Four UCD teams involved in €6m funding for environmental and social research
25 March 2025
Four research teams from UCD have been awarded funding for projects to deliver sustainable solutions to environmental and social issues.
Ten teams across various institutions will receive a total of €6 million under the National Challenge Fund, a competitive programme that aims to solve problems related to Ireland’s green transition and digital transformation strategies.
The UCD teams receiving funding are:
- (opens in a new window)Dr Shane Donohue, UCD School of Civil Engineering, and (opens in a new window)Dr Soumyabrata Dev, UCD School of Computer Science
- Project: GEOMETRIC - GEOphysics and Machine learning for Evaluating Transportation
Infrastructure Condition
- Project: GEOMETRIC - GEOphysics and Machine learning for Evaluating Transportation
- (opens in a new window)Dr Oliver Kinnane and (opens in a new window)Dr Samar Raffoul, UCD School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy
- Project: Platform4MMC - Decision support platform for optimum and sustainable Modern Methods of Construction rollout to alleviate the housing crisis
- Project: Platform4MMC - Decision support platform for optimum and sustainable Modern Methods of Construction rollout to alleviate the housing crisis
- (opens in a new window)Professor Fiona Doohan, UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science, and (opens in a new window)Professor Lorraine Brennan, School of Agriculture and Food Science
- Project: FungiTech - crop residues as a substrate for producing filamentous mycoprotein
- Project: FungiTech - crop residues as a substrate for producing filamentous mycoprotein
- (opens in a new window)Dr Kirill Nikitin, UCD School of Chemistry, and (opens in a new window)Dr Simon Hodge, School of Agriculture and Food Science
- Project: SINFERT - Non-aqueous Generation of Soluble Phosphate Fertiliser from Solid Agricultural Biowaste for Sustainable Agrifood Systems
An additional team involves a collaboration between UCD and Trinity College Dublin:
- (opens in a new window)Professor Niamh Moore-Cherry, UCD College of Social Sciences and Law, and Professor Brian Caulfield, Trinity College Dublin Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering
- Project: CONUNDRUM: Co-creating sustainable and shared community mobility
The teams receiving funding are split across two challenge areas. The Sustainable
Communities Challenge seeks solutions to ensure a sustainable future for Ireland’s urban and rural populations, while The Future Food Systems Challenge seeks solutions for sustainable, productive and resilient food systems.
Each team will spend the next year demonstrating how the solutions they are developing can create tangible value by addressing specific societal needs.
The teams selected will have the opportunity for additional funding in the final phase of the programme, where €2 million will be on offer to the most competitive teams under each challenge.
“These teams are working on innovative, solution-focused projects that will have a real and positive impact across society, the economy, and the environment,” said Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless TD, who announced the funding.
“They are exemplars of the positive impact research and innovation funding can deliver. I look forward to seeing these research teams progress their projects over the next year as they continue to support Ireland’s digital transformation and green transition.”
By: Rebecca Hastings, Digital Journalist, UCD University Relations
To contact the UCD News & Content Team, email: newsdesk@ucd.ie
