Dr. Dermot O'Dwyer
Associate Professor, Civil Struct & Env. Eng.
Biography
Dermot O'Dwyer graduated with a 1st Class Honours degree in Civil Engineering from UCG in 1989. In 1991 he completed a research masters on the limit-state analysis of masony vaults. From 1991-1993 he worked as a structural engineer design structures varyling from water towers and treatment tanks to multi-storey apartments and industrial buildings in a variety of materials. He became a chartered engineer in 1993. In 1993 he joined Irish Rail. Within Irish Rail he worked in the technical office working on a range of topics from the development of new switch geometries to budget planning. While in Irish Rail he was secunded to the Light Rail office. In 1995 he joined the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering in Trinity College Dublin. He was awarded a PhD in 2001 for the thesis "The Application of Genetic Algorithms to Civil Engineering Optimisation Problems".
Publications and Further Research Outputs
Peer-Reviewed Publications
Dermot O'Dwyer, The Halpins - Irish Lighthouse Builders 1810-1862, Studies in Construction History, Proceedings of the Tenth Annual Conference of the Construction History Society, Queens' College Cambridge, 12-13 April 2023, edited by James W.P. Campbell et al. , 2023, pp243 - 254
Dermot O'Dwyer, The development in the design of beams from 1820-1860, Iron, Steel and Buildings: Studies in the History of Construction Proceedings of the Seventh Conference of the Construction History Society, Queens College, Cambridge University, April 2020, edited by James WP Campbell et. al. , Construction History Society, 2020, pp73 - 82
Ron Cox & Dermot O'Dwyer, Dublin-Belfast Main Line 1837-1857, Papers from the Second International Early Main Line Railways Converence, Early Main Line Railways 2: Papers from the Second International Early Main Line Railways Conference, York, UK, June 2018, edited by Michael Chrimes , 2019, pp1 - 10
Dermot O'Dwyer, The Drainage of the Fucine Lake in Antiquity and in the Nineteenth Century, Studies in the History of Services and Construction: The Proceedings of the Fifth Conference of the Construction History Society, Queens' College Cambridge, 6-8 April 2018, edited by James W.P. Campbell et al. , The Construction History Society, 2018, pp157 - 170
Dermot O'Dwyer, Jay Cummins and Ronald Cox, John Rennie's Dublin cast-iron trusses, Proceedings of the First Construction History Society Conference, First Conference of the Construction History Society, Queens' College, Cambridge, 11-12 April 2014, edited by James W P Campbell et al. , Short Run Press, Exeter, 2014, pp313 - 322
Triona Byrne and Dermot O'Dwyer, Repair of masonry arch bridges with respect to longitudinal cracking and load assessment, Proceedings of the First International Conference on Construction Materials and Structures, First International Conference on Construction Materials and Structures, Johannesburg, South Africa, 24-26 November 2014, edited by Stephen O Ekolu, Morgan Dundu and Xiaojian Gao , IOS Press, 2014, pp1181 - 1189
Dermot O'Dwyer and Ronald Cox, Old Ennisnag Bridge, Proceedings of the First Construction History Society Conference, First Conference of the Construction History Society, Queens' College, Cambridge, 11-12 April 2014, edited by James w p Campbell et al. , Shport Run Press, Exeter, 2014, pp301 - 311
Dermot O'Dwyer, Book Review, Review of Structural Design in Building Conservation, by Dimitris Theodossopoulos , Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers: Engineering History and Heritage, 166, (February 2013 EH1), 2013, p1
Dermot W. O'Dwyer, Disaster and success: design lessons from history, Proceedings of the ICE - Engineering History and Heritage, 166, (3), 2013, p177 - 186
Water and Drainage in, editor(s)Ronald Cox & Philip Donald , Ireland's Civil Engineering Heritage, Cork, Ireland, The Collins Press, 2013, pp67 - 86, [Dermot O'Dwyer]
Dermot O'Dwyer, Old Ennisnag Bridge, Stonyford, Co. Kilkenny, History Ireland, 20, (2), 2012, p29 - 29
V Janssens, D.W. O'Dwyer, M.K. Chryssanthopoulos, Assessing the Consequences of Building Failures, Structural Engineering International, 22, (1), 2012, p99 - 104
V. Janssens, D.W. O'Dwyer & M.K. Chryssanthopoulos, Assessing the Consequences of Building Failures, Structural Engineering International, 22, (1), 2012, p99-104
Dermot O'Dwyer and Ronald Cox, George Semple and the Reconstruction of Essex Bridge in Dublin 1753-1755, 4th International Congress on Construction History, Paris, 03/07/2012 - 07/07/2, edited by Robert Carvais? , 2012, pp10
V. Janssens and D.W. O'Dwyer, Progressive Collapse in Multi-Storey Steel Frames: The Effect of Varying Column Spacing, 11th International Conference on Applications of Statistics and Probability in Civil Engineering, Zurich, Switzerland, August 2 - 4, 2011
V. Janssens and D.W. O'Dwyer, Disproportionate Collapse in Building Structures., Joint Symposium on Bridge and Infrastructure Research in Ireland (BRI 10) and Concrete Research in Ireland (CRI 10), Cork, Ireland, edited by N Á Ní Nualláin, D Walsh, R West, E Cannon, C Caprani, B McCabe , 2010
D. O'Dwyer and V. Janssens, Modelling Progressive Collapse of Structures, The Tenth International Conference on Computational Structures Technology, Valencia, Spain, edited by B.H.V. Topping, J.M. Adam, F.J. Pallarés, R. Bru and M.L. Romero , Civil-Comp Press, 2010
D. O'Dwyer and O. Bashorun, Structural Assessment of Cantilevered Stone Stairs, Proceedings of the Tenth International Conference on Computational Structures Technology, Valencia, Spain, 14/09/2010-17/09/201, edited by B.H.V. Topping, J.M. Adam, F.J. Pallarés, R. Bru and M.L. Romero , Civil-Comp Press, Stirlingshire, Scotland, 2010, pp15
V. Janssens and D.W. O'Dwyer, The Importance of Dynamic Effects in Progressive Collapse, 34th IABSE Symposium: Large Structures and Infrastructures for Environmentally Constrained and Urbanised Areas, Venice, Italy, 2010
D.W. O'Dwyer and K. Bashorun, Estimation of the safe load capacity of cantilevered stone stairs, Joint Symposium on Bridge and Infrastructure Research in Ireland (BRI 10) and Concrete Research in Ireland (CRI 10), Cork, Ireland, 2010, edited by N Á Ní Nualláin, D Walsh, R West, E Cannon, C Caprani, B McCabe , 2010, pp157 - 164
Dermot O'Dwyer, Olwakemi Bashorun, Analysis of Cantilevered Stone Stairs, Structural Faults + Repair - 2010, Edinburgh, 15 - 17th June 2010, edited by Mike Forde , E.C.S Publications, 2010
Dermot O'Dwyer and Ronan Gallagher, Calculation of fatigue life for multiple track railway bridges, International Journal of Materials and Structural Integrity , 3, (1), 2009, p1 - 27
Dermot O'Dwyer and David Hegarty, Suitability of simplified dynamic models for the fatigue assessment of railway bridges, Railway Engineering 2007, London, 2007, 2007, pp10
Dermot O'Dwyer and Gavin Kerr, Damage identification via change in global dynamic response, Railway Engineering 2007, London, 2007, pp11
Dermot O'Dwyer and David Hegarty, Vertical Response of Freight Wagons to Random Track Irregularities, Railway Engineering 2007, London, 2007, 2007, pp10
D.W. O'Dwyer & R.P. Gallagher, Fatigue Analysis of Metal Multi-Track Railway Bridges, Railway Engineering 2007, London, 2007, 2007, pp10
Dermot O Dwyer, Tigran Tchrakian, Roger West, Quasi-plastic Analysis of Slabs on Grade, The Eleventh International Conference on Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering Computing, Malta, 2007, 2007
D.W. O'Dwyer, T. M. Logan-Phelan and E. A. O'Neill, The Development of a Web-based Virtual Environment for Teaching Qualitative Analysis of Structures, European Journal of Engineering Education, 32, (6), 2007, p695 - 709
Dermot O'Dwyer & Ronan Gallagher, Fatigue Analysis of Railway Bridges, Bridge & Infrastructure Research in Ireland Symposium 2006, Dublin, October 2006, 2006, pp11 - 20
Dermot O'Dwyer & David Hegarty, The Effect of Model Simplifications on the Dynamic Response of Railway Bridges, Bridge & Infrastructure Research in Ireland Symposium 2006, Dublin, October 2006, 2006, pp63 - 71
T. Tachrakian & D.W. O'Dwyer, Investigation of Structural Behaviour of Reinforce Concrete Slabs on Grade, Concrete Research in Ireland 05, Dublin, 2005, 2005, pp7
T. Tachrakian & D.W. O'Dwyer, Investigation of Structural Behaviour of Reinforced Concrete Slabs on Grade, Concrete Research in Ireland 05, Dublin, 2005, 2005, ppcdrom-
D.W. O'Dwyer, R.P. Gallagher and M. Hartnett, Fatigue analysis of Steel Railway Bridges via Superposition of Linear Response, Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Computational Structures Technology, Lisbon, 2004, ppcdrom-
D.W. O'Dwyer, D. Hegarty and B. Basu, Mumerical modeling of railway-vehicle-track interaction with infinite beam track model, Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Maintenance and Renewal of Permanent Way: Power and Signaling ; Structures and Earthworks, London, 2004, ppcdrom-
B. Basu, D.W. O'Dwyer and D. Hegarty, Identification of track quality from measured response data of the vehicle, Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Maintenance and Renewal of Permanent Way; Power and Signalling; Structures and Earthworks, London, 2004, ppcdrom-
D. Hegarty, D.W. O'Dwyer and B. Basu, A numerical model for measuring the wheel-rail contact force resulting from a dipped joint, Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Computational Structures Technology, Lisbon, 2004, ppcdrom-
R. Gallagher, D. O'Dwyer and M. Hartnett, Determination of the Fatigue Life of Metal Railway Bridges, IABSE Symposium, Structures for High-Speed Railway Transportation, Antwerp, Belgium, 2003, 2003, ppcdrom-
D. Ryan, D.W. O'Dwyer and A. O'Connor, Prediction of deflection in partially prestressed post-tensioned concrete beams constructed using high strength concrete,, CRI03 Concrete Research in Ireland, Belfast, 2003, 2003, pp27 - 36
Railway Engineering, Brian Lalor, Encyclopedia of Ireland, Dublin, Gill & McMillan, 2003, pp911 - [D.W. O'Dwyer]
M. Majka, M. Hartnett and D. O'Dwyer, The Influence of Hertzian Spring Stiffness on the Dynamic Response of a Bridge Model, 6th International conference on Computational Structures Technology, Prague, 2002, 2002, ppcdrom-
D.W. O'Dwyer and R. Gallagher, Dynamical Analysis of Railway Bridges, Transactions of the Institution of Engineers of Ireland, 124, 2002, p76 - 85
M. Majka, M. Hartnett, C. Bowe and D. O'Dwyer., Dynamic Train-Track-Bridge Interaction on Example of the Boyne Viaduct, 6th International conference on Computational Structures Technology, Prague, 2002, 2002, ppcdrom-
R. Gallagher, D.W. O'Dwyer and M. Hartnett, The Application of Fatigue Models to Railway Bridges, 6th International conference on Computational Structures Technology, Prague, 2002, 2002, ppcdrom-
D.W. O'Dwyer, D.P. Hegarty and B. Basu, Modelling Vertical Response of Railway Freight Wagons due to Track Irregularities, 6th International conference on Computational Structures Technology, Prague, 2002, 2002, ppcdrom-
D.W. O'Dwyer, A preliminary investigation into ferrocement permeability and sorptivity, Concrete Research in Ireland, Proceedings of the 2001 Colloquium, Galway, 2001, edited by E. Canon , Institution of Engineers of Ireland, Dublin, 2001, pp133 - 138
R.C. Cox and D.W. O'Dwyer, The arch bridge in Ireland : 1600 - 2000, Proceedings of Arch '01, Third International Arch Bridge Conference, Paris, 2001, edited by C.Abdunur , Presse de l'École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, 2001, pp85 - 90
D. O'Dwyer, R. Gallagher and M. Hartnett, Boyne railway viaduct - structural assessment, Procceedings of the 4th International Bridge Management Conference, Surrey, 2000, 2000, pp450 - 458
D. O'Dwyer and R. Gallagher, Railway Bridge - Rolling Stock, Non-linear Dynamic Interaction, The Fifth International Conference on Computational Structures Technology, Leuven , 2000, edited by G. De Roeck & B.H.V. Topping , Civil-Comp, 2000, pp285 - 291
D.W. O'Dwyer, Funicular analysis of masonry vaults, Computers and Structures, 75, (1-5 October-December), 1999, p187 - 197
D.W. O'Dwyer & E.J. O'Brien, Genetic Algorithm Convergence, The 5th International Converence on the Application of Artificial Intelligence to Civil and Structural Engineering, Oxford, 1999, 1999, pp6 - 19
D.W. O'Dwyer and Eugene J. O'Brien,, Design of Double Layer Space Grids using Genetic Algorithms, The fourth International Conference on Computational Structures Technology, Advances in Engineering Computational Technology, Edinburgh, 1998, 1998, pp125 - 134
D.W, O'Dwyer, The application of Groebner Bases to Truss Optimisation, The fourth International Conference on Computational Structures Technology, Advances in Computational Structural Mechanics, Edinburgh, 1998, 1998, pp399 - 404
D.W. O'Dwyer & Eugene J. O'Brien, Design and Analysis of concrete slabs using a modified strip method, The Structural Engineer, 76, (17), 1998, p329 - 333
Dermot W. O'Dwyer and Eugene J. O'Brien, Genetic Algorithm Encoding, Probabilities & Population Size, Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Conference on Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Engineering, Galway, 1998, Computational Mechanics Publications, 1998, ppcdrom-
D.W. O'Dwyer, Realignment of railway curves, Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, 123, (November), 1997, p234 - 240
Roger P. West Dermot W. O'Dwyer(ed.), Concrete Research in Ireland - Proceedings of the 1997 Colloquium, Trinity College Dublin, 1997, Department of Civil, Structural & Environmental Engineering, Trinity College Dublin, 1997
D.W. O'Dwyer, Modular Ferrocement Folded Plate Shells, Concrete Research in Ireland - Proceedings of the 1997 Colloquium, Trinity College Dublin, 1997, edited by Roger P. West and Dermot W. O'Dwyer , the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, University of Dublin, Trinity Col, 1997, pp25 - 31
Dermot W. O'Dwyer, Limit State Analysis of Masonry Vaults, Computational Structures Technology Conference, Budapest, 1996, Advances in Structur, 1996, pp35 - 44
Dermot W. O'Dwyer and Eugene J. O'Brien, Use of Redundant Operators in Genetic Algorithms, Second International Conference on Application of Fuzzy Systems and Soft Computing, Siegen, 1996, 1996, pp449 - 456
Non-Peer-Reviewed Publications
Dermot O'Dwyer, The Mechanics of Bridge Pier Impact Forces From Ship Collisions, Structural Faults + Repair-2024 and European Bridge Conference-2024, Edinburgh, 11-13 June 2024, edited by Mike Forde , 2024, pp1-4
D.W. O'Dwyer, The potential roles of Construction History in Engineering Education, History of Construction Cultures Proceedings of the 7th International Congress on Construction History (7ICCH 2021), July 12-16, 2021, Lisbon, Portugal, Lisbon, Portugal, 12-16 July 2021, edited by João Mascarenhas-Mateus, Ana Paula Pires , 2021, pp1 - 7
Ronald Cox & Dermot O'Dwyer, Called to Serve, Dublin, Engineers Ireland, 2014, 1 - 145pp
Dermot O'Dwyer, Engineering: The Pre-Industrial Age (book review), Review of Engineering: The Pre-Industrial Age, by Dick Parry , The Structural Engineer, 92, (4), 2014, p1
Dermot O'Dwyer, Review of Traces of Peter Rice, by Kevin Barry , Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineering - Engineering History and Heritage, 167, (EH1), 2014, p1
Dermot O'Dwyer, Book review: Traces of Peter Rice, Review of Traces of Peter Rice, by Kevin Barry , Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineering - Engineering History and Heritage, 167, (EH1), 2014, p1
Dermot O'Dwyer, Book review: William Dargan: An Honourable Life 1799-1867, Review of William Dargan: An Honourable Life 1799-1867, by Fergus Mulligan , Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Engineering History and Heritage, 167, (EH1), 2014, p1
D.W. O'Dwyer, Comments by D.W. O'Dwyer and K. Dubsky Trinity College Dublin, Gestión ambiental de la Universidad, Valencia, 2002, edited by Eduardo Peris Mora , 2002, pp79 - 83
D.W. O'Dwyer, Design of Friction Buffer Layouts, Universities' Transport Studies Group, Dublin, 1997, 1997, pp9
Research Expertise
Description
Railway Engineering: all aspects of permanent way and civil engineering infrastructure with a particular emphasis on bridge and track dynamics. Structural optimisation : application of optimisation methods ranging from linear and quadratic Programming methods to genetic algorithms Structural Masonry : the analysis and assessment of historic masonry structures including masonry vaults, arches, bridges and cantilevered stone stairs Engineering History and Heritage Emergence of Tecnhologies : Interest in the history of technology to the present with a particular longstanding research interest in the mechanisms underlying the emergence of new technologies across a wide range of fields within engineering, mathematics and computer science.Projects
- Title
- Railway Bridge Dunamics
- Summary
- Work on modelling the behaviour of railway bridges under load extended over a number of projects from 1996 to about 2006. These projects were funded largely by Irish Rail with some addition support from other agencies.
- Funding Agency
- Irish Rail
- Date From
- 1996
- Date To
- 2006
- Title
- Railway Bridge Dynamics
- Summary
- Work on modelling the behaviour of railway bridges under load extended over a number of projects from 1996 to about 2006. These projects were funded largely by Irish Rail with some addition support from other agencies.
- Funding Agency
- Irish Rail
- Date From
- 1996
- Date To
- 2006
Recognition
Representations
Member of the National Monument's special advisory committee on Skellig Michael
Board member of the Industrial Heritage Association of Ireland
Irish Representative on the Institution of Civil Engineers' Panel for Historic Engineering Works (PHEW)
Member of the Accreditation Board of Engineers Ireland
Member of the organising committee of the Engineering Heritage Society of Engineers Ireland
Memberships
Chartered Engineer, MIEI
MICE