Our Working Groups
UCD's Core Working Groups for sustainability include representatives from across the UCD community and facilitate a participatory approach.
UCD Sustainability has four core working groups to research, consult and make recommendations for action in relation to the areas of: education, training and the student experience; research, innovation and impact; operational integration and SDG engagement and impact. Each comprises academic representatives of each UCD College and representatives of UCD’s professional staff and students.
Group 1: Education, Training and the Student Experience
Co-chairs: Caroline Mangan and Professor Emma O’Neill
Caroline manages the UCD Global Community Team and works closely with colleagues across UCD to develop international student supports, student engagement, intercultural awareness, and global engagement opportunities for students and staff.
Emma is Professor in small animal medicine at UCD, a UCD Fellow in Teaching and Academic Development and member of UCD’s Centre for the Study of Higher Education.
The other members of this Core Working Group are Kylie McCardel (Graduate Officer, UCD Students’ Union), Tia Cullen (Education Officer, UCD Students’ Union), Jason Last (Professor, UCD School of Medicine and Dean of Students), Bairbre Fleming (Director, UCD Access and Lifelong Learning), Lorna Dodd (Deputy University Librarian), Rosemary Fagan (Deputy Director, UCD Student Recruitment), Una Watkins (Director, International Student Recruitment, UCD Global), Ann Foulds (Facilitation Specialist, UCD Innovation Academy), Kirsten Southard (Programme Manager, BSc Sustainability), Sharae Deckard (Associate Professor, UCD School of English, Drama and Film), Dorota Piaskowska (Associate Professor, UCD College of Business), Vincent Hargaden (Head of School, School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering), James Sullivan (Head of School, UCD School of Chemistry), Gabriela Martinez Saintz (Assistant Professor, UCD School of Education), Heleena Moni Bottu (Technical Officer, UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science).
Group 2: Research, Innovation and Impact
Co-chairs: Professor Lisa Ryan and Andrea Forde
Lisa is a Professor in energy economics in the School of Economics and a member of the UCD Energy Institute. She is co-PI for the flagship project, (opens in a new window)NexSys, and also leads the EMPowER project. Her research is in clean energy technology adoption, energy markets, and climate change economics and related policy.
Andrea is researching service lead in the Office of the Vice President for Research, Innovation and Impact.
The other members of this Core Working Group are Sinead McGinley (Research Partner, ‘Creating a Sustainable Global Society’ theme, UCD Research), Santiago Astorga (Facilities Manager, NovaUCD), Kylie McCardel (UCD Students' Union), Treasa de Loughry (Assistant Professor, UCD School of English, Drama and Film), Geertje Schuitema (Associate Professor, UCD College of Business), Tadhg O’Mahony (Assistant Professor, UCD School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy), Tommy Boland (Professor, UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science), Mark Keane (Full Professor, UCD School of Computer Science). Niamh McLoughlin (Executive Director, UCD One Health), Ellen Curran (ResMed Research Engineer), Justin Ugwu (PhD student, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering)d, Polat Goktas (Research Fellow, CeADAR), Eileen Gibney (Director, UCD Institute of Food and Health), Eoin O’Neill (Director, UCD Earth Institute), Andrew Keane (Director, NexSys and the UCD Energy Institute), Carlotta Sacchi (Senior Technical Officer, UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science) and Tomas Buitendijk (Climate Fellow, UCD Earth Institute).
Group 3: SDG Engagement and Impact
Chair: Enda Murphy
Enda is Professor of Planning in the UCD School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy where he has been programme director for the Masters in Regional and Urban Planning (MRUP) since 2019. He is also a UCD academic lead for the Sustainability and Climate Committee of Una Europa.
The other members of this Core Working Group are Dominic Martella (Head of External Communication, UCD University Relations), Laoise Ni Mharcaigh (BSc Sustainability student), Sarah Comyn (Assistant Professor, School of English, Drama and Film), Fabiola Schneider (Assistant Professor, UCD Quinn School of Business), Sharleen O’Reilly (Associate Professor, UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science), Damian Dalton (Associate Professor, UCD School of Computer Science), Ainhoa Gonzalez (Associate Professor, UCD School of Geography), Theresa O’Leary (Community Engagement officer, UCD in the Community), Nadia D’Alton (Director, Strategic Programmes, Office of the UCD Vice-President for Strategy and External Engagement), Hilary Minch (Manager, UCD Volunteers Overseas).
Group 4: Operational Integration
Co-chairs: Mark d’Alton and Paula Carroll
Mark d’Alton is director of the Agriculture and Food Science Biomedical Facility. He formerly chaired UCD’s Smarter Travel Group and is a daily commuting cyclist.
Paula Carroll is an Associate Professor in the UCD School of Business. She lectures in business analytics and operations research and advanced analytical techniques that allow businesses to extract insight from data to aid in decision making. Her main research interests are in the application of these techniques to solve energy systems integration problems that arise in climate action initiatives. She is a member of the UCD Energy Institute and the UCD Earth Institute.
Other members are Paul Noonan (Manager, Building Management Systems, UCD Estates Services), Ash Middleton (Services Supervisor, UCD Estates), Kevin McDonnell (Professor, School of Agriculture and Food Science), Dr Eddie Jordan (Director, UCD Lyons Farm), Maria McDonald (Head of Enterprise Application services, UCD IT Services), Mary Sekiya (Chief Technical Officer, UCD School of Veterinary Medicine), Eimear Ryan (Chief Technical Officer, UCD Conway Institute), Tan Shi Zhou (Senior Sustainability Executive, Nanyang Technological University), Nessa O’Shaughnessy (Applications Officer, UCD Registry), Tamiris da Costa (Assistant Professor, School of Biosystems and Food Engineering), Dara Stanley (Assistant Professor, School of Agriculture and Food Science), Brian Rodriguez (Professor, School of Physics), Jeremy Auerbach (Assistant Professor, UCD School of Geography), Will Fitzmaurice (Manager, UCD Earth Institute).