Postgraduate Research

Dorothy Stewart
Dorothy Stewart, BSc (OU), MSc (DIT), has a background in political science, human geography and sociology and has spent many years in the private sector. Her research interests include the future sustainability of the urban environment, and in particular methods of integrating sustainability into the planning process in Ireland to achieve smarter land-use.
Her current research is entitled ‘An examination of the concept of Smart Growth as a means to achieve sustainable urban development within an Irish context” the aim of which is to ascertain the extent to which the concept of smart growth is being strategically translated into action in the Irish land-use system. In a country with increasing concerns regarding land-use and property development, Dorothy plans to develop an "Irish Smart Growth Toolkit" as a means to effect the implementation of more efficient land-use.
Tadhg O’Mahony
Tadhg O’Mahony, BSc. (Hons.) Environmental Management, Dip. Env Res. Mgmt (DIT) Tadhg is a full-time Doctoral Researcher at the Futures Academy.
His research concerns the use of the Scenarios technique in projecting GreenHouse Gas (GHG) emissions and developing policy responses in Ireland. He has tutored in Environmental Studies and European Union policy in UCD and DIT.
He has been involved in climate and sustainable development policy making at both national and international levels through political, consultancy and NGO work. He has attended United Nations fora on climate change as a government and NGO delegate on a number of occasions. Tadhg has a background in Environmental Management. Having studied it to honours degree level, he spent two years in the private sector as both Environmental Consultant and Environmental Manager before returning to DIT.
Ruth Saurin
Ruth is a postgraduate researcher in The Futures Academy in the Faculty of the Built Environment, Dublin Institute of Technology. She is currently involved in a project that focuses on the facilities management industry in Ireland using new research technologies drawn from the futures field. One of the major reports that has come out of this project has been the development of global workplace scenarios.
In addition to this project, Ruth has participated in a number of research projects relating to energy scenarios and was heavily involved in the publication of the documents Nuclear Energy: Friend or Foe and Why Renewables Need Nuclear, which explored the potential for nuclear power in the future of the global energy scene. Ruth has a background in international business and sustainable development with a keen interest in urban and organisational environments.
Dominika Paulina Brodowicz
Dominika Paulina Brodowicz, MA (Warsaw School of Economics), has a background in Real Estate and International Business Relations. She is a full-time doctoral student at The Futures Academy.
Her research field is ‘Built Environment Foresight’. The general aim of the project is to explore complexity, uncertainty and change in the built environment using futures methods to produce a global property prospective for sustainable development addressing, in particular, the question of corporate responsible behaviour in the real estate in industry.