DrLuke Kelleher

Professor Luke Kelleher is Professor of Environmental Policy at University College Dublin (UCD), Deputy Principal of the Chang’an–Dublin International College of Transportation (CDIC) at Chang’an University in Xi’an, China, and Deputy Head of UCD’s School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy (APEP). UCD Environmental Policy is a research-intensive academic group that contributes to national and international policy debates and policy development, while delivering innovative undergraduate and postgraduate education programmes up to PhD level.

Luke holds BA and PhD degrees from Queens University Belfast, an MSc from the University of Ulster and a UCD Professional Certificate in Creativity and Innovation for Education. An experienced researcher, Luke leads high-quality research and publishes internationally. He supervises PhD students and engages in research-informed teaching to the BSc (City Planning & Environmental Policy), MRUP, MSc (Environmental Policy), the Graduate Diploma Bioeconomy with Business, and the BSc in Transport City Planning and Environmental Policy at Chang’an University. Luke joined UCD from the University of Hertfordshire where he was a lead researcher in its high-impact transport evaluation group. Prior to pursuing an academic career, Luke gained diverse experience working for nearly 10 years in the public service, including roles in local government, the Land Registers of Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Water Service, as well as the global consulting RPS Group.

Luke has strong theoretical and methodological expertise in spatial analysis, policy analysis and evaluation, stated preference techniques, and demand-side policy instruments. He applies these in two key areas of research: (i) transport policy and environmental performance, and (ii) bioeconomy policy. He supervises a research group engaging in leading-edge research in these areas. He is currently a member of BiOrbic, the National Bioeconomy Research Centre funded by Science Foundation Ireland. He is also a Principal Investigator in the UCD Earth Institute, and a member of the UCD Centre for Irish Towns.

Luke has extensive experience of successful collaborations with colleagues internationally, and has participated in international research networks including with colleagues from, inter alia, the Norwegian Institute for Air Research, CIRAD (France), Cardiff University, Queens University Belfast, the Institute of Transport Studies at University of Leeds, the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission, Teagasc, as well as a number of industry partners. His research has been funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Northern Ireland Department of Education (DENI), Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), and Science Foundation Ireland (SFI). His research has been published in prestigious transport and environmental policy journals such as Energy Policy, Atmospheric Environment, Environment and Planning B, and Transport Research Part A, and his research has been presented at leading conferences such as the World Conference on Transport Research at the University of California, Berkeley; Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting in Washington D.C and the European Transport Conference.

Prior to engaging full-time in a Faculty position, Luke focused for many years on policy innovation and transfer. He has a passion for translating the fruits of leading-edge research into practice. Luke has brought research insights into dialogue with policymakers and stakeholders at multiple scales, including, inter alia, the European Commission, the Department of Transport (UK), Department of Education (DENI), Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine (DAFM), Department of Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC), Belfast City Council, Derry City Council, as well as, since 2016, the Heritage Council led Collaborative Town Centre Health Check Programme (CTCHCP) which is now a commitment of the national Programme for Government. Luke has also presented his research to the Government’s High-Level Bioeconomy Implementation Group and he has worked with colleagues on research underpinning the national Climate Action Plans of the Irish Government.