FUSION Researchers
David Styles
David Styles is an associate professor in Agricultural Sustainability at the University of Galway and an adjunct senior lecturer in Environmental Engineering at the University of Limerick. He specializes in environmental foot-printing and techno-economic assessment of product systems, with over 18 years of experience in life cycle assessment (LCA). David has worked at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland's Environmental Protection Agency, the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, Bangor University, and the Universities of Limerick and Galway. His research group applies advanced LCA to investigate the sustainability of circular and bio-based value chains, focusing on understanding inter-system effects and cascading flows of materials and energy. David is a member of the International Energy Agency Task 45 on the sustainability of bioenergy, the carbon budget committee of Ireland's Climate Change Advisory Council, and the expert advisory group of Ireland's National Bioeconomy Forum. He is currently project coordinator or work package leader across 10 national and European research projects.
Colm Duffy
Colm is an EPA fellow working on the EIR-FLUX project, which aims to identify a broad range of appropriate mitigation options at the catchment level. Colm is doing this utilising the GOBLIN framework. Colm was also the lead developer on the SeQUEsTER project, meaning that his experience in relation to the GOBLIN model is unparalleled given his engineering/pioneering work on the modelling framework. Colm also holds a PhD on Climate Smart Agriculture from the University of Galway (UoG), as well as a MSc in Climate Smart Agriculture and Food Security. Further, Colm obtained a BSc in International Development and Food Policy from University College Cork (UCC). Lastly, Colm hold two diplomas in International Development (UCC) and Software Engineering (UoG). Colm has experience in LCA modelling, both attributional and consequential, and has combined this work with several biophysical models. Colm’s work is supported by an impressive publication record in internationally noted journals.
Pietro (Pete) Iannette
Pete is a plant biologist and ecologist, who studies the complex interactions which determine the sustainability of food- and feed-systems, including those of the brewing, distilling and aquaculture industries. He delivers key research programmes to support the Scottish Government’s strategic research program, and by securing layered funding builds international research and development networks and programmes. Pete is also an Honorary Lecturer at the University of Dundee, and his research is strongly focused on legume-supported cropped systems, from production to consumption. This includes developing the use of underutilised crops and novel cropped systems, plus the implementation of additional innovations beyond the farm-gate that encourage greater resource use efficiency, improved ecosystem functions, and realisation of circular economies. To facilitate this, Pete develops and exploits various system-function and -accounting tools from the genetics and genomics of plant growth promoting microbes and the soil microbiome, to tools which are ‘data driven’ - such as agri-food system modelling, including Life Cycle Analysis. He works very closely with a wide range of industry and applied-science stakeholders, and provides extension services to value-chain actors, including policymakers.
Alastair McKinstry
Alastair McKinstry is Environmental Program manager at the Irish Centre for High-End Computing, where he works on code optimisation of weather and climate software and Earth system modelling. His background is in High-performance code optimisation and data, working in industry in the HPTC group in Digital/Compaq, as Principal Engineer in Oracle before moving to ICHEC. He has worked as work package lead in multiple PRACE and H2020 projects including ESCAPE, ESiWACE and ESiWACE2 on adaptation of weather and climate codes to petascale and then Exascale, and as PI on ESA and Copernicus projects for Earth observation and climate data.
Ken Byrne
Ken Byrne has 30 years research experience on the effect of land use on soil carbon stocks and greenhouse gas emissions. He has particular expertise in greenhouse gas exchange and carbon stocks in forest and peatland ecosystems. He has also worked on carbon storage in wood products and timber use for construction. Internationally he has contributed to the development of carbon emission factors for peat soils through his Lead Authorship of three IPCC reports (2004 Good Practice Guidance for LULUCF 2004, 2006 Guidelines for AFOLU and 2013 Wetlands Supplement) and was a member of the IPCC team awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. In addition he was a Lead Author of both the Thematic Assessment on Land Degradation and Restoration and the Europe and Central Asia Assessment on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. He is a member of the editorial boards of PLOS Climate and Frontiers in Forests and Global Change.
George Bishop
Dr. George Bishop is an environmental scientist at the University of Galway. His primary research pursuits revolve around using forward-looking life cycle assessment (LCA) to explore and understand the complex systems transformation necessary to achieve "Net Zero" and Bioeconomy ambitions. His past work has evaluated the environmental sustainability of various bio-based systems, including bioproducts, livestock, national AFOLU, and waste management systems. George is an LCA analyst on the DAFM funded project: INFORMBIO (Integrated Framework for Mapping, Modelling and Monitoring Ireland's Bioeconomy) which aims to develop a low carbon roadmap for Ireland's bioeconomy. INFORMBIO will develop a first Foresight Analysis for Ireland's bioeconomy, attempting to quantify the potential of the bioeconomy to contribute to Ireland's climate and sustainability targets. Moreover, the project positions Ireland as a front-runner among EU member states, by developing a prototype national bioeconomy monitoring system, enabling stakeholders to track the development and progress of the national bioeconomy against key bioeconomy indicators.
FUSION PhD Students
Daniel Henn
Daniel is a PhD candidate on the LoCAM (Lowering the carbon and ammonia footprints of pasture-based dairy production) project and is based at University of Limerick’s Bernal Institute. As part of LoCAM, he has contributed to the continuous improvement of the GOBLIN model, particularly the bio-physical representation of livestock and grasslands for the development of pathways towards climate neutrality from the Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) sector. His research interests include land use modelling, climate and environmental impact assessment, sustainable agriculture and life-cycle assessment (LCA). Prior to his PhD candidature, Daniel received a M.Sc. degree in Environmental Science after graduating from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in Uppsala. He also worked as a research assistant in SLU’s Department of Soil and Environment to develop strategies for greenhouse gas accounting of land use changes, particularly forests, on a municipal level in Sweden.
Emma Buckley
Emma is a PhD Walsh Scholar at Teagasc and the University of Galway currently working on reducing GHG’s and ammonia emissions for dairy production systems at Solohead Research Farm under the supervision of Dr James Humphreys (Teagasc) and Dr David Styles (UoG). Emma's research is focused on developing a blueprint for low or zero artificial fertilizer Nitrogen (AFN) use for low emissions pasture based dairy farming that delivers a competitive economic return to dairy farmers. A key element of study is the quantifaction of the impact of implementing the blueprint on 30 conventional dairy farms. Using the profit monitor, Pasturebase and other data sources the impact of the blueprint will be determined in terms of the carbon and ammonia footprints and economic competitiveness. Emma also aims to examine the impacts of AFN and high and low winter pasture covers on the long-term productivity and economic competitiveness of WC-BFN-based grassland, this work will be carried out at Solohead Research Farm.
Marion Sorely
Marion is currently engaged in research on the Circ-Agric project exploring the potential of circular strategies in agriculture to improve environmental, social and economic impacts on a farm, regional, national and intercontinental scale. These strategies aim to close nutrient loops, avoiding waste and reducing use of limited resources. Marion is a life cycle assessment modelling specialist, whose expertise is in the assessment of environmental impacts of agriculture. Marion's broader PhD research is focused on effective mitigation strategies (e.g. the use of white clover in pasture swards, anaerobic digestion of manure) to reduce climate change and other environmental impacts from different dairy farming systems in Europe.
Elvis (Kwame) Ofori
Elvis Kwame Ofori, an enterprising Ph.D. candidate at the University of Galway, engaged in cutting-edge research within the FORESIGHT framework. He holds an MSc in Management Science and Engineering from Taiyuan University of Technology in China. His academic journey reflects a passionate pursuit of knowledge. Elvis's research encompasses a wide range of focal points, predominantly synergizing sustainable development goals (notably 1, 2, 7, and 13) –thus, climate change mitigation, environmental sustainability, and transformative agricultural technologies. With a determined vision, Elvis aims to forge solution-driven policy initiatives that tackle the challenges within the millennium and beyond. His notable achievements in 2023 alone include publishing 15 impactful papers in prestigious journals, significantly advancing policy augmentation in support of SDG 13. Currently, Elvis is meticulously exploring avenues to minimize trade-offs within SDGs. His exclusive focus on synergizing food and energy security while simultaneously advocating for climate action exemplifies his dedication to multifaceted sustainability. Elvis's captivating research interests extend to various domains, including AFOLU carbon mitigation and adaptation, circular economy dynamics, climate change dynamics, green economy paradigms, ISO 14001 standards, environmental modelling, agricultural technology innovation, stochastic analysis, sustainable consumption strategies, technology mix optimization, water conservation, and soil restoration methodologies.
Andrés Martinez
Andrés is a Ph.D. candidate on the BioCities Project (LCA of urban biowaste valorisation pathways for a circular economy) at the University of Galway, Ireland. His work focuses on modelling the anaerobic digestion process as part of novel biorefinery configurations using the latest LCA impact assessment methods. Andrés holds a M.Sc. in Environmental Engineering from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Before starting his Ph.D., he performed for over seven years as an LCA and sustainability analyst providing advice for the public and private sectors in Mexico and internationally. He also has experience as research specialist on anaerobic digestion for the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM, Mexico) and as research assistant on sustainable packaging for the University of Limerick, Ireland. His research interests include novel circular bioeconomy concepts, sustainable agriculture, uncertainty assessment in LCA, and the use of LCA for effective decision-making.
Umut Kartal
As a Life Cycle Systems Developer, Umut's expertise lies at the intersection of programming and applied environmental research. His technical portfolio includes developing Android applications, scaling cloud solutions, and harnessing machine learning models for intricate data analysis and processing. At the University of Edinburgh, Umut conducted research on the effects of air pollution, and its impact on the recovery of long-Covid patients. He also automated LCA processes and co-developed eco-nutritional software frameworks at Goeconut. Currently, at The James Hutton Institute, Umut delivers environmental research, focusing on LCA analysis of crop rotations.