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Towards a Sustainable Future

Our environment is facing some of its greatest challenges due to unprecedented levels of human population and activity. This has been recognised through global initiatives such as the (opens in a new window)UN Sustainable Development Goals and the (opens in a new window)Convention on Biological Diversity. The Earth Institute is part of UCD’s response to these challenges and is committed to high quality interdisciplinary research to improve fundamental understanding of our rapidly changing environment and to find solutions for a sustainable future.

The Earth Institute has over 170 members and 250 associate members, spread across 26 of the University’s Schools, and has active links with a wide range of collaborators and stakeholders. It is home to state-of-the-art research laboratories in the UCD O’Brien Centre for Science and is a focal point for UCD’s environmental, climate and sustainability research. It engages with researchers at all career stages and across disciplines including Biology, Business, English, Economics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Law, Computer Science, Geography, Agriculture, Archaeology, Engineering, Landscape Architecture, Planning, Policy, Earth Sciences and many others.

The Institute fosters interdisciplinary research within and beyond UCD through an active programme of events and activities designed to bring researchers together from these different disciplines, to start new conversations, spark new ideas and support new initiatives relating to research and education, policy and governance, innovation and enterprise and engagement and society.

The expertise of its members revolves around seven themes, focusing on water, climate, ecosystems and evolution, plants for the future, built environment, people, work, society, and sustainable communities. Current and previous short-term strategic initiatives include projects on soil, energy narratives, transport, the just transition, urban farming and data centres, mountain research, stakeholder attitudes to biostimulants, reconstructing ecological networks, measuring sustainable actions at community level, Irish towns, crop diversification, hemp, climate resilience in agri-environmental systems and connecting environmental researchers and practitioners. The Earth Institute has close links with many of UCD’s other institutes and research centres and is co-located with the (opens in a new window)SFI BEACON Bioeconomy Research Centre.

The UCD Earth Institute seeks to be a prominent voice in environmental, climate and sustainability research, policy, management and innovation in national and international spheres. It stimulates and facilitates engagement by UCD researchers with environmental policy-makers, decision-makers, industry and wider publics with a view to maximising UCD’s engagement and impact.

If you have any questions to ask, requests to make or ideas to suggest, please don’t hesitate to contact the Management Team.

Management Team

Other people associated with the UCD Earth Institute include the Executive Committee; Former senior members of the Institute; Associate Member Committee; and External Advisory Board:

Executive Committee

Director: Eoin O'Neill | School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy

Deputy director: Meriel McClatchie | School of Archaeology
Deputy director: Conor Sweeney | School of Mathematics and Statistics

Former senior members of the Institute, and earlier iterations of the Institute, include:
Chris Bean | Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies (former Institute director)
Micheal Bruen | School of Civil Engineering
Peter Clinch | School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy (former Institute director)
Frank Convery | School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy, Emeritus (former Institute director)
Philip Crowe | School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy
Tasman Crowe | UCD Vice-President for Sustainability
Shane Donohue | School of Civil Engineering
Fiona Doohan | School of Biology and Environmental Science
Angela Feechan | School of Agriculture and Food Science
Ainhoa Gonzalez | School of Geography
Frank McDermott | School of Earth Sciences
Eugene O'Brien | School of Civil Engineering
Kevin O'Connor | School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science
Gregory O'Hare | Trinity College Dublin (former Institute director)
Olaf Schmidt | School of Agriculture and Food Science
Mark Scott | School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy
Emma Teeling | School of Biology and Environmental Science
Graeme Warren | School of Archaeology
Nessa Winston | School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice

Associate Member Committee

Holly English | School of Biology and Environmental Science
Hannah Gould | School of Architecture, Planning & Env. Policy
Fergal Horan | School of Architecture and Food Science
Shane McGuinness | School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy
Tine Ningal | School of Geography
Deborah Schrijvers | School of English, Drama and Film

External Advisory Board

Chair: Frank Convery | UCD and Envecon, Ireland
Deputy Chair: Larry O’Connell | National Economic and Social Council, Ireland

Elizabeth Bomberg | University of Edinburgh, UK
Lucas Joppa | Microsoft, USA
Imelda Lambkin | Enterprise Ireland, Ireland
Marie Stenseke | University of Gothenburg, Sweden

UCD Earth Institute

University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.

T: +353 1 716 7777

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