Dr Joanne Mac Mahon

Dr Joanne Mac Mahon

Position:  College Lecturer
T: 353 (0)21 490 2501
E: jmacmahon@ucc.ie

Biography

Joanne has been a researcher and lecturer in the School of Engineering and Architecture at UCC since 2022 and joined Process and Chemical Engineering in 2025. She previously held postdoctoral research positions at UCC’s MaREI Centre and at Trinity College Dublin, where she completed a PhD in Environmental Engineering in 2014, supported by funding from the Irish Research Council.

Before moving into academic research, Joanne worked as an engineer in the pharmaceutical sector in Ireland and spent several years in international development and humanitarian roles with the United Nations and international NGOs.

Her research focuses on sustainable water and wastewater treatment systems, environmental management, engineering for emergency contexts, and creative approaches to climate change mitigation and adaptation. She has contributed to national and international projects on decentralised wastewater treatment, solar water disinfection, and the evaluation of community climate action initiatives.

Joanne has published widely in peer-reviewed journals and has co-authored research reports for the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications. She continues to collaborate with industry, policymakers, and community partners to advance practical solutions for sustainability and resilience.

Education:

2014: PhD in Environmental Engineering, Trinity College Dublin                                           

2012: PGCert in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Trinity College Dublin               

2010: BE (Hons) in Civil and Environmental Engineering, University College Cork

2008: PGDip in Humanitarian Assistance, Fordham University, New York               

2006: MSc in Development Studies, University College Dublin                                 

1998: BEng (Hons) in Chemical and Process Engineering, Cork Institute of Technology

Selected Publications:

Mac Mahon, J., Revez, A., Burke, M., Hogan, P., & Nyhan, M. M. (2025). Arts, creative & cultural initiatives for citizen engagement on climate action: Insights from Ireland's Creative Climate Action Fund. Current Research in Environmental Sustainability, 9, 100274.

Purcell, L., Mac Mahon, J., Daly, D., De Doncker, I., & Nyhan, M. M. (2025). Systems thinking-informed and data-driven urban decarbonisation framework for individual, community and urban scale climate action. Science of The Total Environment, 959, 178152.

Gill, L. W., Mac Mahon, J., Knappe, J., & Morrissey, P. (2023). Hydraulic conductivity assessment of falling head percolation tests used for the design of on-site wastewater treatment systems. Water Research, 236, 119968.

Mac Mahon, J., Criado Monleon, A. J., Gill, L. W., O'Sullivan, J. J., & Meijer, W. G. (2022). Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) for SARS-CoV-2 - A review focussing on the significance of the sewer network using a Dublin city catchment case study. Water Science & Technology, 86(6), 1402-1425.

Mac Mahon, J., Knappe, J., & Gill, L. W. (2022). Sludge accumulation rates in septic tanks used as part of the on-site treatment of domestic wastewater in a northern maritime temperate climate. Journal of Environmental Management, 304, 114199.

Mac Mahon, J., & Gill, L. W. (2018). Sustainability of novel water treatment technologies in developing countries: lessons learned from research trials on a pilot continuous flow solar water disinfection system in rural Kenya. Development Engineering, 3, 47-59.

Mac Mahon, J., Pillai, S. C., Kelly, J. M., & Gill, L. W. (2017). Solar photocatalytic disinfection of E. coli and bacteriophages MS2, ΦX174 and PR772 using TiO2, ZnO and ruthenium based complexes in a continuous flow system. Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology, 170, 79-90.

Gill, L., Mac Mahon, J., & Ryan, K. (2016). The performance of an evacuated tube solar hot water system in a domestic house throughout a year in a northern maritime climate (Dublin). Solar Energy, 137, 261.

O’Farrell, C., Mac Mahon, J., & Gill, L. W. (2016). Development of a continuous flow solar oxidation process for the removal of arsenic for sustainable rural water supply. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 4(1), 1181-1190.