Patrick is a structural engineer with 17 years experience across structural design, analysis and dynamics. He is currently an Associate Professorin Civil Engineering and Director of the Timber Engineering Research Group at University ofGalway, carrying out research and teaching in timber engineering and sustainable infrastructure systems. He graduated from University College Dublin (UCD), Ireland in 2008 with a BEng in Civil Engineering, and worked briefly as a consultant engineer before completing his PhD at UCD in 2012, entitled The Use of an Instrumented Vehicle to Monitor Transport Infrastructure . From 2012 to 2014, he was an Assistant Professor at Kyoto University, Japan, carrying out research on the topic of structural health monitoring (SHM), and teaching on the Undergraduate International Course Program in Civil Engineering. From 2014 - 2020, he was a Lecturer in Structural Engineering at Queens University Belfast in Northern Ireland where he continued research on SHM incorporating vehicle and drone sensors, and investigated the development, modelling and testing of novel steel connections, the behaviour of masonry support systems, and the behaviour of Cross Laminated Timber in multi-storey buildings.

Patricks primary research topics are based on smart sustainable infrastructure,and sensing technologies, aiming to deliver engineering solutions that will support the sustainable development of future cities and transport networks.His work in these areas is oriented toward novel structural solutions in timber engineering and steel structureswith optimised lifecycle performance, and Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) encompassing structural damage detection and road profile identification based on vehicle-bridge interaction (VBI) dynamics and UAVdrone technology. The latter has involved the development and application of smart low-cost sensor systems, instrumented vehicles or drive-by monitoring systems, and novel structural inspection and damage detection algorithms incorporating image processing, statistical pattern recognition techniques, machine learning and model updating. This research has potential applications across the field of structural engineering.Current and recent research projects include:The Modular Mass Timber Building for the Circular Economy (MODCONS) project, focusing on the design, development and experimental testing of a sustainable modular timber building solution, maximising the use of Irish timber in cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels and optimising the modules for future deconstruction and reuse.F unded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marines Competitive Research Funding Programmes. Project Ref: 2019R471 .Seea target=_blank rel=nofollow href=http:www.nuigalway.ietergmodconshttp:www.nuigalway.ietergmodcons . Sustainable construction and Assessment Of the full Lifecycle impact of Irish harvested Wood products (SAOLWood), includes the development of lifecycledatabases and assessment for Irish wood products used in construction, and design and testing of Irish timber structural systems.F unded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marines Competitive Research Funding Programmes. Project Ref: 2021R543 . Opportunities for Green Public - No restriction Procurement to improve implementation of circular practice (Opps4GPP), focused onPublic - No restriction sector infrastructure projects. Funded under the EPA Research Programme 2021-2030 and co-funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The EPA Research Programme is a Government of Ireland initiative funded by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. Project Ref: 2021-GCE-1039. WoodProps Programme; includes structural grading of Irish timber and development of finger jointing technology for timber frame construction. Funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The Advanced Manufacturing for the Assembly of Structural Steel (AMASS) project, involving the development, modelling, and testing of novel intermeshed steel connections which target increased reuse of steel structures without the need for bolts or welds, and are fabricated using advanced automated manufacturing technologies. Current research topics also include:Structural Design, analysis and testing of timber structures and assemblies, Modelling and testing the behaviour of CLT in multi-storey buildings Numerical modelling and behaviour of timber structures Applications of image processing techniques and 3D photogrammetry for structural inspections utilising drones and GNSS technology Behaviour of masonry support systems Sustainability of multi-purpose infrastructure including sports stadia Pavement condition monitoring As of February 2025, Patrick has authored or co-authored 37 peer-reviewed Public - No restrictionations in high impact journals (Engineering Structures, Journal of Sound of Vibration, Structural Health Monitoring) and 60 international conference Public - No restrictionations. He also acts as a reviewer for several international journals. He has supervised 5 PhD students to completion and currently co-supervises 5 PhD students. He leads the Timber Engineering Research Group, which currently includes 3 Post-doctoral researchers and 3 Research Assistants.

Patrick is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and delivers teaching on the topics of structural engineering design, visualisation and analysis, focusing on group project-based learning and problem based learning approaches. He is following a collaborative best practice teaching approach in Timber Engineering with international partners and introduced a new Timber Engineering and design module at Masters level for Civil Engineering students.Patrick also has a keen interest inincorporating use of new technologies available for teaching in structural engineering e.g. use of 3D photogrammetry and drones, and the use of CNC fabrication techniques and 3D printing for design and build of scaled model structures.