Research
Smart Cities & Infrastructure
Cities are foci of prosperity and opportunity, but also deprivation and social unrest. With the rapid urban growth of recent decades, the majority of world’s population now lives in towns and cities. These increases in urban populations bring certain challenges and problems that are often complex in nature and require an integrated multidisciplinary approach.
The Smart Cities and Infrastructure cluster of the UCD Earth Institute, encompassing researchers from a variety of disciplines, is ideally placed to explore the myriad interconnected themes. Utilising the Institute’s state of the art technology platforms, researchers from the cluster are working to consolidate their knowledge of these complex human and physical systems and processes with the aim of developing sustainable plans and smart solutions for cities.
The Smart Cities and Infrastructure cluster is a creative hub which brings together researchers from diverse backgrounds, including policy, economic analysis, transport and water engineering, information systems and renewable energy. With this expertise, the UCD Earth Institute is uniquely capable of addressing – and resolving – some of the most pressing issues facing cities of the present as well as cities of the future.
Cluster leader: Prof. Eugene O'Brien |
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Prof. Eugene O'Brien joined UCD in 1998 as Professor of Civil Engineering having previously worked at Trinity College Dublin and in industry. A former Director of the UCD Urban Institute of Ireland, Eugene was appointed to lead the Smart Cities & Infrastructure research cluster of the Earth Institute in 2012. Eugene’s research interests centre on bridge dynamics and bridge traffic loading. He has a significant track record of participation in European framework projects and currently leads a €2 million national project, PhD in Sustainable Development funded jointly by the Irish research councils and is also the UCD Principal Investigator on a $1 million project, Next Generation Bridge Weigh-in-Motion. In addition to his academic work, Eugene is involved in the commercialisation of research, and works in industry as a Director of an SME. In this role, he leads the Industry Academic Partnership Pathways FP7 project, Long Life Bridges and is a partner in the FP7 Smart Rail project. |
E eugene.obrien@ucd.ie |
