Overview
Background
Dr Eleanor Mullen’s research centres on sustainable development and design of materials. Currently her postdoctoral research focuses on controlling the lifetime of biodegradable polymers in natural environments. At Trinity College Dublin Ireland she led research investigating life cycle analysis to guide sustainable nanopatterning tool design in the semiconductor industry. Having worked with industry partners at Trinity College Dublin on the Intel AMBER Spokes project, she developed a keen interest in balancing the functional requirements of materials for industrial applications with the principles of sustainability, aiming to support an environmentally responsible future. Experienced in developing sustainable materials and tools, with expertise in green chemistry, circular economy, ecotoxicology, and life cycle analysis.
Eleanor is the founder of Trinity Urban Garden (TUG), a community-based initiative designed to promote local and sustainable food production as a strategy to reduce reliance on packaging and foster public engagement with environmental sustainability.
Availability
- Dr Eleanor Mullen is:
- Available for supervision
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy of Material Science, University of Dublin Trinity College
Research impacts
Dr Eleanor Mullen during her PhD pioneered a new field of life cycle analysis in the semiconductor industry, launching a new research field with international reach. Her work was presented to the Next G Alliance in the U.S., engaging members from Apple, Microsoft, Intel, and attracting interest from LAM Research. She also invented a novel nanopatterning tool and published mask-free techniques for more sustainable semiconductor manufacturing. Her impact was recognized in The Irish Times' “50 People to Watch in 2025.”
Committed to environmental health, Eleanor serves as an Academic Advisor to the Australian Marine Conservation Society, supporting their national plastics campaign. She advocates for translating research into public knowledge to improve environmental and human health outcomes.
Eleanor founded Trinity Urban Garden (TUG), a community initiative promoting local, sustainable food production to reduce packaging waste and foster public engagement. Through TUG, she has supervised multiple Master's and Honours research projects.
Works
Search Professor Eleanor Mullen’s works on UQ eSpace
2025
Journal Article
Combined swelling and metal infiltration: advancing block copolymer pattern control for nanopatterning applications
Mullen, Eleanor, Alvarez-Fernandez, Alberto, Prochukhan, Nadezda, Davó-Quiñonero, Arantxa, Bekarevich, Raman, Gity, Farzan, Sheehan, Brendan, Baez Vasquez, Jhonattan Frank, Gatensby, Riley, Bentaleb, Ahmed, Ward, Alan, Hurley, Paul K. and Morris, Michael A. (2025). Combined swelling and metal infiltration: advancing block copolymer pattern control for nanopatterning applications. ACS Applied Nano Materials, 8 (4), 1829-1842. doi: 10.1021/acsanm.4c06197
2021
Journal Article
Green nanofabrication opportunities in the semiconductor industry: a life cycle perspective
Mullen, Eleanor and Morris, Michael A. (2021). Green nanofabrication opportunities in the semiconductor industry: a life cycle perspective. Nanomaterials, 11 (5) 1085, 1-40. doi: 10.3390/nano11051085
2020
Journal Article
Precise definition of a "monolayer point" in polymer brush films for fabricating highly coherent TiO2 thin films by vapor-phase infiltration
Lundy, Ross, Yadav, Pravind, Prochukhan, Nadezda, Giraud, Elsa C., O'Mahony, Tom F., Selkirk, Andrew, Mullen, Eleanor, Conway, Jim, Turner, Miles, Daniels, Stephen, Mani-Gonzalez, P. G., Snelgrove, Matthew, Bogan, Justin, McFeely, Caitlin, O'Connor, Robert, McGlynn, Enda, Hughes, Greg, Cummins, Cian and Morris, Michael A. (2020). Precise definition of a "monolayer point" in polymer brush films for fabricating highly coherent TiO2 thin films by vapor-phase infiltration. Langmuir, 36 (41), 12394-12402. doi: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.0c02512
2019
Journal Article
Optimizing polymer brush coverage to develop highly coherent sub-5 nm oxide films by ion inclusion
Lundy, Ross, Yadav, Pravind, Selkirk, Andrew, Mullen, Eleanor, Ghoshal, Tandra, Cummins, Cian and Morris, Michael A. (2019). Optimizing polymer brush coverage to develop highly coherent sub-5 nm oxide films by ion inclusion. Chemistry of Materials, 31 (22), 9338-9345. doi: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.9b02856
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Eleanor Mullen is:
- Available for supervision
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Media
Enquiries
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