After the success of the Ireland Climate Inventory project, a virtual summer 2021 initiative, the Dublin Global Gateway (DGG) is delighted to announce the launch of a new research collaboration between the Notre Dame Environmental Change Initiative (ND-ECI) and the Dublin City University Climate and Environmental Change Programme (DCU-BCES).
This summer, four ND undergraduates and four DCU undergraduates will participate in international and interdisciplinary research teams over eight weeks on both campuses.
Notre Dame undergraduates Maggie Barrett (Economics and Global Affairs) and Daniel Ringrose (Civil Engineering) will be researching alongside DCU-BCES students Leo Carroll and Aaron McNiffe in South Bend. Their work is supervised by Dr. Danielle Wood, program director of Notre Dame’s Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN) and Brian Wanbaugh, program manager of ND-GAIN.
Brendan McFeely (Political Science and Classics) and Kyle Bass (Economics and Global Affairs) will work with DCU-BCES students Katherine Molloy and Natalia Rembas alongside DCU School of History and Geography faculty members Dr. Darren Clarke and Dr. Susan Hegarty.
Read the DCU Press Release here.
On October 27, 2021, the DGG, in collaboration with the ND-ECI, launched the “Ireland Climate Inventory” to a virtual audience consisting of academics, activists, and thought leaders across the Notre Dame and Irish network in the sustainability and adaptation space.
The ND-ECI identified Ireland as a country of interest and reached out to the DGG to begin collaboration on this project. With the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown restricting international travel, the DGG was already adapting virtual models for classes, events, and internships. They used this period to pilot a variety of new programs, including an interdisciplinary undergraduate group research model. The Ireland Climate Inventory project was a natural fit.
In its first iteration, four undergraduate students were selected to participate: Terrance Cameron (Mechanical Engineering), Meghan David (Civil Engineering), Meg Hilbert (Environmental Science), and Brendan McFeely (Political Science and Classics). The students were supervised by Wood alongside Kara Primmer, ND-ECI program director, and Eimear Clowry Delaney, senior associate director of the DGG.
Working virtually across the United States for 8 weeks over the 2021 summer, Cameron, David, Hilbert, and McFeely were connected to Irish faculty, professionals, government officials, and local activists to better understand the adaptation practices, local decision making tools, and the infrastructure in place in Ireland. The students reviewed and researched targeted policies and strategic governance initiatives that highlight best approaches for enabling transition to an equitable, resilient future and created a climate inventory from communities throughout Ireland.
This summer, McFeely and Bass are building upon the preliminary Ireland Climate Inventory research to further record and study the environmental management of green spaces and water bodies in the wider Dublin area alongside DCU researchers Molloy and Rembas. These case studies in both Dublin and South Bend will identify co-benefits and challenges for the future of both cities.
Originally published by at dublin.nd.edu on June 17, 2022.