Prof Jerry D Murphy has been appointed to the research advisory board of DBFZ (DBFZ Deutsches Biomasseforschungszentrum gemeinnützige GmbH). DBFZ is the leading German Research Institute in the field of bioenergy, whose research is seen a key to a carbon neutral society. DBFZ has one shareholder The German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

The research advisory board consists of 6 German and 6 internationally renowned scientists from the field of bioenergy research.

Click here for details of their Annual Conference in September   DBFZ Programme 

Professor Jerry Murphy of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering at UCC was delighted to host a visit from Professor Luuk van der Wielen, Director of the The Bernal Institute and Chair of Biosystems, Engineering and Design, University of Limerick. Professor van der Wielen held a Seminar entitled 'Bernal, Structed, Materials and Sustainable (Bio)Energy Development. 

Dr. Morgan Bazilian presented recently in our newly refurbished Drawing Room on the Geopolitics of the Energy Transition. Dr Bazilian is the Director of the Payne Institute and Professor of Public Policy at the Colarado School of Mines. 

Many major construction projects are underway in Cork at the start of 2017,  according to a new report by Construction Information Services.

Construction group BAM growth focused strongly on private sector projects last year, resulting in strong profit growth.

O'Callaghan Properties has secured approval from Cork City Council for the largest-ever city centre office development in Cork, which will house up to 3,000 workers.

The Central Applications Office for Irish third-level courses has reported strong increases in applications for programmes in the built environment sector (up 20 per cent), engineering and technology ( up 7 per cent), and architecture (up 6 per cent).

Three innovative low-cost bridges, designed and constructed by final year BE Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering students are currently on display around UCC.

Dr. Zili Li has joined UCC as a lecturer in Civil, Structural & Environmental Engineering. He holds a PhD in Engineering from the University of Cambridge and a Bachelor in Civil Engineering from Tongji University in China.

The European Investment Bank will provide €30m financing for the expansion of the Port of Cork's deepwater berth at Ringaskiddy.

Developer O'Callaghan Properties has said it intends to apply for planning permission for an office development of 50,000 sq. m in the docklands area, sufficient to accommodate 3,000 workers.

February 2016  saw several positive developments for the Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering sector in Ireland, including the announcement of €127m in regional capital works by local authorities, co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, and a €200m investment in vital flood protection schemes by the European Investment Bank.

Prof. Ger Kiely, Chair of Civil Engineering at UCC was recently featured on UCC 98.3 FM's Career Choices programme with Careers Consultant Charlie Dolan,  discussing career opportunities for graduates in Civil, Structural & Environmental Engineering .

Engineers Ireland Director General Caroline Spillane has spoken out on the current lack of graduates in the Civil Engineering discipline, stating that 'critical' shortages will occur in the sector by 2019 if graduate numbers do not increase.

Arup Consulting Engineers and Tyco, the building services and controls giant, are among the tenants preparing to move next month to the landmark One Albert Quay development in Cork city centre.

Áine Collins, a Fine Gael TD for the Cork North West constituency has urged the Minister for Transport to commence the planning process for the proposed M20 motorway between Cork and Limerick.

Civil Engineering graduates are in high demand, due to the increase in Civil, Structural & Environmental Engineering opportunities and the present low numbers of graduates in the State, Caroline Spillane, director general of Engineers Ireland stated at a recent address.

700 new construction and civil engineering jobs will result from today's signing of a contract to procure three new courthouses and refurbish four others.

An Bord Pleanala has granted planning permission for a major mixed-use development in Cork City Centre on the site of the former Capitol Cinema. The project will generate 200 construction jobs and 1,000 direct and indirect jobs once completed.

Construction has commenced on a major school upgrade project at St. Colman's College, Midleton, Co. Cork. The significant construction project will add capacity for 1,000 additional pupils to the school, which caters for the growing population of the wider East Cork area.

Agains the backdrop of the Paris COP21 talks, the Royal Irish Academy has produced an Expert Statement detailing how Irish grasslands sequester or fix significant amounts of carbon to their soils, and calls for detailed measurement, reporting and verification of this crucial atmospheric carbon removal.

US President Barack Obama and the US Congress have approved a monumental 5-year infrastructural investment programme to transform the USA's ageing highways, bridges and mass transit systems.

Cork City Council's project to build a new €3.5m footbridge to link Merchant's Quay and Patrick's Quay at Harley Street is one of several projects submitted to the Designated Urban Centres Grant Scheme for part funding.

Fionn Lyden is a student in second year Civil, Structural & Environmental Engineering. Thanks to his UCC Quercus Scholarship he is able to combine his studies with his participation in the ISAF Sailing World Cup in Miami in January 2016.

A strong pipeline of public and private construction projects in Ireland's recovering economy has led to strong demand for Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering graduates. Demand for graduate engineers has outstripped supply for the last two years, leading to an increase in graduate salaries as employers compete to recruit the best graduates.

The National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) has announced that it will provide co-financing for €1bn in infrastructure projects commencing in 2016.

Construction firm John Sisk & Son has been confirmed by the GAA as contractors for the €70m redevelopment of Pairc Ui Chaoimh stadium in Cork.

Over 300 schools construction projects, including completely new buildings and extensions to existing facilities, were announced by the Department of Education today. The total budget for the programme is €2bn.

UCC Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering graduate Pat O'Halloran works with Concern International to deliver essential water treatment infrastructure to thousands of displaced Syrian refugees in Northern Lebanon.

Congratulations to Prof Jerry D Murphy, Professor of Bioenergy & Biofuels,  who was awarded the Excellence in Engineering award for the best paper/presentation in 2015. 

The paper was presented to the Agriculture and Food Engineering Division in Roscommon on the 17th February 2015 under the title “Green Gas.” It was later published in the Engineers Journal on the 7th April under the title: A bioenergy model for Ireland: greening the gas grid.

The government has announced details of its Capital Spending Plan on road, rail, flood defence and health projects. The plan includes a Metro line from Dublin City Centre to Dublin airport, as well as an upgrade to the M8 Dunkettle Interchange in Cork, and the M28 Cork-Ringaskiddy motorway project.

A proposal has been unveiled for a 73m tall office building in Dublin's Docklands. The building, named 'The Exo', will provide high quality office accommodation for up to 2,000 workers and will generate 350 jobs during its construction.

Irish Water has announced that it will invest a total of €200m in the wastewater and water supply infrastructure for Cork city and county over the next three years.

Simon Coveney, Minister for Agricultural and representative for Cork South Central has confirmed Government support for the Cork Events Centre and said that significant progress is being made on the project.

Half of the fund will be allocated to road projects in Co. Cork, including the N20 Cork to Limerick national route.

Catherine O'Neill leads a 50-employee company, Amelio Utilities, specialising in 'no-dig' drainage solutions which she founded in 2012 while she was still studying Civil Engineering at Queens University Belfast.

Positions advertised in the construction sector are up 18% year-on-year, according the latest survey from leading online recruitment website irishjobs.ie

The CAO has reported an increase in applications for Engineering courses at third level, with applications up more than 10% from 2014 levels.

Tunneling work which started in 2012 for the CrossRail project in London has been completed. With the completion of the 42km tunnel across London, the €25bn CrossRail project is now two-thirds complete, and on schedule to open in 2018.

The Government has released its 'Construction 2020' strategy outlining a €3.8 Billion budget for social housing generating 60,000 jobs.

Anne Moloney, a BE Civil Engineering graduate of UCC, has been awarded the prestigious Young Professional of the Year' prize by The European Federation of Engineering Consultancy Associations (EFCA) for her work on the Queensferry Crossing bridge in Scotland.

The Irish government has selected UK builder Prime Balfour Beatty to design, construct, finance and maintain 14 new primary healthcare centres across the country. The centres will provide hundreds of jobs across the country in the design, construction and operation stages.

Newly-released data on forward purchasing activity in the construction industry shows a strong increase during the second quarter of 2015. The monthly purchasing managers' index (PMI), compiled by Ulster Bank, has now increased for 20 consecutive months.

The Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland has predicted that the construction sector will continue to grow strongly. The SCSI expects output to grow by 26% and exceed €15 billion by 2016.

Arup, one of the world's leading engineering consultancies, is seeing strong demand in Ireland from sectors such as Infrastructure e.g. airports, pipelines, energy generation and highways;  Science and Industry, including work arising from foreign direct investment such as pharma plants; and "Commercial" which involves office buildings and hotels.

The growth rate in the construction sector increased in March 2015, which was reflected by an increase in purchasing manager's prices in the industry.

An extension to the boundary of Cork City would help to attract foreign direct investment and benefit the entire region, boosting job opportunities. New property developments are increasingly being backed by international institutional funds and such funds look favourably on larger metropolitan regions when seeking investment opportunities in construction and Civil Engineering.

Property development company Lisneys yesterday revealed plans for a 16,000 sq. m., six storey office development in the Copley Street / South Terrace area of Cork City centre. The project is expected to create 100 jobs in construction and Civil Engineering in Cork.

Two of Cork's busiest hospitals intend to merge and move to a custom-built, new facility with an estimated cost of €300m.

Cork County Council has released two development plans for the East Cork region along the rail corridor between Cork city and Midleton.

Gemma Cremin, Civil Engineering graduate of 2014, was conferred with the UCC College of Science, Engineering & Food Science Graduate of the Year Award by Professor Paul Ross, Head of Science, Engineering & Food Science, at a prize-giving ceremony held in Aula Maxima, UCC, today.

The Central Applications Office has released a breakdown of 2015 applications to third level courses in Ireland, showing strong increases in applications to Engineering, Technology and Architecture degree programmes.

Deloitte may be best known for its management consultancy business, but its Top Tech Talent Competition is seeking engineers with innovative ideas.

A new pedestrian bridge is to be constructed over the N40 Cork South Ring to connect Tramore Valley Park with the neighbouring suburbs of Douglas and Frankfield.

There is a general shortage of engineers in Ireland, according to the professional body Engineers Ireland, and recruiting more female students is key to addressing the skills shortage.

The Irish Times has featured ten major projects that will transform Cork and the surrounding area. 

UCC will host a live online Q&A session on January 29th for prospective undergraduate students applying to CAO at http://www.ucc.ie/en/study/undergrad/caotips/live/

The Government will invite bids for the rural broadband scheme by the end of 2015. The project budget is estimated to be €500m and will represent a major boost for the construction industry as well as the telecommunications sector.

A construction company in China has used recycled construction waste as the "ink" to build a five-storey dwelling -- with a 3D printer.

Employment for Civil Engineering graduates in Cork city is set to increase in 2015, with six major new projects due to commence this year.

Contracts have been signed by Limerick County Council for upgrades to the N21 and N24 national routes.

New schools in Cos. Louth, Clare, Tipperary and Cork are the first projects to be approved under the government's €1.4bn stimulus package.

Congratulations to our alumnus Brendan Tuohy (BE Civil Engineering, UCC, 1977) who was recently conferred with a UCC Alumnus Award for his ongoing service to Irish education and engineering.

With the deadline for CAO choices approaching in the coming weeks, Science  Foundation Ireland and careers portal Smartfutures.ie have highlighted the advantages of careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Medicine (STEM), with graduate salaries in Engineering and technology-sector companies 29% above the national average.

€450 million to be spent in 16 new Schools Construction projects In Ireland. It is part of the Irish Government's €2.2bn stimulus programme announced in 2012 and will see more than 28,000 school places created by the end of 2015. Education Minister Jan O'Sullivan said the news was a major boost to pupils across Ireland.

Professor Kiely, Head of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UCC and his team have found that Irish Grasslands capture atmospheric carbon. The research by the Hydrological Research Group (HYDROMET) which is ongoing for the past decade at several experimental field sites in Ireland is now backed up by similar studies in other EU countries. Currently Irish agriculture gains no financial benefit from this carbon sequestration. It is now time to lobby to realise these benefits to Irish agriculture.

Approximately €11 billion worth of construction and civil engineering projects are scheduled for Ireland in 2015, according to the latest report from Construction Information Services, a leading industry data provider. The strong order book has already led to an increase in demand for Civil & Environmental Engineering graduates.

The Cork-Ringaskiddy motorway infrastructure project has moved forwards with the announcement of a preferred route option by the National Roads Authority. 

Newly released figures from the Central Statistics Office show the continuing growth in the Irish construction sector.

A public consultation on the proposed €12m flood defence scheme for Clonakilty, Co. Cork has been launched by minister Simon Harris.

Leaving Certificate cycle students who win the individual or group categories at this year's BT Young Scientist and Technologist of the Year exhibition will receive €1,000 scholarships, payable on entrance to University. 

The Environmental Protection Agency's report on Waste Water, released today, reveals that waste water discharges from 38 major treatment sites in Ireland did not meet standards in 2013.

The construction sector in Ireland continues to grow strongly, with €11bn worth of major projects already scheduled for 2015. The figures were released today in a report published by the consultancy Construction Information Services.

“Water and electricity do not mix”, states Chris Slingsby, Major Projects Manager of UK electrical utility SSE, announcing over £1m investment in flood defence equipment. The measures are necessary to protect electricity substations from flooding due to extreme rainfalls and high tides. Protecting vital infrastructure from flooding is one of the most important challenges of adapting to climate change in the coming decades, and one that will require the problem-solving skills of tomorrow's Civil Engineers to overcome."

The Minister of State with special responsibility for the Office of Public Works, Simon Harris TD has announced that plans for the Cork City Flood Defence scheme will go on public display in February 2015, and that works are expected to commence in 2016.

Job opportunities in the civil engineering and construction sector are on the increase, according to Ulster Bank's two key indicators of activity in the sector. 

Over 40 Bachelor's, Master's and Doctoral students in Civil & Environmental Engineering were conferred at UCC's recent Autumn Conferrings ceremony.