After finishing his PhD in 1971, Patrick Moriarty taught Civil Engineering at Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology from January 1971 to December 1976. He also carried out field research on low-cost housing for the National Housing and Building Research Unit, becoming an advocate for traditional—and owner-built—housing, publishing several papers in international journals on this work.
Since early 1977, he has taught and researched in the Civil and Mechanical Engineering Departments at Monash University, Caulfield. He is currently an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Design. His research interests include urban land use and transport, alternative transport fuels, and renewable energy more generally. An important part of this research has been the climate change implications of different fuels/energy sources for transport and electricity generation.
He has published over 180 journal articles, conference papers, and book chapters. In 2011, he co-authored The Rise and Fall of the Carbon Civilisation for Springer with Damon Honnery. He also wrote a number of articles for The Conversation, an online newspaper.
He has been actively involved in urban environmental movements, particularly around rail closures and urban freeway building. He has conducted research for the Australian Railways Union, appearing as expert witness for the union in several Government Inquiries.
