He is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin and Imperial College London. He is Director of the Structural Laboratories in Trinity, a Chartered Structural Engineer and a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers of Ireland. His research is primarily in construction innovation and sustainability, particularly in concrete technology, specialising in aspects of lean construction and he is Chair of the Irish Concrete Durability Committee. He has delivered more than a dozen keynote papers on concrete innovations on four continents. He is a founder member of the Ireland-Indian Concrete Research Initiative and has on-going research and exchange links with four Indian academic institutions, including the recently announced twinning programme with Thapar University in Punjab. Dr West was awarded one of Trinity's inaugural Global Engagement Awards in 2015.