Dr. Sean Mulligan

VorTech Water Solutions and National University of Ireland, Galway

Research Associate

My Profile

About

Sean Mulligan is the founder and CEO at VorTech Water Solutions Ltd. Having focused his PhD research on the deep research field of vortex flows, Sean subsequently went on to develop an innovative wastewater treatment technology at University of Galway, which is the basis of the VorTech University spin-out company founded in 2019. This new class of technology, “Vortex Powered Aeration”, which reduces operational costs of treatment, is protected by three international patents. Sean is currently responsible for vision and management of the company's commercial and strategic initiatives. He is also currently the Chair of the IAHR Technical Committee on Hydraulic Structures. Sean’s ambition is to continue developing and translating practical hydraulics research ideas into tangible products and solutions to solve the most pressing challenges of the global water industry.

Career Type:

Practitioner/Engineers

Organization Type:

Companies and Enterprises

Expertise Fields/Interests:

applied hydraulic modelling to EcoAqua to determine optimal farm design

Major Achievements:

Technical Committees

Committee Name
Committee on Hydraulic Structures
Committee on Experimental Methods and Instrumentation
Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals
Committee on Fluid Mechanics
Committee on Hydraulic Machinery and Systems
Committee on Climate Change Adaptation
Committee on Ecohydraulics
IAHR/IWA Joint Committee on Hydroinformatics
Committee on Education and Professional Development

IAHR Position

Committee Name	Position	Start Date	End Date
Committee on Hydraulic Structures	Chair	2025-07-17	Now
IAHR Council	Technical Committee Chair	2025-07-17	Now
Committee on Hydraulic Structures	Vice Chair	2023-09-09	2025-07-16
Hydrolink Editorial Board	Advisor	2022-09-01	Now
Sustainable Development Goals Working Group	Member	2022-07-03	Now
IAHR Ireland Young Professionals Network	YPN Advisor	2021-05-20	Now
Committee on Hydraulic Structures	Member	2020-09-01	2023-09-09

My Papers and Presentations

Title	Year
Circular Thinking in Water: Harnessing Vortex Physics to Transform Wastewater Infrastructure and Deliver SDG 6	2026
Numerical Analysis of Air Entrainment of a Plunging Jet Flow under Different Viscosity Levels of Fluid	2026
Effect of Wastewater Treatment Biological Reactor Geometry on Required Mixing Intensity	2025
Lifecycle Assessment as Applied to Full-Scale Wastewater Treatment Infrastructure	2025
Numerical Analysis of Air Entrainment of a Plunging Jet Flow Under Different Viscosity Levels of Fluid	2025
Viscosity Effects on Aeration Efficiency in Plunging Jets	2025
Drop Structures across (and under) the United States of America	2024
Performance Assessment of CFD Codes in Numerical Modelling of Plunging Jet Aeration	2024
The importance of Drop Structures for Urban Hydraulic Engineering	2024
Vortex-Flow Intakes	2023
A Novel Dual Inlet Tangential Vortex Drop Shaft: An Analytical and Numerical Study	2022
Hydraulic Structures at a Crossroads Towards the SDGs	2021
In-Process Hydraulic and Dissolved Oxygen Characteristics of an Oxidation Ditch with Horizontal Brush Surface Aerators	2020
Vortex Drop Shaft Structures: State-of-the-Art and Future Trends	2019
Multiphase Numerical Modelling of Hydraulic Structures with Rapidly Rotating Flows: Stormwater Vortex Hydrodynamic Separator	2018
Numerical Simulation and Assessment of the Effects of Inlet Configuration on the Flushing Time of a Potable Water Service Reservoir	2018
Experimental Modelling of Flow in an Open Channel Vortex Chamber	2015

My Videos

Title	Year
[Day1] Hydraulic Structures & Industrial Flow - 6th IAHR YP Congress	2025
IAHR Water Monograph Webinar 2: Vortex-Flow Intakes	2023

IAHR Awards

IAHR Awards	Date