Colm O'Donnell

Colm O'Donnell is a Full Professor at the School of Biosystems and Food Engineering, University College Dublin (UCD). He leads the Food Quality and Processing Pillar at UCD's Institute of Food & Health and has held roles including Head of the School and Vice-Principal for Teaching & Learning in the College of Engineering & Architecture. His research focuses on Process Analytical Technology (PAT), bioprocessing, and dairy technology, with emphasis on spectroscopy, bioactive compound extraction, and food safety. He coordinates EU-funded projects like DiTECT and FreshProof, and leads the UCD team in the Dairy Processing Technology Centre (DPTC). O'Donnell is a Fellow of the Irish Academy of Engineering and has been recognized as a Thomson Reuters Highly Cited Researcher.

Education: BE and PhD from University College Dublin, Chartered Engineer (CEng).

Research Interests: PAT for food/bioproducts, dairy processing innovations, and bioactive extraction from seaweeds. His group develops non-destructive technologies like NIR-HSI and acoustic sensors for real-time quality monitoring in food production.

Grants: Over 40 grants including EU Horizon 2020, Marie Sklodowska-Curie, and industry partnerships. Recent projects include acoustic sensor development for milk protein concentrate (2020-2022) and seaweed biorefinery processes (2018-2023).

Awards: Irish Academy of Engineering Fellowship (2022), EU Comett Fellowship, and editorial roles at International Journal of Food Properties and Food Engineering Reviews.

Labs/Teams: Leads the PAT-focused research group at UCD's Institute of Food & Health, collaborating with industry partners like DPTC and global academic networks.