About Smart Docklands

Clara is an Engagement Programme Lead within the Academy of the Near Future. She is leading a programme that engages primary school students with the potential of digital connectivity. Her background is in social science and digital transformation. Clara brings a strong passion to empower young people to use technology to make a difference in their communities

Mariana is an Engagement Programme Lead within the Academy of the Near Future. She is working in the project 'Building Leaders, Crafting Communities' using Minecraft as a tool to increase awareness and understanding of smart and sustainable cities. She has a BSc in Biotechnology Engineering and a MSc in Biotechnology and Business. Mariana is passionate about STEM, leadership and technology, aiming to transform student's perception of technology and STEM fields in her community

Professor Dan Kilper is the Director of the CONNECT Centre, and Principal Investigator. He is Professor of Future Communication Networks in the School of Engineering in Trinity College Dublin. Professor Kilper received his PhD in physics from the University of Michigan in 1996. From 2000 to 2013, he was a member of the technical staff at Bell Labs.  He is a senior member of IEEE, a topical area editor for the IEEE Transactions on Green Communications and Networking (TGCN) and chairs the optics working group in the IEEE International Network Generations Roadmap. He was recognised as a 2019 NIST Communications Technology Lab Innovator and holds eleven issued patents and authored six book chapters and more than one hundred sixty-seven peer-reviewed publications. His research is aimed at solving fundamental and real-world problems in communication networks in order to create a faster, more affordable, and energy efficient Internet, addressing interdisciplinary challenges for smart cities, sustainability, and digital equity. Professor Kilper comes to CONNECT from the University of Arizona where he held a research professorship in the College of Optical Sciences, and a joint appointment in Electrical and Computer Engineering. He also holds an adjunct faculty position in the Data Science Institute at Columbia University, where he is a co-PI on the COSMOS advanced wireless testbed. He was lead PI on the founding project of SFI’s US-Ireland Research and Development Partnership and has served in leadership positions in multiple international university-industry research centres including participating in CONNECT’s precursor, CTVR, while he was at Bell Labs.

Jamie established the regional Smart Dublin program in 2015, an award-winning urban innovation programme which embraces new and emerging tech opportunities. As the Smart City lead in Dublin City Council he has a track record of bringing together partners from industry, start-ups, academia and public agencies to accelerate deployment of new ideas using the ‘city as a testbed’. He was acknowledged as ‘Civic Innovator’ of the year award (2021) in Europe by Harvard’s technology and entrepreneurship centre (TECH) for his role in scaling up the Smart Dublin programme and an accelerated districts approach. In 2021 he guided Dublin to runner up position for Europe's Innovation Capital (I-capital) Awards. He was recognised by Trinity College Dublin as innovation partner of the year for his pioneering work on Smart Docklands.

Dr Pat Kelly was appointed Executive Director of CONNECT in June 2020. A physicist, Pat Kelly graduated from Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin, with a B.A. (Mod.) in experimental physics in 1986, and a PhD in Physics in 1992. He worked for ten years at NMRC (now Tyndall National Institute), University College Cork, where he became Group Director – Photonics in 1999. He was Founding Director and Chief Technology Officer of Optical Metrology Innovations Ltd from 2002 to 2007. He worked as a Commercialisation Executive at the National University of Ireland, Galway, Ignite Technology Transfer Office from 2007 to 2011, before joining Adelaide Research & Innovation Pty Ltd, Australia, as Deputy Director from 2011 to 2013. Most recently, from 2014 to 2020, he was the Research, Development and Innovation Director at ROBUS Lighting (LED Group) in Dublin, Ireland.  At ROBUS he was the company’s technology pathfinder, introducing Driver-On-Board technology and leading the development of Human Centric Lighting and related tunable lighting and smart wireless/IoT controls. He is a named inventor on seven patents, author of some 60 academic and conference papers, and is also a self-published travel author.

Mark Cooney is Industry Programme Manager at CONNECT. He has over 20 years experience in the hi-tech and business sectors. He has served in a number of senior technical and managerial roles with Philips Semiconductors, Intel, and IBEC. He promotes commercial development by identifying opportunities within the research programme, and facilitates their progression towards commercially viable enterprises. Mark is also responsible for managing and promoting the relationships with our commercial partners and for seeking out and enabling new opportunities.

Daniel Ferrick is the Education and Public Engagement Manager at CONNECT in Trinity College Dublin. He graduated with a BA (Mod.) in Human Genetics from Trinity College Dublin and a PGDip in Genetic Counselling from Cardiff University. He started working for Trinity College Dublin as Administrative Officer for the Trinity Education Project, then moved on to the role of Interim Project Manager for the CHARM-EU Project. He has also worked as Admin Officer in the Office of the Dean of Graduate Studies and as Alumni Relations Officer for Trinity Development and Alumni. He has also served as the Education Officer for Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union, and is a former member of Trinity’s Board of Management. Since 2018 he has been a College Officer for Trinity College Dublin as an Assistant Junior Dean.