Lorna Fitzsimons
Dr.
Dr. Lorna Fitzsimons Dr. Lorna Fitzsimons is an Assistant Professor in the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering in DCU. Research expertise and interests include thermodynamics and exergy analysis; energy auditing, modelling and benchmarking; the water-energy nexus (desalination, water and wastewater treatment), control and automation for energy efficiency; and LCA. Currently, she is a funded investigator on the SFI NEXSYS project focusing on next generation energy systems, and CRT-AI and ML Labs projects focusing on the application of ML and AI to complex energy systems. She has coordinated and delivered two EPA funded projects which audited, benchmarked and modelled the energy and resource efficiency of Irish wastewater treatment plants: Increasing the Resource Efficiency of Irish Wastewater treatment Plants and Optimal design and operation of small-scale wastewater treatment plants. Successfully completed SFI and EU projects on the energy-water nexus include: ESIPP, SALTGAE and , and ALICE. Her PhD was in the area of semiconductor manufacturing energy efficiency, and the application of exergy analysis to Ultra-pure water treatment plants.
Book Chapter
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Fitzsimons, L. (2021) 'Life Cycle Analysis and Sustainability of Composite Materials: An Introduction' In: Encyclopedia of Materials Composites. [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2021 | Fitzsimons, L. (2021) 'Energy Management for Composite Materials Manufacturing: Energy and Exergy Analyses' In: Encyclopedia of Materials Composites. [Link] | |
| 2020 | Fitzsimons, L.; McNamara, G.; Obeidi, M.; Brabazon, D. (2020) 'The Circular Economy: Additive Manufacturing and Impacts for Materials Processing' In: Encyclopedia of Renewable and Sustainable Materials Volume 1 5. [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2019 | Lorna Fitzsimons, Greg McNamara, Muhannad Obeidi, Dermot Brabazon (2019) 'The Circular Economy: Additive Manufacturing and Impacts for Materials Processing' In: Encyclopedia of Renewable and Sustainable Materials. Amsterdam, The Netherlands : Elsevier. |
Peer Reviewed Journal
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Daly, P.; Delgado, A.; Richards, C.; Fitzsimons, L.; Regan, F.; Delauré, Y.M.C. (2025) 'A method of testing biofouling growth over surfaces immersed in natural seawater and exposed to hydrodynamic stresses to mimic conditions over tidal turbines'. Ocean Engineering, 341 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2024 | Nyabadza, A.; Tamil, K.; Khan, L.A.; Kumar, S.S.; Muilwijk, C.; McNamara, G.; O'Toole, K.; Fitzsimons, L.; Brabazon, D. (2024) 'Life cycle assessment of additively manufactured elastocaloric Ni-Ti heat pump/refrigeration components and the effect of design geometry on the environmental impact categories'. RESULTS IN ENGINEERING, 24 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2024 | Nyabadza, A.; Tamil, K.; Monu, M.C.C.; McCarthy, É.; Khan, L.A.; Muilwijk, C.; O'Toole, K.; Fitzsimons, L.; Brabazon, D. (2024) 'Effect of geometry on the coefficient of performance of Ni–Ti elastocaloric parts manufactured via powder bed fusion'. Journal of Materials Research and Technology, 30 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2022 | Abadie, T.; al Ma Awali, S.M.; Brennan, B.; Briciu-Burghina, C.; Tajparast, M.; Passos, T.M.; Durkan, J.; Holland, L.; Lawler, J.; Nolan, K.; Quilty, B.; Fitzsimons, L.; Regan, F.; Delauré, Y. (2022) 'Oxygen transfer of microbubble clouds in aqueous solutions – Application to wastewater'. CHEMICAL ENGINEERING SCIENCE, 257 . [Link] https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ces.2022.117693 | |
| 2016 | Fitzsimons, L.; Horrigan, M.; McNamara, G.; Doherty, E.; Phelan, T.; Corcoran, B.; Delauré, Y.; Clifford, E. (2016) 'Assessing the thermodynamic performance of Irish municipal wastewater treatment plants using exergy analysis: A potential benchmarking approach'. Journal of Cleaner Production, 131 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2020 | Brennan, B.; Briciu-Burghina, C.; Hickey, S.; Abadie, T.; Al Ma Awali, S.M.; Delaure, Y.; Durkan, J.; Holland, L.; Quilty, B.; Tajparast, M.; Pulit, C.; Fitzsimons, L.; Nolan, K.; Regan, F.; Lawler, J. (2020) 'Pilot scale study: First demonstration of hydrophobic membranes for the removal of ammonia molecules from rendering condensate wastewater'. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 21 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2020 | McNamara, G.; Cairns, M.; Delaure, Y.; Tagnin, A.; Fitzsimons, L. (2020) 'Life cycle cost analysis of desalinating small wastewater flows in the food and beverage industry'. Desalination and Water Treatment, 194 . [DOI] | |
| 2017 | McNamara, G.; Fitzsimons, L.; Doherty, E.; Clifford, E.; Delaure, Y. (2017) 'The evaluation of technologies for small, new design wastewater treatment systems'. Desalination and Water Treatment, 91 . [DOI] | |
| 2017 | McNamara, G.; Fitzsimons, L.; Doherty, E.; Clifford, E.; Delaure, Y. (2017) 'The evaluation of technologies for small, new design wastewater treatment systems'. Desalination and Water Treatment, 91 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2017 | Doherty, E.; McNamara, G.; Fitzsimons, L.; Clifford, E. (2017) 'Design and implementation of a performance assessment methodology cognisant of data accuracy for Irish wastewater treatment plants'. Journal of Cleaner Production, 165 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2016 | Fitzsimons, L.; Horrigan, M.; McNamara, G.; Doherty, E.; Phelan, T.; Corcoran, B.; Delaure, Y.; Clifford, Eoghan (2016) 'Assessing the thermodynamic performance of Irish municipal wastewater treatment plants using exergy analysis: a potential benchmarking approach'. Journal of Cleaner Production, 131 . [DOI] | |
| 2016 | McNamara, G.; Fitzsimons, L.; Horrigan, M.; Phelan, T.; Delaure, Y.; Corcoran, B.; Doherty, E.; Clifford, E. (2016) 'Life cycle assessment of wastewater treatment plants in Ireland'. Journal of Sustainable Development of Energy Water and Environment Systems, 4 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2016 | McNamara, G; Fitzsimons, L; Horrigan, M; Phelan, T; Delaure, Y; Corcoran, B; Doherty, E; Clifford, E (2016) 'Life Cycle Assessment of Wastewater Treatment Plants in Ireland'. Journal Of Sustainable Development Of Energy Water And Environment Systems-Jsdewes, 4 :216-233. [DOI] | |
| 2015 | Fitzsimons, L.; Corcoran, B.; Young, P.; Foley, G. (2015) 'Exergy analysis of water purification and desalination: A study of exergy model approaches'. Desalination, 359 . [Link] [DOI] |
Conference Publication
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Saeedian, Afshin; Fitzsimons, Lorna; McGrath, James; O’Donnell, James (2025) International Conference on Building Energy and Environment Reducing Energy Poverty Through Energy-Efficient Interventions at a National Scale in Households [Link] | |
| 2019 | Micheal Cairns, Lorna Fitzsimons, Yan Delaure (2019) International Water Association (IWA) LET2019 A techno-economic evaluation of incorporating energy recovery devices within continuous-batch reverse osmosis processes | |
| 2018 | Daly, E., Fitzsimons, L., and Corcoran, B. (2018) 13th Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems – SDEWES2018 Impact of Rainfall Events on the Electricity Consumption of Two Wastewater Treatment Plants Palermo, italy, | |
| 2017 | Micheal Cairns and Lorna Fitzsimons (2017) Membranes in drinking and industrial water production, European Desalination Society (EDS), 6th–8th February 2017, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands A novel energy recovery device / RO test rig targeted to treat & recoup low flow industrial wastewaters | |
| 2016 | G. McNamara, L. Fitzsimons, E. Doherty, E. Clifford, and Y. Delaure (2016) 13th IWA Specialized Conference on Small Water and Wastewater Systems The evaluation of technologies for small, new design, wastewater treatment systems Athens, Greece, | |
| 2015 | McNamara, G., Fitzsimons, L., Doherty, E., Clifford, E. (2015) 10th Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems Performance Metrics in Life Cycle Assessments of Wastewater Treatment Plants Dubrovnik, Croatia, | |
| 2015 | E. Doherty, L. Fitzsimons, B. Corcoran, Y. Delauré and E. Clifford (2015) IWA Water Efficiency and Performance Assessment of Water Services Benchmarking Resource Efficiency in Wastewater Treatment Plants: Developing Best Practices Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, 21/04/2015- 24/04/2015 | |
| 2014 | Thomas Phelan, Matthew Horrigan, Greg McNamara, Yan Delauré, Brian Corcoran, Eoghan Clifford and Lorna Fitzsimons (2014) SEE SDEWES Ohrid 2014, 1st South East European Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems Opportunities for Process Control Optimisation in Irish Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants Ohrid, Macedonia, | |
| 2014 | Greg McNamara, Matthew Horrigan, Thomas Phelan, Yan Delauré, Brian Corcoran, Eoghan Clifford and Lorna Fitzsimons (2014) 1st South East European Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems Life Cycle Assessment of Waste Water Treatment Plants in Ireland Ohrid, Macedonia, | |
| 2014 | E. Doherty, L. Fitzsimons, B. Corcoran, Y. Delauré and E. Clifford (2014) IWA Water, Energy and Climate Conference 2014 Design and Implementation of a Resource Consumption Benchmarking System for Wastewater Treatment Plants Mexico City, Mexico, 21/05/2014- 23/05/2014 | |
| 2012 | Fitzsimons, L., Heery, B., Chapman, J., Lau, K. T., Regan, F., Kim, J-H., Diamond, D. and Sullivan, T. (2012) EuropetrodeXI Development of a realtime, continuous, optical turbidity and colorimetric sensing device for the marine environment Barcelona, Spain, | |
| 2012 | Fitzsimons, L., Corcoran, B., Young, P., Foley, G. and Regan, F. (2012) HEFAT 2012 (Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics) Modelling the Activity of Seawater and Implications for Desalination Exergy Analyses Malta, | |
| 2010 | Fitzsimons, L., Corcoran, B., Young, P. and Foley, G. (2010) HEFAT 2010 (Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics) A Comparison of Prevalent Desalination Exergy Models | |
| 2010 | Fitzsimons, L., Corcoran, B., Young, P. and Foley, G. (2010) Fifth International Ege Energy Symposium and Exhibition (IEESE-5) Desalination Exergy Models: Mathematical and Seawater Model Comparison Denizli, Turkey, |
Certain data included herein are derived from the © Web of Science (2026) of Clarivate. All rights reserved.
Research Interests
Water-energy nexus
Water treatment - Ultra-pure, desalination and wastewater
Energy modelling
Exergy analysis
LCA
Water treatment - Ultra-pure, desalination and wastewater
Energy modelling
Exergy analysis
LCA