Dr Muireann McMahon

Muireann is a full-time lecturer on the BSc. Product Design + Technology in UL’s School of Design since 2005. She completed her PhD with Loughborough Design School, UK, in 2013 and followed this with six months spent as the first Scholar-in Residence with Designmatters Art Center College of Design, California’s design for social impact department. While at Designmatters she participated in, and coordinated, collaborative projects with local and international third sector organisations. She has previously worked as a Design Lecturer at the Institute of Technology, Carlow; Unitec Auckland, New Zealand; Bournemouth University, UK and as professional designer in the commercial furniture and interior industry.

Muireann’s research focuses on Design for Sustainability, with specific emphasis on Health and Well-Being and Social Design. Muireann has a keen interest in how user experience can influence and inform the design of innovative solutions for health and well-being challenges. Her research also examines how, through creative processes, we can develop solutions that improve the quality of life for those engaged in the Health systems, at every level from individuals to communities and at national and international scales.

She is involved in a several research projects including Erasmus+ Knowledge Alliances ‘Circular Design: Learning for Innovative Design for Sustainability http://circulardesigneurope.eu/; the EPA funded ‘Open Practices’ project exploring how policies and public services in Ireland can enable sustainable behaviour and practices http://www.openpractices.net/. She recently co-chaired the Design Research Society 2018 International Conference www.drs2018limerick.org with over 600 international delegates from both industry and academia and is one of the founding editorial panel members for Iterations, Ireland’s first Design Research and Practice Review www.iterations.ie.