Dr. Lorna Fitzsimons

Dr. Lorna Fitzsimons is an Assistant Professor in the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering in DCU. Research expertise and interests include the water-energy nexus: water and wastewater treatment; thermodynamics and exergy analysis; energy auditing, modelling and benchmarking; LCA; control and automation for energy efficiency. The focus of her PhD was the energy optimisation in the semiconductor manufacturing industry (Intel).  She has coordinated and delivered two EPA funded projects which audited, benchmarked and modelled the energy and resource efficiency of Irish wastewater treatment plants: Increasing the resource efficiency of Irish wastewater treatment plants (http://www.epa.ie/pubs/reports/research/water/researchreport168.html) and Optimal design of small Irish wastewater treatment plants (http://www.epa.ie/pubs/reports/research/water/research255.html).  She was a funded investigator and work-package leader in several H2020 and national energy and sustainability research projects which focus on the energy-water nexus: ALICE (https://www.alice-wastewater-project.eu/), Saltgae (http://saltgae.eu/), and ESIPP (https://esipp.ie/).  Currently she is conducting research as a funded investigator on desalination process technologies in the SFI funded ML-Labs centre for research training (https://www.ml-labs.ie/), solid state heat pump technologies in a DTIF project (https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/What-We-Do/Innovation-Research-Development/Disruptive-Technologies-Innovation-Fund/), and the LCA of advanced surface technologies (https://www.newskin-oitb.eu/). She is affiliated with the DCU Water Institute (https://dcuwater.ie/about/people/) and the Advanced processing Technology Research Centre (https://aptcentre.ie/about/people/). She has a strong track record of funding success: EPA, H2020, SFI, Enterprise Ireland.