Mary’s research focuses on how landscapes respond to extreme environmental change, from the deserts of Australia and Africa to the coasts and river systems of Ireland. She has published over 90 papers on the dynamics of natural systems across Earth and Mars, with recent work centred on climate impacts and the adaptation of Irish river and coastal environments.
A graduate of University College Dublin (BA, MA) and the Australian National University (PhD), she has held research and teaching positions at the Smithsonian Institution, the University of Oxford, and the Planetary Science Institute in Arizona, where she led several NASA projects on landscape dynamics on Mars and Earth.
Now based in Ireland Mary leads and collaborates on Irish and European climate action projects exploring resilient urban planning, nature-based solutions for flood and coastal risk management, natural capital accounting, and macro-plastic mitigation. She was Principal Investigator on the EPA–OPW SloWaters project and continues to advise on approaches that integrate scientific evidence into sustainable infrastructure and policy design.
Mary is the Founding President of the Geomorphological Association of Ireland and Founding Chair of the International Association of Geomorphologists’ Working Group on Planetary Geomorphology. Her award-winning research has been featured in leading journals including Nature and Science, and showcased by media outlets such as The Irish Times, The Guardian, NBC and RTÉ.