OVERVIEW

Ross joined MaREI as an intern on the EirWind project in 2019. He then went on to lead the GIS work package for the Selkie project before managing the Wet-Storage project from start through to completion. Now funded by the SEAI, Ross is managing the National Ocean Test Facility whilst also working on an extension of the Selkie GIS-TE tool which he developed at MaREI.

CURRENT ACTIVITIES

Lir – the National Ocean Test Facility provides world-class laboratory testing for offshore wind, wave and tidal energy devices. The facilities at Lir include four wave tanks that can replicate real ocean conditions and enable testing of various marine innovations, technologies and structures at different scales. As well as the ocean test infrastructure, Lir also offers a highly experienced team of researchers and operators.

The extension of the Selkie GIS-TE tool involves incorporating offshore wind as a third technology type, adding to wave and tidal energy technology. This tool allows for user interactive site selection and project feasibility analysis of offshore renewable energy projects in Irish and western UK waters and has recently been nominated for Innovation / Research Project of the year at the 2025 Esri Customer Success awards.

BACKGROUND

Ross is a Post-Doctoral Researcher at MaREI, the Research Ireland Centre for Energy, Climate and Marine’ Sustainability Institute Beaufort Building in Cork. He has a PhD in Engineering from University College Cork, an MSc in Geoinformatics from the University of Copenhagen, a Higher Diploma in Geography from University College Cork and a BSc in Project Management from Munster Technological University. He has also taken credited courses in coastal and marine management at the University Centre of the Westfjords in Iceland as part of a Nordic exchange scholarship.