Dr. Eugene J. Farrell (@DoctorDune) is a fulltime, permanent Associate Professor in the Discipline of Geography in the College of Arts, Social Sciences, and Celtic Studies in University of Galway. He is the instructor for physical geography modules in the BA, BSc (undergraduate) and MSc (postgraduate) degree programmes. Dr. Farrell completed the Earth Science BSc (hons.) programme at University College Cork (1991-1995) and the Masters of Science ( MS ) programme in Geography during his tenure at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA (1995-1998). Following these he worked in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in the California real estate industry for four years (1998-2002) mapping natural and environmental hazards. He moved to Italy in 2003 to work at the Università degli Studi di Firenze on coastal research and management projects along the Tuscany coastline. He completed the doctoral programme (PhD) in Geography at Texas A&M University, USA (2012). During this time period he was a National Science Foundation (NSF) fellow and visiting scholar at James Cook University, Queensland, Australia. In January 2012 he was appointed Postdoctoral Associate at the Institute of Marine and Coastal Science, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (USA).

In 2021 Dr. Farrell was elected as Irelands nominee for the European Marine Board (EMB) Working Group on Coastal Resilience. The EMB is the leading European think tank in marine science policy focused on advancing marine research and bridging the gap between science and policy. The Working Group published position paper #27 in 2023 to provide an overview of the current state of the art in methods and tools for coastal resilience and identify knowledge gaps for future challenges. The research will inform EU policy and promote science-based decision making in coastal conservation, restoration, habitat and biodiversity management.

Dr Farrell was authored working papers for the Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC) to inform government policy to support coastal community-led climate actions (August 2024) and planning managed retreat (relocation) from the coast (May 2026).

Dr Farrell is a contributing author of Volume 3 Being prepared for Irelands future climate (272pp) in Irelands Climate Change Assessment (ICCA) 2024 report. This is the first comprehensive and authoritative assessment of the state of knowledge around all key aspects of climate change in Ireland and written to complement and localise the global assessments undertaken by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports. In 2024 he was invited by the European Commission to the 1st EU-LAC (Latin America and the Caribbean) conference on Nature-based Solutions (NbS) as an expert panel speaker for coastal and marine ecosystems with the aim to initiate a Policy Dialogue between the two regions. In 2025 he was invited by the European Investment Bank as an expert panel speaker at the EC-EIB Adaptation Days event 'A deep dive into financing coastal resilience' supporting the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference.

In 2018 Dr Farrell was the recipient of the Presidents Award for Societal Impact from the University of Galway. In 2024 he was the recipient of the Presidents Award for Research Excellence.

(1) Nearshore-beach-dune geomorphology

(2) Coastal resilience; climate adaptation; managed retreat (relocation)

(3) Nature-based solutions: ocean & coastal environments

(4) Aeolian processes & dune dynamics

(5) Geography & Geomorphology: Public outreach, education, civic engagement and crowd sourcing

Undergraduate Teaching:

BA Geography; BSc Geography & Geosystems

TI151: Principals of Physical Geography 

TI1102/1103: Geography in Action 

TI255: Earth Surface Processes and Landforms

TI248: Coastal Environments

TI251: Evidence in Geography: The production of geographical knowledge

TI335: Research project design and development

TI356: Research seminar in physical geography

TI3104: Research Seminar in Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation

Postgraduate Teaching:

MSc Coastal and Marine Environments: Physical Processes, Policy, and Practice.

TI6100: Coastal Risk Management

TI6104: Coastal Processes and Landforms

TI6125: Research Methods and Mapping

TI6151: Coastal and Marine Resilience