ProfessorPaul McNulty

Following graduation in Agricultural Engineering from University College Dublin (UCD) in 1965, I pursued a programme of postgraduate studies at The Ohio State University (MSc 1968) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (PhD 1972) supported by a Fulbright Scholarship. I joined the academic staff at UCD in 1972 and was appointed to the Chair of Agricultural Engineering in 1979. Apart from my core activity, I have authored about one hundred ‘Letters to the Editor’ published in Irish newspapers on food and environmental topics from 1984 through 2003, with follow-on articles and radio/TV interviews. I published these items of public interest under the banner "Letters to the Editor: Food & Food-Related Issues" (2016), as an extension of my professional interest in the production and processing of food as well as a general interest in politics and policy formation.

My writing credentials were enhanced as the founder and chief editor of AgriFood (now "Biosystems & Food) Engineering Research Review," an annual UCD publication from 1996 to the present. My professional publications have been summarized on https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Paul_Mcnulty2. Since retirement in 2005, I have completed Adult Education Courses in Genealogy/Family History and Creative Writing at UCD. The research conducted in these courses provided the inspiration to write three works of historical fiction, "Spellbound by Sibella" (2013), "The Abduction of Anne O’Done" (2014) and "A Story of the Bodkin Murders" (2015) each published by Club Lighthouse CLP, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. I have also published "The genealogy of the Anglo-Norman Lynches who settled in Galway" in 2013 and a novella, "A Rebel Romance in 2014" each highlighted on https:/www.ucd.academia.edu/paulmcnulty.

More recently, I have published memoirs of my aunt, May McNulty who trained as a singer in Milan and played international bridge for Ireland ("A Girl Called May," 2018); and of my granduncle, Eustace Boylan SJ ('An Irish Jesuit in Australia,' 2019), a distinguished writer in Australia. My own memoir, Growing Up West, is complete and awaiting publication by Lynn Davidson, memoirclub@msn.com.

Simultaneously, I have kept in touch with my parent discipline having received Recognition as an Outstanding Manuscript Reviewer in Biological Engineering since 2006 by ASABE 2014; by acting as an Associate Editor for "Food and Bioprocess Engineering" (Springer, New York) since 2009 at the invitation of Professor Da Wen Sun; acting as Chief Editor of the 'International Journal of Business, Social and Scientific Research' (Bangladesh) since 2017 and continuing to act as an Honorary President of CIGR, International Commission on Agricultural and Agricultural Engineering, of which I had been President, 1989-1991.

My current research has been influenced by the proliferation of bush fires around the globe including those in Paradise California, Australia, Greece, Portugal and Siberia as well as by the melting of the Arctic and the global ravages of Covid-19. These events have demonstrated the fragility of our civilization on Mother Earth. The environment in which we live will continue to deteriorate unless population growth and global warming are contained. Failure to do so could make our planet uninhabitable in the foreseeable future as postulated in my 2019 article The Universe and The Future of Planet Earth (Academia.edu.).

I have therefore embarked on a study of the potential replacement of fossil fuels by electrically powered automation in the food production chain from farm to consumer. McKinsey has suggested that the reduction of carbon emissions in agriculture could reduce Irish emissions sufficiently to enable avoidance of EU fines for climate malpractice. By maintaining contact with progressive equipment and automation companies as well as recent research, I hope to
promote the acceptance of electrically powered automation, with particular emphasis on Robotics, in the agrifood sector. I initially investigated if diesel tractors could be replaced by electrically powered units. The 38 kW Californian Soletrac tractor with a working speed of 2000-4000 rpm is powered by a 28 kWh Lithium Iron Phosphate battery. Level 2 fast charging provides an 80% charge in 3 hours or full charge overnight. This charging interval is regarded as a disadvantage given that activities on farms often require full day activity to take advantage of favourable weather and sunlight.

The major tractor manufacturers are researching alternatives including on-farm electricity generation to directly power mobile machinery using the proposed John Deere Gridcon system. Other possibilities include autonomous tractors where one operator can control two tractors or by using robotic platforms for various field operations. Drones offer an alternative to conventional activities such as spraying and fertilizing. Satellites also offer assistance in vehicle guidance and crop assessment. I am now in the process of collating these opportunities as reported by researchers and by manufacturing and automation companies where the level of interest is high and the reportage informative.

Meanwhile, I live in Dublin with my wife, Treasa Ní Chonaola. We have three children, Dara, Nora and Meabh, and three grandchildren, Lily, Niamh and Dara Eoin. I derive inspiration from the wild splendour of the West of Ireland. My links to social media include Facebook, Linked In and Twitter.