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Climate Action & Sustainability Webinar Series​ Trinity College Dublin 2023 Lunchtime Lecture Series

Are you looking to learn more about sustainability and climate action? Join us for this free ‘Climate Action & Sustainability’ webinar series from leading academics in Trinity College Dublin to share the latest concepts, technologies and solutions that will help deliver our goals in the field.

With expert speakers from researchers across our new E3 (Engineering, Environment and Emerging Technologies) research community at Trinity College, these webinars will provide valuable insights into current research and teaching activities, and how our work embraces balanced solutions for a better world. This will be an engaging and informative series where you can find out more about the applied work that Trinity academics are undertaking to transform how we integrate sustainability in all our work to support climate action at National and International level.

This series will cover a range of topics that focus on different aspects of climate action and sustainability, dealing with topics ranging from providing clean and renewable energy solutions to decarbonising transport, whilst delivering efficiency across different industries and in the built environment. For all these mitigation and adaptation solutions, we consider the importance of the natural environment as we address the biodiversity crisis, by protecting the marine environment and improving land use management.

Sign up using the links below now to reserve your spot. You can also view the recordings of previous lectures by hitting the buttons below.

Previous lectures in this series

Decarbonising Transport: Cutting Emissions by 50% in 7 years

Dr. Brian Caulfield

This lecture took place on Wednesday 8th February from 1pm - 2pm

Dr. Brian Caulfield, Associate Professor and Head of Discipline in the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, Trinity College Dublin. Dr. Caulfield is also the Module Coordinator of our Transport Modelling and Planning Micro-credential.

In this first talk in our Climate Action & Sustainability webinar series, Dr. Caulfield shared his perspectives on the targets that Ireland has set out to reduce transport's carbon emissions by 50% in the next 7 years, and the vision he has on pathways to decreasing transport emissions by 2030.

Cutting Concrete's Carbon

This lecture took place on Wednesday 15th February from 1pm - 2pm

Prof. Roger West

Prof. Roger West, Professor in Structural Engineering in the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, Trinity College Dublin. Prof. West is also a Lecturer on our MSc in Engineering (Structural and Geotechnical strand).

As Prof. West's research in concrete technology has responded to the priorities of the construction sector, the second talk in our series focuses on the range of solutions that now exist to help decarbonise concrete production.

Research Commercialisation for Climate Action: Small Hydropower from Concept to Commercial Enterprise

This lecture took place on Wednesday 1st March from 1pm - 2pm

Professor Aonghus McNabola

Prof. Aonghus McNabola, Professor in Energy and the Environment in the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, Trinity College Dublin. Prof. McNabola is also a Lecturer on our MSc in Engineering (Environmental Strand).

In this third talk in our Climate Action & Sustainability webinar series, Prof McNabola introduced hydropower technology for energy recovery, discussing the journey from exploratory research on the technology to becoming a director of a start-up company with an international market.

Going beyond IDEAS: Integrating and Optimising Renewable Energy Systems in Buildings

This lecture took place on Wednesday 8th March from 1pm - 2pm

Dr. Sarah McCormack

Dr. Sarah Mc Cormack, Associate Professor in the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, Trinity College Dublin. Dr. Mc Cormack is the Course Director of the Postgraduate Diploma in Sustainable Energy & Environment and the Module Coordinator of our Solar Energy Conversion and Application Micro-credential.

In this fourth talk in our Climate Action & Sustainability webinar series, Dr. McCormack discussed the opportunities and challenges of integrated renewable energy systems (RES) for buildings, focusing on her IDEAS project which addresses improved efficiency and on-site generation for different buildings in varying climates.

Nature in Crisis

This lecture took place on Wednesday 15th March from 1pm - 2pm

Prof. Jane Stout

Professor Jane Stout is a Professor in Botany and Trinity's VP for Biodiversity & Climate Action. She is an internationally renowned expert on pollinator and pollination ecology, and a prominent voice for biodiversity and its value. Her research seeks to understand how land management practices, including agriculture and urbanisation, affect ecological processes and the benefits of nature for humans.

In this, our fifth talk of the series, Jane discussed climate change, global biodiversity loss as it threatens human societies and economies, highlighting the importance of biodiversity and what can we do to tackle its loss

Is the Circular Economy a Route to Sustainability? As Clear as Plastic?

This lecture took place on Wednesday 22nd March from 1pm - 2pm

Prof. Michael Morris

Prof. Michael Morris is the Academic Director of AMBER and Professor of Surface and Interface Engineering at the School of Chemistry, Trinity College Dublin. Prof. Morris is also a lecturer in the Postgraduate Diploma in Circular Economy and Recycling Technologies. His expertise and research on surface engineering and material science has led to collaboration with organisations like Intel on the development of new technology for the manufacture of logic/memory circuitry. His work has led to Glantreo, a SME spin-out that develops novel stationary phase materials for chromatography applications.

In our sixth talk of the series, Prof. Morris discusses the opportunities and challenges that the circular economy places on delivering a truly circular economy. Taking a plastic bottle as an example, he addresses whether it's a simple or difficult transition i.e. it's as clear as mud or plastic.

Circular Economy for Advanced Emerging Materials

This lecture took place on Wednesday 29th March from 1pm - 2pm

Prof. Iouri Gun'ko

Prof. Gun'ko is a Professor in Inorganic Chemistry in Trinity and the Course Director of the Postgraduate Diploma in Circular Economy and Recycling Technologies. His main research interest and activities are related to the role of organometallic Chemistry, the science of materials and nanotechnology , which can improve the efficiency and performance of a range of products across different sectors. This includes magnetic nanoparticles and magnetic liquids for MRI diagnostics, nanoparticle-drug conjugates, quantum dots (CdTe) for biomedical applications (biological imaging and drug delivery), chemical functionalisation of carbon nanotubes, and polyhedral silsesquioxanes and metallasiloxanes.

In this seventh talk in the series, Iouri discussed new nanomaterials, a range of emerging materials with unique characteristics that can improve the performance of various technologies and products and are incorporating circular economy principles in the development process.

Projecting our Urban Future? Density, Intensity and Ideals

This lecture took place on Wednesday 5th April from 1pm - 2pm

Prof. Philip Lawton

Dr Philip Lawton is Assistant Professor of Geography at Trinity College Dublin. Dr. Lawton is also the Course Director of the MSc in Smart and Sustainable Cities. His research focus is supporting the sustainable development of urban spaces. His work has explored the impact of factors like gentrification, accounting for the perspectives of different stakeholders to support a clearer vision of urban towns of the future.

In this eighth talk in the series, Philip will discuss recent ideals of urban sustainability, such as the '15-Minute City' in their broader context, to examine the relationship between ideals of urbanism and processes of urbanization from a historical and contemporary perspective.

Systems Innovation in Sustainability and Climate Action

This lecture took place on Wednesday 19th April from 1pm - 2pm

Dr. Quentin G Crowley

Dr Quentin Crowley is Associate Professor in Geology (School of Natural Sciences), Director of the Trinity Centre for the Environment, and a Fellow of Trinity College. He sits on the Advisory Board of Climate-KIC, which is the EU’s main Climate Innovation initiative, and is Academic Director of a new PG Certificate in Climate Entrepreneurship at Tangent. Quentin’s research is concerned with evolution of Earth Systems, often integrating insights from “deep time” to improve our understanding of contemporary environments. He is an advocate of multi-disciplinary approaches to research, education, and communication and is keen to promote systems thinking methodologies and mindsets to solve modern-day societal challenges.

In this talk, Quentin discussed how the role of Earth systems needs to be clearly mapped to achieve a more sustainable future for all. He explores various ways in which systems innovation, particularly from a geoscience perspective, not only supports the SDGs but also underpins climate action across several sectors and systems.

Transitioning into a Sustainable Green Organisation

This lecture took place on Wednesday 26th April from 1pm - 2pm

Professor Sam Cromie

Dr Sam Cromie is an Assistant Professor in Organisational Psychology and the Director of the Centre for Innovative Human Systems at Trinity College Dublin. He has a variety of research interests including; foreign object retention in healthcare, aviation and other industries; psycho-social outcomes and mechanisms of self-help groups; just culture and culpability decision making; organisational, professional and national cultures and their relations to human factors. Dr Cromie is also the Module Coordinator of two of our Continuous Professional Development programmes; Introduction to Sustainable Green Organisation and Introduction to Workplace Wellbeing.

In this talk, Dr Cromie discusses the strategies that can be applied to support an organisations transition to enhance their green credentials.

Critical Steps to Decarbonising Aviation for Ireland

This lecture took place on Wednesday 3rd May from 1pm - 2pm

Professor Charles Stuart

Dr. Charles Stuart is an Assistant Professor of Power and Propulsion Technologies in the Department of Mechanical, Manufacturing and Biomedical Engineering at Trinity College Dublin. Dr Stuart is the module co-ordinator for our Low Carbon Transport Technology Micro-credential, which is offered as part of the MSc in Zero Carbon Technology.

In this talk, Dr. Stuart introduced the importance of aviation to Ireland (and vice versa), prior to examining the challenges and opportunities for different pathways to decarbonisation of the sector by 2050. His focus is on the work being done as part of a Science Foundation Ireland funded 2050 Challenge project, which seeks to develop an airline fleet optimisation platform as a means of defining a truly sustainable future for aviation.

Materials Discovery for Power-to-X Technologies

Professor Max Garcia Melchor

This lecture took place on Wednesday 10th May from 1pm - 2pm

Professor Garcia Melchor is the Course Director of the MSc in Energy Science and an Associate Professor in Chemical Energy Systems in the School of Chemistry of Trinity College Dublin, where he leads the Computational Catalysis and Energy Materials (CCEM) Group. His research focuses on applying advanced computational methods and artificial intelligence to accelerate the discovery of catalytic materials to sustainably produce chemical fuels and feedstocks. His work has led to numerous breakthroughs in the field of green hydrogen production, which have been recognized with several international awards and featured in many international media.

In this lecture, Professor Garcia Melchor discusses the role of computational modelling and artificial intelligence in guiding the design of catalytic materials to produce green hydrogen as a future energy vector with the view of decarbonizing our energy system.