Empowering Innovation and Inclusion: Celebrating Women Driving Change at TU Dublin's Digital Futures Research Hub
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As we celebrate International Women's Day, it's time to shine a spotlight on the remarkable women driving research and innovation at TU Dublin’s Digital Futures Research Hub. Through their research in fields such as Artificial Intelligence, Human-Computer Interaction, Cybersecurity, High Performance Computing, Electronic Engineering, Sustainable Building Engineering, Assistive Technologies, and Computer Science and Mathematics Education, these women are not only pushing the boundaries of innovation but also spearheading a paradigm shift towards greater diversity and inclusion. By championing inclusive practices and amplifying underrepresented voices, they are not just shaping the future of technology but also paving the way for a more equitable and accessible digital landscape.
Read more about these exceptional women and their research below.
Dr Ciara Ahern is a senior lecturer and programme chair of the Bachelor of Building Engineering in TU Dublin. Ciara’s research focuses on reducing the carbon impact of the built environment, a sector that contributes c40% of greenhouse gas emissions. Ciara leverages machine learning and AI applied to large datasets to turn complex data more quickly into information to contemporaneously inform climate policy. Ciara is co-founder of the Irish Building Stock Observatory whose mission is to democratise access to robust built environment data through data visualization for expert and non-expert stakeholders. Ciara’s research is conscious of a just transition, the idea of leaving no one behind in our move towards a low carbon future. Ciara is a director of EnergyCloud, a social enterprise that redeploys excess wind energy to alleviate fuel poverty - known to disproportionately affect lone parents (overwhelmingly women) and their children – wherein Machine Learning and AI will form the backbone of the distribution system to redeploy normally unharnessed wind energy. Ciara is also researching measures to improve energy efficiency as well as a low carbon future for Irish Traveller, direct provision, and displaced communities, living in mobile homes.
Dr. Malabika Basu is a Senior lecturer in the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at TU Dublin. She is researching energy resilience, Smart Energy Community, Micro-Grid, integration of renewable energy sources and EV, power quality control, condition-monitoring, intelligent protection, fault-diagnostics; photovoltaics and wind-energy conversion and HVDC systems. She serves as the program chair of the Masters of Sustainable Electrical Energy Systems. She reviews for European Commission in Smart Energy Networks. Dr. Basu has an active research collaboration history across the globe spanning from Australia, Europe (UK, Italy, Denmark, Cyprus, Portugal, Turkey), and USA and Canada and has led the development of a world class Power Quality Laboratory at TU Dublin. She is a relaxed and reflective person, enjoys her role in her professional career, believes in holistic development and growth, and takes immense pride, joy and interest in her students’ professional and personal development.
Anna Becevel is a European Research Manager in the School of Computer Science at TU Dublin, supports academic staff in implementing European funded projects from the Consortium creation and the write up of proposals, to the daily project management, budget monitoring, and reporting. In the past 5 years at TU Dublin, Anna has coordinated 12 European funded projects, including Erasmus+, EACEA and MSCA projects. Anna is also the secretary of the Applied Social Computing Network (ASCNet) and Foreign Lecturer at Beijing University of Chemical Technologies' Summer School.
Dr Matilda Biba is an Arnold F Graves Postdoctoral Researcher, specialising in myopia control clinical trials and preventable blindness at the Centre for Eye Research Ireland (CERI). She leads the ROP-StuDIO project, which is focused on using machine learning and computer vision to improve screening and risk predicton for retinopathy of prematurity. She is an advocate for public health implications of ROP and the global need for equal access to ophthalmological care. She is a committee member for Women in Vision and Eye Research Ireland which was establised to redress the gender disparity in academia and clinical medicine by providing a supportive platform that recognises excellence in eye care and research. She continues to be clinically active, with over 20 years experience, specialising in paediatric optometric care.
Dr Sarah Jane Delany is Professor of Inclusive Computer Science at TU Dublin. Her research is in the area of machine learning with a current focus on identifying and mitigating gender bias in AI systems. She is the TU Dublin lead and co-Director of the SFI Centre for Research Training in Machine Learning. She is committed to supporting and encouraging gender equality, specifically in computing and has been instrumental in participating in many successful gender initiatives including INGENIC - the Irish Network for Gender Equality in Computing; EUGAIN – the EU Network for Gender Balance in Informatics and co-founding the Women Leaders in Higher Education Network at TU Dublin.
Dr Cathy Ennis is a lecturer in the School of Computer Science in TU Dublin and is the programme coordinator for TU Dublin's BSc in Computer Science (Infrastructure). Her research interests are in the development of plausible virtual characters as well as building engaging interactions with and between virtual humans. Dr Ennis is a funded investigator in SFI ADAPT and has had funding awards from the SFI funded D-REAL CRT. Her research contributions on virtual characters have developed guidelines for the entertainment industry e.g., game developers, but also have focussed on societal contributions such as the EU FP7 TARDIS project developing a serious game to help young people at risk of exclusion to improve their interview skills. Current projects include the development of inclusive controls for Social VR applications and improving interactions and safety for users in the Metaverse.
Róisín Faherty is Head of Information Systems in the School of Enterprise Computing and Digital Transformation. Róisín is a member of the CSinc Research Group and her research specializes in developing and implementing tailored Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programs aimed at novice and aspiring Leaving Certificate Computer Science instructors. Given that many of these educators lack formal qualifications in computer science and are unfamiliar with pedagogical approaches in this field these CPD initiatives play a pivotal role in nurturing the growth and enduring success of the subject at the secondary level in Ireland.
Dr Svetlana Hensman has been a lecturer and researcher in the School of Computer Science at TU Dublin for the last 20 years. Her research is in the area of Artificial intelligence and Data Science, and was one of the leads for developing a new undergaduate program in Data Science and AI. She is also a member of the SFI-funded ML Labs CRT. She is passionate about gender diversity and equality in computer science, and has been part of many intiatives over the years, including: WITU (Women in Technology United), Diversity and inclusion working group at Informatics Europe, ESTEeM (industry mentorship programme for Computer Science and Engineering students), TU Dublin coordinator for Code-First:Girls. Svetlana is a member of the CSInc and Inclusion4EU research groups at TU Dublin.
Paula Kelly is a lecturer and a member of the tPOT research group in the School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering at TU Dublin. Prior to joining the academic staff in TU Dublin (formely D.I.T.) in 2002, Paula worked for 8 years in the software industry gaining extensive, hands-on experience of the software engineering process across a number of software engineering roles in both multinational and start up enterprises. Paula's research interests include Software Development, Distributed Systems, Context-Aware Computing, and Assistive Technology. Paula has a keen interest in promoting STEM with a particular emphasis on encouraging more women to become involved in the fields of engineering and technology. She is also involved as a volunteer tutor and facilitator in a number of STEM activities hosted by tPOT and WITU.
Dr Maria Chiara Leva is the Lead of the Human factors in Safety and Sustainability (HFISS) research group in Technological University Dublin and a Senior Lecturer in the School of Environmental Health for the same institution. She is a visiting research Fellow in the Centre for Innovative Human systems in Trinity College Dublin. She is the co-founder of Tosca Solutions a Spin out campus company based in NDRC and Trinity College Dublin to offer support for implementing risk management tools customised specifically to the needs of highly regulated environments. Her area of Expertise is Human factors and Safety Management Systems. Chiara holds a PhD in Human factors conferred by the Polytechnic of Milano Department of Industrial Engineering. She is the former chair of The Irish Human Factors & Ergonomics Society and current co-chair of the technical committee for Human factors in the European Safety and Reliability Association.
Dr Dana Mackey is a lecturer in the School of Mathematics and Statistics. Her research involves mathematical modelling and simulation of problems arising in technological and industrial areas. Together with her PhD students she is currently working on interdisciplinary projects on modelling optical patterning and holography (in collaboration with the Industrial and Engineering Optics Centre at TU Dublin) and the dynamics of random particle deposition on solid substrates, as an application to sensors manufacturing. She has a keen interest in gender equality in STEM, was the leader of the successful Athena Swan Bronze award application for her School, and is involved in national networks promoting Equality, Inclusion and Diversion in Mathematics.
Dr Tania Malik is a lecturer at TU Dublin - School of Informatics and Cybersecurity and the Founding Director of the HPC Nexus Laboratory (HPCNexus), which is a dedicated center for High Performance Computing (HPC) research. Her research addresses the most challenging issues in parallel High-Performance Computing, focusing on modern heterogeneous and hybrid compute nodes, complex large-scale heterogeneous clusters, and extreme-scale platforms. She has made novel contributions in the performance and energy optimization of data-intensive parallel applications on heterogeneous HPC platforms. Her current projects include "Towards Energy-Optimized High-Performance Computing: Reducing Energy Costs of Communication on HPC Platforms," funded by the Irish Research Council, and "Scalable Performance Optimization of Machine Learning-Based Big Data Analytics Applications on Modern Heterogeneous and Hybrid Computing Platforms," funded by TU Dublin. She also led the “HP-Analytics” project as the Principal Investigator, funded by the SFI Industry Fellowship, in collaboration with Fidelity Investment as an industry partner. Last year, she was recognized as a woman inspiring the next generation and making an impact in the HPC field, as featured here.
Dr. Susan McKeever is the Head of Discipline for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence in TU Dublin and is an academic in the School of Computer Science. Her research work and team focus on the application of artificial intelligence techniques to solve real-world problems. She is currently leading the N-Light project, which focuses on uncovering child grooming patterns online. She has recently led the development of TU Dublin’s new undergraduate programme, BSC Data Science and AI, which launches in September 2024. She has been a strong supporter of gender balance in Computer Science, co-founding the Ingenic network of third levels, and launching free coding classes under CodeFirstGirls in TU Dublin.
Dr Emma Murphy is a lecturer and researcher in the School of Computer Science at TU Dublin. An important part of Emma’s research is the continuous involvement of end users, in particular with people who experience bias and exclusion from technical systems and research processes. Participatory methods can help to prevent bias and exclusion but will only be effective if they are genuinely built into research, design, implementation and evaluation processes. Emma recently co-led the IRC funded AccessDesign project with Sarah Gavra Boland from Saint John of God Liffey Services (SJOG) to create an accessible co-design toolkit for co-designers with intellectual disabilities. This work has continued under the wider banner of the Inclusion4EU project where we are expanding this toolkit to include co-designers with sensory and physical disabilities and also exploring how inclusive practices such as co-design can be embedded into existing software design lifecycles.
Dr Irene Murtagh is a lecturer in Informatics at TU Dublin and a Funded Investigator in ADAPT, the world-leading SFI Research Centre for AI-Driven Digital Content Technology. For the past three years Dr Murtagh has worked as TU Dublin Principal Investigator on the EU Horizon 2020 SignON project. SignON is a user-centric and community-driven project that aims to facilitate the exchange of information between deaf, hard of hearing and hearing individuals across Europe, by conducting state of the art research and developing a mobile solution for automatic translation between sign and spoken (written and spoken) languages. Through collaboration with European Deaf and hard of hearing communities, researchers defined use-cases, co-designed and co-developed the SignON service and application. The objective of this research project is the fair, unbiased and inclusive spread of information and digital content in European society.
Karen Nolan is a lecturer of Computing in the School Enterprise Computing and Digital Transformation in TU Dublin. With 15 years of prior industry experiences as a Software Developer, Karen brings a wealth of practical knowledge to her academic role. Her research is dedicated to Computer Science Education, with a particular emphasis on primary and secondary school students in Ireland. She is exploring various factors that impact, shape, and affect students’ experience in both formal and informal curricula at primary and second level. Karen actively contributes to the promotion of Computer Science Education through the CSinc Research Group, a national research project at TU Dublin. As part of this initiative, she conducts Computing Camps for primary and secondary schools across Ireland, advocating for the inclusion of Computer Science in the educational journey of all students.
Dr Dympna O’Sullivan is Senior Lecturer in Computer Science and the Academic Lead of the Digital Futures Research Hub at TU Dublin. Her research focuses on the development of smart assistive technology to support persons with dementia to live independently in their own homes. She is currently leading a field trial of the Self-smart Care for Dementia toolkit in the homes of persons with dementia to assess the impact of the developed technology on enhancing the quality of life, independence, and well-being of persons with dementia, while also exploring its potential challenges and limitations. Dympna is a passionate advocate for gender equality in computing and related fields. She supports the professional development of junior female faculty through mentoring, she is chair of the Informaics Europe Minerva Informatics European Equality Award and serves on SFI ADAPT Center’s Gender, Equality, Diversity, Inclusion Committee.
Dr Mariana Rocha is a lecturer at the School of Computer Science who is interested in identifying strategies to foster inclusive education. Her research background involves evaluating game-based learning approaches to support students suffering from mathematics anxiety. She is part of the Intelligent Games Lab, a multi-disciplinary research group investigating the potential of games in learning and training. The group carries out “Happy Maths”, a project to reduce maths anxiety in primary school students using game-based learning. The project featured the “Change Makers” documentary, produced and broadcast by RTÉ in 2021. Mariana actively leads international networks and collaborations, such as the Games and Learning International Junior Researchers Network, focusing on exchanging ideas and ethical research practices. Furthermore, Mariana is a member of the steering committee for the REDIT project, an initiative funded by the Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland, aiming to design and develop games that support the needs of immigrant children in Finland.
Dr Bahareh Pahlevanzadeh is a lecturer in school of Informatics and Cybersecurity at Tudublin. With years dedicated to teaching and research in ICT and Cybersecurity, she actively participates in academic assessments within the fields of ICT and Cybersecurity in leading academic institutes. Since 2022, she has collaborated on the CYBER-SKILLS project with partners such as TUD, MTU, UCD, UL, and Virginia Tech's Commonwealth Cyber Initiative. Having had the opportunity to guide over 10 Ph.D. and Master's scholars on their research journeys and her active involvement in numerous (inter)national research projects has significantly contributed to advancements in ICT and cybersecurity within the context of Next-Gen Networks and Communications and the Application of AI in the Digital Transformation/ Industry 4.0 era.
Dr. Fadoua Rafii is a lecturer in the school of Computer science at TU Dublin. Prior joining TU Dublin, Fadoua worked as Postdoctoral Researcher for 5 years in Ireland and France. She worked on CONSUS project in the school of Computer science at UCD, focusing on the climatic data and the extraction of agro-climatic indices to support the farmers for further decisions in terms of crop improvement. She continued exploring her Bioinformatic researches in the International Agency for Research on Cancer and the School of Medicine at UCD. Her research main target is to analyze multivarious biological information through the implementation of AI techniques. She enjoys transferring to the students her passion about research and AI, especially through her final year projects supervision. She carries on her Cancerology research investigations by mentoring and co-supervising PhD students .
Dr. Christina Thorpe, the Head of Discipline for Cybersecurity at TU Dublin and a senior academic in the School of Informatics and Cybersecurity, specialises in research on cybersecurity and online child safety. She leads the GroSafe project as its principal investigator, funded by the SFI National Challenge Fund, aimed at developing a technology-enabled solution to enhance societal resilience against child grooming. Additionally, she serves as a co-PI on the N-Light project, which uses AI techniques to identify patterns of online child sexual abuse. Gender significantly influences the prevalence of grooming and online sexual abuse, with girls being more vulnerable targets than boys. Christina actively participates in various cybersecurity awareness initiatives, including CyberSchools Quest and CyberSec-4-all summer camps, tailored to attract female students and improve gender balance in the cybersecurity field. Furthermore, she is involved with Women in Technology Unite (WITU) at TU Dublin and has organised numerous sessions for female STEM students on the Blanchardstown campus. Additionally, Christina was part of the Athena Swan committee in TU Dublin, which successfully applied for the Institutional Bronze award.