Sharon O'Rourke

Sharon O'Rourke is an Assistant Professor and Ad Astra Fellow in the UCD School of Biosystems & Food Engineering. Her research in the areas of agricultural production systems and environmental protection focuses on sustainable soils for agronomy and climate change mitigation. Working across many soil disciplines including soil chemistry, geochemistry, microbiology, soil imaging and chemometrics she is particularly interested in understanding soil carbon sequestration and stabilisation. Current research projects investigate sustainable soil management practices for soil carbon stock in arable cropping systems across pedo-climatic zones in Europe (ClimateCropping), in-field soil sensors for soil monitoring (PRISM) and CNPS stoichiometry for enhanced soil carbon sequestration (Cfunction).

She has been assistant professor in UCD since 2019, prior to that she held a research position at University of Sydney and a faculty position in the UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science teaching in the area of Air, Soil and Water Resource. Sharon has a degree in Agricultural Science and a PhD in Soil Nutrient Management.