Water Research Group

Our water/wastewater research group have helped improved our understanding of pollutant pathways in our environment, and presented methods for pollution mitigations as well as treatment solutions for water and wastewater in the developed and developing world.

Academic Staff

Prof Laurence Gill

Chair of Environmental Engineering

+353 1896 1047

Biography

Laurence Gill is a Professor in Environmental Engineering in the School of Engineering, Trinity College Dublin. His research interests involve studying the fate and transport of both air and water-borne pollutants in the natural and built environment, as well as the development of passive treatment processes. Much of the work involves extensive field studies which are then used to develop mathematical models to gain further insight into the processes. Prior to joining at Trinity College in 1999, he spent several years working in the UK water industry on the design of water and wastewater treatment processes for urban populations.

Prof. Aonghus Mc Nabola

Professor, Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering

+353 1896 3837

Biography

Prof. McNabola is a Professor in Energy and the Environment at the Dept of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, TCD. His research interests lie in the field of Environmental Fluid Dynamics where he has applied this expertise in air pollution, energy efficiency and/or water services sectors. He has been active in this field of research for over 15 years.Prof. McNabola teaches at postgraduate and undergraduate levels in the subject areas of hydraulics, air pollution and renewable energy. He holds a qualification in teaching and learning at third level and has been involved in teaching activities in Italy and India.Prof. McNabola is a Visiting Reader at the Global Centre for Air Research(GCARE), at the Dept of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the University of Surrey, UK. He is also a Colaborador Honorario (Adjunct Professor) at the Hydraulic division of the Agronomy Department at University of Córdoba, Spain.Prof. McNabola is an Associate Editor for the international journal, Transport Research Part D: Transport and the Environment. He is also a regular reviewer for journals such as Renewable Energy, Atmospheric Environment, Water Resources Management, etc.Prof. McNabola currently leads a group of 3 PhD students and 8 postdoctoral researchers and is involved, primarily as the lead partner and principal investigator, in a number of national and international collaborative projects, funded by SFI, Enterprise Ireland, INTERREG ERDF,SEAI and the EPA.Prof. McNabola has a h-index of 36 and an i-10 index of 83. He has generated funding of over €6.5 Million from national and primarily EU sources in over 36 funded research projects since 2008.

Dr. David O'Connell

Assistant Professor, Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering

+353 1896 3892

Biography

Assistant Professor in Contaminant Hydrogeology and Hydrology in the Department of Civil, Structural & Environmental Engineering. My research focuses on water resources, water and wastewater treatment technologies along with studying earth systems processes governing water quality across scales from the field scale to nanoscale using multiple chemical and solid-state techniques. My expertise includes water resources, water and wastewater treatment technology, hydrogeology, hydrology and biogeochemistry with a focus on systems understanding and innovative solutions.

Dr. Liwen Xiao

Associate Professor, Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering

+353 1896 3741

Biography

Dr. Liwen Xiao received his PhD degree at NUI Galway and worked as a lecturer there before joining the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering at TCD as Assistant Professor in 2013. Since joining TCD, Dr Xiao has continued his research work in the following areas: (1) sustainable treatment of wastewater, (2) emerging contaminants (microplastics, antibiotics) detection and removal and (3) impacts of human activities on water quality and ecology. He currently has 4 PhD students in his research group and is involved in a number of research projects funded by national and international funding agencies. Dr Xiao is a college tutor and a deputy director of the research centre TrinityHaus. He is the director of MSc in Engineering