Patricia J. Culligan

Patricia J. Culligan was appointed the Matthew H. McCloskey Dean of the College of Engineering in 2020. She is internationally recognized for her expertise in water resources and geo-environmental engineering. Her research focuses on sustainable urban infrastructure, social networks, and the application of advanced measurement and sensing technologies to improve water, energy, and environmental management.

She started her U.S. faculty career at MIT and, prior to joining Notre Dame, served on the faculty and in various leadership roles at Columbia University, including as vice-dean of academic affairs for Columbia Engineering, co-director of the University’s Urban Design Lab, the chair of the Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, and the founding associate director for the University's Data Science Institute. Patricia is a fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), a fellow of the British Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the first woman to be awarded the ASCE’s H. Bolton Seed medal for her cumulative, distinguished contributions to the field of geo-environmental engineering. In 2024, Patricia was honored as an ASCE Distinguished Member—the highest honor ASCE can bestow. She earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Leeds and a master of philosophy and doctorate in engineering from the University of Cambridge.

Research Interests

Patricia Culligan’s expertise is in geo-environmental engineering. She focuses on sustainable urban infrastructure, social networks, and the application of advanced measurement and sensing technologies to improve water, energy, and environmental management. Much of her current research is exploring how green infrastructure can make cities cleaner, healthier, and more enjoyable places to live. She also has worked to improve understanding of the fundamental mechanisms governing water and contaminant flows in soils and aquifer systems. Her work on building energy explores intersections between residential energy use, human behavior, and policy.

With an emphasis on seeking solutions to complex, societal problems, Culligan’s work transcends a variety of research fields, including water resources, urban design, policy, data science, and human behavior. She has served on the National Academies Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board as well as on the board of Governors of the ASCE’s Geo-Institute. She also has chaired the National Academies Standing Committee on Geological and Geotechnical Engineering.

She is the author of seven books, seven book chapters, and more than 175 technical articles.