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Originally from near King's Lynn, Norfolk, England. Undergraduate BA degree in biology from the University of Stirling. Carried out postgraduate research at the University of Nottingham, followed by postdoctoral positions at Queen's University, Belfast and The University of Dundee. Appointed to UCD firstly as an assistant lecturer, progressing to lecturer then senior lecturer and finally associate professor in 2003. Former Ray Lankester fellow at the Marine Biological Association of the UK and British Council Visiting Lecturer at the University Of Khartoum, Sudan. Periods of leave of absence spent at the University of Delaware, the Marine Biological Association, Plymouth, UK and The Kenyan Agricultural Research Station in Nairobi. Was head of the old Botany Department for a short period in 2005. Presently Head of Subject/Programme Coordinator (Botany Programme) and Research Theme Leader in the Plant Sciences. Married to Clare, with one son, Joshua. |
| I am involved in a diverse range of plant and environmentally-related research, including symbioses and symbiotic interactions, encompassing work at cell, leaf , whole plant, canopy and ecosystem scales. Recent research has focussed on environmental constraints on biomass productivity and carbon sequestration in natural and agricultural ecosystems, including forests, as well as investigations on global climate change and mitigation options in croplands. Other work has been directed at the biology and ecology of invasive plant species, including the impact of climate change. My group has also had a long-standing interest in the biology of the Gunnera-Nostoc the only angiosperm-cyanobacterial nitrogen-fixing symbioses. Current Research Projects Sponsor: COFORD Title: Carbon Sequestration by Irish forest Ecosystems (PI) Start Date: 1-JAN-08 Sponsor: EPA Title: Accounting for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Different Land Use Types (co-PI) Start Date: 1-JAN-03 Sponsor: EPA Title: The Impact of two Invasive Species on Biodiversity and their Interaction with Climate Change (partner) Start Date: 1-OCT-06 Sponsor: EPA Title: Significance of Dissolved Carbon Losses in Different Land Use Types (PI) Start Date: 1-OCT-06 Sponsor: EU Title: Assessment of the European Terrestrial Carbon Balance (partner) Start Date: 1-JAN-04 Sponsor: Heritage Council/Mayo County Council Title: Development of Measures for the Control of Gunnera tinctoria (PI)Start Date: 6-JUNE-06 Sponsor: Department of Agriculture and Food Title: Assessing the Greenhouse Gas Budget of Eco-Tillage and other Mitigation Options for Arable Systems (partner) Start Date: 1-APRIL-08 Sponsor: Department of Agriculture and Food Title: Assessing the Greenhouse Gas Impacts of Establishing Biomass and Biofuel Crops (partner) Start Date: 1-APRIL-08 Sponsor: Department of Agriculture and Food Title: Use of Maize as a Multi-Functional Crop (partner) Start Date: 1-DEC-07 Sponsor: School Research Demonstratorship Award Title: Molecular genetics of native and invasive populations of Gunnera tinctoria (coPI) Start Date: 1-SEPT-05Sponsor: School Research Demonstratorship Award Title: Soil respiration from different land use types Start date: 1-SEPT-04I have, additionally, a small grant from the Finnish academy and am Project Coordinator/Institutional PI on the Marie Curie MASS-EXTINCT project, Biodiversity Dynamics at the Triassic-Jurassic Mass Extinction Event (200 million years ago): a Novel Approach to Studying Ecosystem Responses to Global Climate Change, led by Jenny McElwain. Current research funding is ~€3million.
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| I have taught at all four stages of the Science degree programme as well as on taught masters courses. I also formerly taught first year students in the Agriculture programme. The main focus of my teaching has been on functional plant biology/plant physiology, particularly photosynthesis, often in an environmental context. More recently I have contributed to lectures on climate change and biogeochemistry. I currently contribute to the delivery of the following modules BIOL 10060: Plants, Fungi and Environmental Science-lectures and practicals on plant and environmental biology BOTN 20020: Perspectives in Plant and Fungal Biology-lectures on the importance of plants and climate change BOTN 30110: Plant Growth and Nutrient Assimilation -lectures and practicals on photosynthesis and nutrient assimilation ZOOL 30060: Biogeography and Field Biology-lectures on the impact of climate change on the biogeography of plants and animals BOTN 40040: Ecological Significance of Different Photosynthetic Pathways -lectures/tutorials on the significance of photosynthesis in an ecological context SBES 40010: Core skills for Research –lectures on analyzing/reviewing scientific papers, the peer-review process and the compilation of CV’s. In addition to these I have previously taught Stage 2 courses in plant and environmental biology and a Stage 3 course on light and plant life. I also used to run a Stage 4 course on the optical properties of plants. I have also taught on a range of extra mural classes on plant and environmental science and given lectures to the general public and special interest groups.
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| Linda Fahy MSc (1988)-The effect of nitrogen supply and temperature on the performace of Cassia obtusifloia Gerry Clabby PhD (1992) - Ecophysiology of Mycelis muralis (L.) Dumort in high and low-light environments Gareth Campbell PhD (1994) – Water supply, plant productivity and gas exchange responses of Gunnera tinctoria (Molina) Mirbel (Gunneraceae) Stephen Kimani PhD (1994) – Studies on maize-bean mixtures in a semi-arid area of Eastern Kenya Mary McCarthy PhD (1996) – The effect of growth irradiance and spectral quality on light utilization by the marine diatoms Thalassiosira psuedonana Hasle and Heimdal and Attheya Decora West David Flynn PhD (1996) – Ecophysiology of Arbutus unedo and Rhododendrom ponticum under temperate climatic conditionsAlex Valentine PhD (1996) – Effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal infection on photosynthesis, nutrient status and growth of cucumber plants Carol Bruce PhD (1997) – a light and electron microscope analysis of gland development in Gunnera tinctoria Saeed Karamsadeh (1998) – Photosynthetic performance of micropropagated cherry Gary Lanigan (1999) – Intraspecific and interspecific comparisons of the acclimation of Mycelis muralis L. to different light environments Kevin Black (2000) – Carbon metabolism in arbuscular mycorrhizal cucumber plants Betsy Hickey (2002) – Changes in community processes associated with the introduced and invasive species Gunnera tinctoria (Molina) Mirbel Patrick Moran (2002) – A comparative study of the physiological responses of Raphanus raphanistrum subspecies raphanistrum and Raphanus raphanistrum subspecies maritimus to treatment with NaCl Jane Hennessy (2006) – A comparative assessment of the effects of elevated carbon dioxide concentrations on Gunnera tinctoria and other wetland species. Margherita Gioria (2007) - The impact of three invasive species on soil seed bank communities |
