TU Dublin Showcases Women Leaders in Engineering and Innovation for INWED 2025

Published: 23 Jun, 2025

As part of the global celebrations for International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) 2025, TU Dublin is proud to highlight the achievements of its inspiring community of women engineers, educators, and researchers. This year’s INWED theme, #TogetherWeEngineer, celebrates the power of diverse teams and the essential role women play in shaping the future of engineering. Now in its 12th year, INWED, spearheaded by the Women’s Engineering Society (WES), continues to shine a light on the achievements of women in a field where they remain significantly underrepresented.

From sustainable energy systems to STEM education and equity initiatives, TU Dublin is home to a growing cohort of women engineers, researchers and innovators who are shaping the future of the profession:

• Dr Úna Beagon, Head of Civil Engineering, is a nationally recognised voice in engineering education. Her work focuses on first-year student experience and widening access to the profession. Through projects such as PROFESS 12, A-STEP 2030, and In-4-STEM, Úna explores how diverse, intercultural teams and early intervention can support more inclusive participation in engineering.
• Rachel Harding, Assistant Lecturer in Engineering Science, works to close the gender gap in STEM education. Her PhD research developed spatially enhanced learning tools for secondary-level science classrooms, significantly improving students’ scientific reasoning and spatial skills—key indicators of STEM success.
• Susan Lynott, Assistant Lecturer in Mechatronic Engineering, is dedicated to developing more accessible transitions into higher education. Her PhD investigates the outcomes of TU Dublin’s pre-college outreach programmes for Transition Year students, helping to build confidence, engagement, and readiness for university-level engineering studies.
• Dr Dervilla Niall, Lecturer and Programme Chair in Structural Engineering, combines 16 years of industry experience with academic leadership. Her research centres on sustainable construction materials, including smart concrete technologies that can enhance energy performance and reduce environmental impact.
• Marie Armstrong, Engineering Lecturer across the Schools of Mechanical and Electrical & Electronic Engineering, is a key advocate for gender equity in STEM. She co-founded Women in Technology United (WITU), a TU Dublin-wide initiative promoting visibility, retention, and networking among female students. Marie also contributes to Engineers Ireland programmes to engage both primary and secondary school students in the engineering pipeline.
• Camila D’Bastiani, Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering, integrates teaching, mentorship, and sustainability research. Her work explores how advanced simulation techniques can improve anaerobic digestion for renewable biogas production. Camila is also a founding member of the CFD research group and participates in European research collaborations including ESSLab+ and PEN@Hydropower.
• Leslie Shoemaker, Lecturer in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, is the founder of ESTeEM, TU Dublin’s mentoring programme that connects female students with women in industry. Her leadership in Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) has helped shape institutional and national mentoring models to better support underrepresented students in technical fields.
• Michelle Looby, Senior Lecturer in the School of Mechanical Engineering, has coordinated a wide range of STEM initiatives including Young Women in Technology (YWIT) and Coding4Girls. As Chair of WITU and Engineers Ireland Academic Society, she leads on developing strategies and hosting events aimed at identifying and removing barriers for women in engineering.
• Dr Caitríona de Paor, Lecturer in Civil Engineering and practicing Chartered Engineer, brings a rich background in European-funded research in engineering education and infrastructure resilience. Her academic and consultancy work ranges from embodied carbon assessments to structural health monitoring. She also plays a key role in national civil engineering research networks such as CERAI.
• Dr Emma Robinson, Head of Electrical Energy Engineering, brings a passion for renewable energy and early STEAM engagement. With experience spanning tidal energy research, sustainable engineering, and academic leadership, Emma champions the integration of STEAM into early primary education to challenge cultural norms and inspire future engineers.
• Ann Marie McKeon, Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering and Business Technology, blends academic teaching with over a decade of industry experience in software and systems training. She is an active member of WITU and the Irish Mathematics Learning Support Network and contributes extensively to STEM outreach through SciFest, TY programmes, and Coding4Girls.

These dynamic professionals represent just a sample of the impactful work happening across TU Dublin. From research and teaching to mentorship and community engagement, they are driving innovation and championing inclusion in STEM education and careers.

#TogetherWeEngineer – and together, we inspire, research, innovate and create.

 

Full Bios:

1. Dr Úna Beagon
   • Úna is Head of Civil Engineering at TU Dublin, a member of BERIC and CREATE Research Group and a Fellow of the Institution of Structural Engineers. Úna’s research focuses on engineering education and the first-year experience. Having worked as a Chartered Engineer in industry for 20 years before joining academia she has a broad understanding of the necessity to attract more women into the profession and to provide supports to them as they develop their careers. Úna’s research work has included organising summer schools for engineering students to highlight the importance of solving the SDGs with a focus on having a diverse team with excellent intercultural skills (PROFESS 12). The A-STEP 2030 project investigated what makes engineering attractive and to whom, to enable us to showcase the required competencies for engineering to the talent pipeline (A-STEP 2030). Her current project investigates the experiences of women and first-generation students in engineering programmes and designs interventions to support them in their first year (In-4-STEM).

2. Rachel Harding
   • Rachel is a lecturer in the School of Transport & Civil Engineering in TU Dublin and is a member of the RDS Science and Technology Rachels’ PhD research focused on addressing the STEM gender gap in Ireland by building STEM capacity and skills through the development of spatial ability – a key cognitive skill for success in STEM. This was achieved by developing a suite of activities that were spatially enhanced, based on the most up to date research practices for supporting spatial ability development in the science classroom. She worked with six second level schools in Ireland to introduce spatial-focused STEM activities within the current Junior Cycle science curriculum. Findings showed a significant increase in spatial ability and scientific reasoning for participating students’ post-instruction.

3. Susan Lynott
   • Susan is an assistant lecturer in the School of Mechanical Engineering, based on TU Dublin’s Blanchardstown Campus. Susan’s PhD research topic is Developing Accessible and Inclusive Pathways to Higher Education: A research investigation into the outcomes from Transition Year student participation with university precollege courses. A college in school program which aims to develop partnerships between TU Dublin and local schools that will provide secondary school students with an authentic experience of what is required to succeed in university programs whilst doing so through their school or within the university. This experience will support students in transitioning from secondary school to university life, encourage participation, and support good college and career choices.

4. Dr Dervilla Niall
   • Dervilla Niall is a civil/structural engineer with 16 year’s extensive industry experience in varied structural engineering projects followed by 15 years of academia experience in Technological University Dublin. She is a chartered member of the Institution of Structural Engineers since 2000. Dervilla incorporates her industry experience into both the structural engineering modules that she teaches and her research activity. Dr Niall’s research interests are in the areas of the development of sustainable construction materials, in particular smart energy concrete solutions.

5. Marie Armstrong
   • Marie is an Engineering Lecturer across the Schools of Mechanical and Electrical & Electronic Engineering at the Blanchardstown Campus. She brings 25 years of industry experience, having worked in the multinational electronic engineering sector, the public IT sector on national software development projects, and in Government Data Centres. Marie has collaborated with a team of TUDublin women lecturers to establish WITU: ‘Women in Technology United’, which is a university-wide network that hosts events to help gender minorities connect, support each other, and promotes retention and participation in STEM courses. WITU reaches out to both second and third level students. Marie co-wrote, published and presented a practice paper on WITU’s initiatives at SEFI 2023. She also created and maintains the WITU Instagram and linkedin pages to connect with current and former students and server as a point of contact for collaborations. Marie is also active with Engineers Ireland (EI) contributing to the ‘Engineer Your Future’ for TY students and the ‘Young Engineers Award’, which introduces primary school students to engineering through a competition. She delivered fun engineering workshops to help students prepare their competition entries.

6. Camila D’Bastiani
   • Camila is a lecturer in the School of Mechanical Engineering at TU Dublin across levels 7, 8 and 9 and a researcher in the field of environmental technologies and applied simulations. As a lecturer, Camila looks to actively support and mentor students through formal and informal advising and academic guidance, fostering a more inclusive and supportive learning environment, especially for female students in the Mechanical Engineering courses. As a researcher, Camila’s research focuses on understanding how computational fluid dynamics simulations can help in the improvement of wastewater treatment processes. Her special interest is in the field of anaerobic digestion processes for biogas production, aiming to recover green energy from waste. She has co-founded the CFD research group and is also part of international initiatives like the ESSLab+ and the PEN@Hydropower Cost action.

7. Leslie Shoemaker
   • Leslie Shoemaker has been lecturing both undergraduate and electrical apprentices in the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering since 2001. An advocate for both mentorship and for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), Leslie developed the award-winning ESTeEM mentoring program at TU Dublin in 2017. This initiative connects female students in apprenticeships, engineering, and computer science with industry-based female mentors. Additionally, she served as the Academic Lead for the Saer Mentoring program at TU Dublin, a two-year initiative aimed at equipping professionals with mentoring skills and supporting students from underrepresented groups in their early career development.

8. Michelle Looby
   • Michelle is a Senior Lecturer in Engineering in the School of Mechanical Engineering and is a Chartered Engineer and member of Engineers Ireland. She is a strong advocate for women in technology and has been a coordinator in many TU Dublin STEM initiatives including the YWIT (Young Women in Technology) programme and the Coding4Girls Summer Camp. Michelle is one of the founding members of the TU Dublin group WITU (Women in Technology United) which aims to increase gender diversity in technology programmes across the University and also to support and retain students. In her role as current Chair of WITU, Michelle works to enhance connections within the group and to identify opportunities to support students and enhance the student experience through events and networking opportunities. Michelle was co-author on a practice paper presented at SEFI 2023 on how WITU supports women in engineering and technology through a collaborative practice and support network using targeted intervention. Michelle is also current Chair of the Engineers Ireland Academic Society and a member of the Academic Society Gender Diversity Working Group. Within the Academic Society, Michelle is currently part of a working group organising an in person workshop to be hosted by the Academic Society called ‘What’s engineering girls out of engineering?’ which will invite stakeholders to identify barriers to women in engineering and to develop a list of concrete actions to remove these barriers INFO. Michelle is also a member of the Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Subcommittee. Currently the Subcommittee is focussing on an Athena Swan application for the Faculty which will include the applications for the Schools.

9. Dr Caitríona de Paor
   • Caitríona de Paor is a Lecturer in the School of Transport and Civil Engineering in Technological University (TU) Dublin, as well as a Senior Engineer with research consultancy Research Driven Solutions. Caitriona is a Chartered Engineer (CEng) with over 15 years' experience in civil / structural engineering, and has been teaching since 2019. She has been involved in a number of commercial and European research projects including H2020 and CEDR-funded projects with research interests in the areas of Structural health monitoring, Concrete Technology, Fatigue assessments, Embodied Carbon Assessments, Infrastructure Resilience, Climate Change Adaptation, and Engineering education and skills development. She is a board member for the Civil Engineering Research Association in Ireland (CERAI), and helped to organise the CERI 2022 conference co-hosted by TU Dublin and Trinity College Dublin.

10. Dr Emma Robinson
    • Dr Emma Robinson is the Head of Discipline for Electrical Energy Engineering in the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering in Technological University Dublin. Having studied Mechanical Engineering in University College Dublin, Emma started her career in a graduate position in a start-up company looking to harness tidal energy. She completed her PhD ‘On the performance evaluation of an open-centre tidal turbine’ and then taught in Athlone Institute of Technology on their Sustainable Energy Engineering programme. For the past 14 years she has taught, researched, and supported students in the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, recently changing role to the Head of Electrical Energy Engineering where she manages programmes, research and staff development in all aspects of this discipline. Her passion is introducing more STEAM related activities within early primary education to break down the cultural norms that prevent different genders from considering this exciting field of study.

11. Ann Marie McKeon
    • Ann Marie is a lecturer in the School of Mechanical Engineering and the School of Business Technology at the Blanchardstown Campus. Ann Marie brings over ten years of industrial experience included training design, delivery, and consultancy. She has developed and delivered training on customer relationship management (CRM), financial and voice over internet protocol systems (VoIP) systems. This training ranged from front-facing functional training to backend proprietary language training. She also developed and delivered demos applications to prospective customers including modifying the user interface to building databases. This range of skills supports the project mentoring in final year projects in both Engineering and Business Technology schools. Ann Marie is a member of the IMLSN – Irish Mathematics Learning Support Network and WITU in TU Dublin. She is also a regular judge in SciFest is an annual science exhibition that takes place on the Blanchardstown campus with neighbouring second level schools presenting STEM. Ann Marie is regular volunteer in initiatives around the college such as Engineer Your Future, Coding4Girls, open days, chaired a maths session in SEFI 2023, supporting my colleague - Susan Lynott with her TY outreach programme.