Education
Imelda Egan - Air pollution scientist
- BA (Mod) Microbiology, Trinity College Dublin (1993)
- Masters in Biological Sciences, Dublin City University (1996)
- Diploma in Environmental Engineering, Trinity College (1999)
Career snapshot
Imelda Egan develops techniques to deal with air pollution. She works for Bord na Mona, an organisation once best known for turf briquettes. Over the past decade, however, Bord na Mona has also built up a range of environmental services, many based on technologies that it has invented and developed commercially.
Imelda is centrally involved in this. Over the last five years, she has been named as co-inventor of two patented air treatment processes. The team she works in, Clean Air Solutions, was shortlisted for the All-Ireland Innovation Awards 2002 and received a commendation.
Bord na Mona exports its services to Britain, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal, as well as working in Ireland. So Imelda’s job involves a lot of travel, although some of it is to such glamorous locations as wastewater treatment or animal rendering plants.
There are two sides to her work: developing new solutions and supporting them in use. This involves:
- Working on new processes to deal with air pollution
- Going on-site to examine air emissions and odorous processes
- Devising solutions through pilot trials
- Putting biological air treatment systems in place
- Supporting the systems in use
It is a demanding and satisfying job, making the world a cleaner and less-smelly place.
What’s the best thing about your job?
“I like the variety of my job, in that I could be on site in France one week and the next be in the office designing a full abatement system for an odour or emission application. The team members in Clean Air Solutions work together. If something comes up, everyone pulls together to get it solved as quickly as possible.”
What do you like least about your job?
“There are times, particularly in winter, when the last thing you want to do is to go outside to a cold site!”
How do you spend a typical day?
“I could be up early and on the road to a site to undertake monitoring. If we have a pilot trial going, we could be visiting that. Or I could be in the office. I spend a lot of time on the phone discussing potential solutions, or arranging someone to monitor a site.”
Are you a science nerd?
“I don’t think so. I like all aspects of my job, including the commercial aspects. My qualifications in science allow me to do a job which is varied and interesting, but I leave it at the gate when I go home.”
Did science give you a buzz at school?
“I did chemistry and physics at school, but wasn’t that good at either really. It wasn’t until I went to college that some of my courses really woke me up to the unbelievable possibilities that science offers in every area of life.”
Want to find out more?
Learn about the wide range of Bord na Mona’s business activities
Find out more about environmental engineering at TCD
(Photo of Imelda Egan used with the kind permission of Bord na Mona)
