UCD Engineering & Architecture Alumni Wall
This UCD Engineering & Architecture alumni wall which also appear in physical form within the lobby of the Engineering and Materials Science Centre promotes the personal and professional achievements of our graduates. We hope that this diverse array of alumni leaders at various stages in their careers will inspire the next generation of UCD undergraduates.
Mark Barrett
Current Employer: APC Ltd
BE Chemical Engineering 2005,
PhD Chemical Engineering 2008
Mark’s interest in the application of chemistry and maths to solve globally relevant issues led him to study Chemical Engineering at UCD, followed by a PhD and Postdoctoral studies in Pharmaceutical Process Engineering.
After a period in industry, Mark collaborated further with UCD’s Prof Brian Glennon to found APC Ltd, a pharmaceutical R&D company. APC, through the application of cutting-edge technology and chemical engineering principles, helps accelerate the development and launch of new medicines.
Laura Brock
Current Employer: Brock McClure Planning and Development Consultants
MRUP Regional & Urban Planning 2003
Laura graduated from UCD with a Masters in Regional and Urban Planning. She is a founding partner of Brock McClure Planning Consultants, a practice which is involved in the re-development of a number of high-profile sites across the country.
Brock McClure has particular expertise in large scale ‘fast track’ residential development, and also provides commercially focused planning advice on a number of hotel, office and industrial projects.
Martina Caplice
Current Employer: UCD
BA Landscape Architecture 2008,
MSc Environmental Science 2009,
MAgrSc Agriculture & Food Science 2012
After graduating from her bachelor’s degree in Landscape Architecture, Martina went on to receive a Master of Science, followed by a Research Master’s in Agricultural Science.
Since then Martina has worked in ecological roles in Ireland, England, North America, and Kenya. Now, as a Technical Officer for fieldwork in the UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science, Martina shares her enthusiasm for ecology with undergraduate and postgraduate students.
Dhanashree Gokhale
Current Employer: Health Products Regulatory Authority, Ireland
ME Biomedical Engineering 2016
Upon completion of her Biomedical Engineering Masters, Dhanashree returned to work with the Health Products Regulatory Authority, Ireland (HPRA) where she had previously interned as part of the requirements for her Masters.
Dhanashree began her career with the HPRA as a Scientific Officer in 2016 and has recently taken on the role of a Technology Group Lead, where her team is responsible for the regulation of interventional cardiology, surgical and orthopaedic devices among others. UCD helped Dhanashree adjust as an international student and gave her the confidence to meet the challenging requirements of her day job.
Eimear Heaslip
Current Employer: National University of Ireland, Galway
BSc Architectural Science 2003,
BArch (Hons) 2007
Eimear is a lecturer in the School of Geography at NUI Galway. She completed her BArch in UCD in 2007 before returning to her studies in 2012 to complete an MSc in Environmental systems in GMIT. Eimear received the GMIT “President’s Forty Year Scholarship” to undertake a funded PhD which was transdisciplinary - fusing social scientific and engineering techniques to develop a technical energy plan.
Eimear's expertise is in social scientific approaches to sustainable transitions, specialising in participatory democracy and collaborative community planning. She has been an invited speaker both in Ireland and internationally.
Liam Madden
Current Employer: Xilinx
BE Electronic Engineering 1979
After moving to the US in 1981, Liam held leadership positions at Digital Equipment Corp (DEC), SGI/MIPS, Microsoft, AMD and Xilinx. He contributed to a range of chip products including DEC Alpha, StrongARM and Microsoft XBOX.
Liam attributes his ability to adapt to ever changing technology to the great education he received at UCD. Liam still stays connected to the College through the James G. Lacy Award for Master of Engineering projects and he was honoured to be an Adjunct Professor from 2013 to 2018.
Dervilla Mitchell
Current Employer: OVE Arup & Partners
BE Civil Engineering 1980
Dervilla began her career at Arup Dublin as a structural engineer before moving to Massachusetts with Weidlinger Associates for two years before returning to Arup’s head office in London. Dervilla spent the next 10 years honing her project management skills and working on increasingly complex engineering challenges.
The aviation sector has played a significant role in Dervilla’s career, as she led the Arup team at Terminal 5 Heathrow as well as T2 Dublin and now Abu Dhabi Midfield Terminal. Dervilla now sits on Arup’s Group Board and is Chair of the UK, India, Middle East & Africa Region with responsibility for around 5,500 people.
Julie Motherway
Current Employer: Stryker
ME Mechanical Engineering 2006,
PhD Mechanical Engineering 2012
Julie joined Stryker in 2011 after completing her PhD in Mechanical Engineering in UCD. In her time with Stryker she focused on new product development. Julie has held a range of roles including Design Engineer, R&D Program Management and R&D Manager.
She has had the opportunity to work with and manage global teams and to work with healthcare practitioners to develop solutions to solve their unmet clinical needs.
Michael O'Dwyer
Current Employer: SwiftComply
BE Agriculture & Food Engineering 2004,
Certificate in Safety and Health at Work 2008,
EMBA 2015
Michael (Mick) is the founding CEO of SwiftComply, a venture-backed software company that helps water authorities manage their compliance programs. Mick graduated from UCD in 2004 and had a brief stint in Diageo, before joining Dublin City Council as a graduate engineer in the wastewater dept.
In 2013 he joined a boutique environmental consulting firm as Managing Director and completed an Executive MBA at UCD's Michael Smurfit graduate business school in 2015. Mick lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his family.
David Regan
Current Employer: Concern Worldwide
BE Civil Engineering 1985
Post graduation David spent two years as volunteer civil engineer with Concern Worldwide in Ethiopia, setting up and overseeing a food for work programme focused on soil conservation for 10,000 people in Wolayta as well as overseeing a water and sanitation programme in the region. David subsequently completed an MSc in IT and joined Accenture where he worked for 34 years. As Accenture's global lead for the revenue industry, David worked with taxation authorities around the world to improve tax compliance and enhance services for citizens and business, chiefly by the application of new technology.
Before taking up the role of CEO with Concern in 2022, David served in different roles on the board of the NGO, including that of Chair and serving on the Concern US board. He also acted as the sponsor of a large Accenture funded conservation agriculture programme in Malawi from 2012 to 2018.
Sara Smyth
Current Employer: Greenstar
BE Agriculture & Food Engineering 1997,
MEngSc Agriculture & Food Science 1999
Sarah’s engineering degrees from UCD were the starting point of a 20 year career in the waste industry. Over that time she has worked in operations, project management and environmental compliance. It was while researching her masters that she made a contact which led to her first job and an introduction to the ever changing world of waste management.
Sarah’s problem solving skills which were honed through her engineering studies have been put to good use running recycling plants and developing state of the art waste infrastructure.
Noelle Walsh
Current Employer: Microsoft
BE Chemical Engineering 1985
Noelle leads the Cloud Operations + Innovation organization at Microsoft, which is a large, cross-functional team that builds and operates Microsoft’s digital infrastructure – including data centres, fibre network and edge sites – and delivers technical and business model innovations that enable the entire digital infrastructure industry to grow more responsibly and sustainably.
Previously, she spent over 25 years with the Dow Chemical Company, where she worked across multiple functions, geographies and businesses, including strategic realignment and performance improvement.
Ian Whelan
Current Employer: Aston Martin
BE Mechanical Engineering 2008,
PhD Mechanical Engineering 2013
Ian’s time in UCD as both an undergraduate and postgraduate student set him up for his career in the Automotive Industry regarding both technical and project managerial aspects.
He spent over 6 years in Ferrari, initially completing his PhD then focusing on performance development of both V8 and V12 engines before moving into the Innovation Department. Ian then moved to Aston Martin where he leads the Engine Development / Test Team.
Other Notable Alumni
- (opens in a new window)Donal O’Riain
- (opens in a new window)David McNulty
- (opens in a new window)Dr Dave Burke
- (opens in a new window)Ian Quinn
- (opens in a new window)Yvonne Farrell & Shelley McNamara
- (opens in a new window)Prof. Edmond Harty
- (opens in a new window)John Carey
- (opens in a new window)Noelle Walsh
- (opens in a new window)Róisín Heneghan
- Eddie O’Connor
- Liam Connellan
- Dervilla Mitchell
- Niall McLaughlin
- Ciarán Devane
- Prof. John O’Connor