dr. Liwen Xiao

Associate Professor, Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering

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Biography

Dr. Liwen Xiao received his PhD degree at NUI Galway and worked as a lecturer there before joining the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering at TCD as Assistant Professor in 2013. Since joining TCD, Dr Xiao has continued his research work in the following areas: (1) sustainable treatment of wastewater, (2) emerging contaminants (microplastics, antibiotics) detection and removal and (3) impacts of human activities on water quality and ecology. He currently has 4 PhD students in his research group and is involved in a number of research projects funded by national and international funding agencies. Dr Xiao is a college tutor and a deputy director of the research centre TrinityHaus. He is the director of MSc in Engineering

Professor Roger West

Professor, Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering

+353 1896 1832 person Full Profile

Research Expertise

Concrete Technology: impact, diffusion, rheology, fibre-reinforcing, recycled paper waste. Construction: innovative methods and materials, e-procurement. Structural Mechanics: vibrations and stability of partially piles, structural optimisation.
 

Awards and Honours

  • Lifetime Achievement Award, Civil Engineering Association of IrelandAugust 2018
  • Best Paper Award, Civil Engineering Research Association of Ireland, 2016August 2016
  • Global Engagement Award, Trinity College Dublin, 2015August 2015
  • UKIERI Congress Distinguished Academic Award in March 2019

Memberships

  • Chartered Engineer, Institution of Engineers of IrelandMarch 1995 – Present
  • Fellow of Institution of Engineers of Ireland2003 – Present
  • Corporate Member of Irish Concrete Society
  • Member of Construction Information Technology Alliance (CITA)2000 – Present
  • Member of the Institution of Concrete Technology, UKSept 1993 – Present

Dr. Breiffni Fitzgerald

Assistant Professor, Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering

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Biography

Dr Breiffni Fitzgerald received the B.A.I. and Ph.D. degrees in Civil and Structural Engineering from Trinity College Dublin in 2009 and 2013, respectively. He was a Research Fellow with Trinity College Dublin from 2013 to 2014 and a Lecturer with the Technological University of Dublin from 2015 to 2016. He is currently an Ussher Assistant Professor in Energy in the School of Engineering, Trinity College Dublin. His research interests include wind turbine aerodynamics and structural dynamics, dynamics and damping of structures, wind engineering, vibration control, and control theory. He has received funding to work in these areas from Science Foundation Ireland, the Irish Research Council, Enterprise Ireland, H2020, Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland and industry partners.
 
Dr Fitzgerald is a Chartered Engineer of the Institution of Engineers of Ireland. He has been appointed by the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) as a technical expert for the development of Structural Eurocode EN 1991-1-4: Wind loads. Dr Fitzgerald has also been appointed by the International Energy Agency (IEA) to serve as Ireland's international expert on Wind Farm Control.

Dr. John Gallagher

Assistant Professor, Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering

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Biography

Position: Assistant Professor in Environmental Systems Modelling, School of Engineering, Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin. Experience: Design and assessment of passive air pollution control systems using life cycle assessment to generate low-carbon and resource efficient conclusions without negative consequences i.e. aligning with circular economy goals. Approach: Delivering innovative solutions to current environmental and energy challenges and problem solving using the 3M technique (Measurement, Modelling and Mitigation). Activity: Co-investigator on several National and European projects: two INTERREG projects, and one Horizon2020, Erasmus+, SEAI and EPA project on air pollution, energy efficiency/recovery measurement and circular economy solutions. Teaching: Delivered lectures and workshops on undergraduate and postgraduate programmes across Europe. Dissemination & Collaboration: Actively disseminating research through social and public media outlets. International research and industry sector collaborations: air, energy, water and construction.

Dr. David Igoe

Assistant Professor, Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering

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Research Expertise

My research interests are mainly focused on Geotechnical and Offshore Engineering where I lead the offshore geotechnics research group which is focused on solving the technical challenges in offshore wind energy (aligning with UN Sustainable Development Goals 7 and 13). I am actively involved in driving innovation within the geotechnical engineering community through advancements in fundamental understanding of soil behaviour, numerical modelling and experimental testing. My research has had a significant impact on the offshore wind industry, helping to reduce the costs and increase economic viability. I was a key contributor to the UK Carbon Trust Pile Soil Analysis (PISA) project, which developed new design methods for offshore wind foundations. The PISA design model is now the de-facto design approach used by engineers designing offshore wind foundations worldwide. This new approach is estimated to save ~30% of steel weight compared to the previous industry standard approach. The PISA project won the prestigious BGA Fleming Award and was recognised by the Carbon Trust as one of the 10 most high impact projects undertaken in the last 10 years by the Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA) program (which estimates its projects have resulted in £34 Billion cost savings for the offshore wind industry by 2030). I am currently collaborating with the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Bristol, Southampton, Western Australia, Imperial College London, TU Delft. Geotechnical Engineering is historically poorly funded. Prior to my joining TCD, there had been no large grants (>€150k) won in this area in the previous 10 years. By harnessing my expertise in offshore geotechnics and targeting research funding supporting the Renewable Energy transition, I have managed to bring in significant research funding of €1.14 million to TCD in the past 3 years (with total consortium funding >€3 million), funded by SFI, SEAI, IRC and Geological Survey Ireland. In 2021 I joined the SFI ICRAG research centre as a funded Investigator where I was recently awarded funding of €170k. The program for government (2020) has targeted 5GW of offshore wind to be developed by 2030 which will require an investment of ~10 Billion. I have made this area one of the hot topics within the department and I will continue to grow my research group to position Trinity as Irelands leading University supporting Offshore Wind Geotechnics.