Michael Philip Mortell is an Irish mathematician and academic. He was the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

from 1989 to 1999. Mortell also had a sporting career and played

hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...

with a number of club sides and the Cork senior hurling team.

Early life and education

Born in Cork, Mortell was educated at Charleville CBS Secondary School. He studied for his primary degree in Mathematics and Mathematical Physics at

(UCC) where he was awarded a BSc in 1961 and an MSc in 1963. Mortell subsequently studied at the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

and was awarded a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

for a thesis on "Waves on Shells" in 1968.

Academic career

Mortell was named associate professor at the Center for the Application of Mathematics at

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU), in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States, is a private university, private research university. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer. Lehigh University's undergraduate programs have been mixed ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

in 1967. From 1973 he was statutory lecturer in the department of Mathematical Physics at UCC and later Professor of Applied Mathematics. He was appointed registrar in 1979 and was named

in 1989. Mortell held a personal chair in Applied Mathematics from 1999 until he retired in 2006.

Sporting career

Mortell first played

with the CBS Charleville team in the Harty Cup. He joined the Rath Lúirc intermediate team in the 1958 season. Mortell lined out with UCC GAA from 1959 until 1963, during which time he won three Fitzgibbon Cup titles. He was also a member of the team that won the college's inaugural Cork Senior Hurling Championship title in the 1963 Cork Senior Hurling Championship. Mortell first appeared on the inter-county scene as a member of the Cork minor hurling team during the 1959 Munster MHC. He later played with the Cork senior team for one season. Mortell ended his club career with

Carrigaline Carrigaline (; ) is a town and civil parish in County Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, situated on the River Owenabue. Located about south of Cork (city), Cork city, and with a population of 18,239 people, it is one of the largest commuter ...

Sporting honours

;University College Cork * Cork Senior Hurling Championship:

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

* Fitzgibbon Cup: 1959, 1962, 1963 ;Carrigaline * South East Junior A Hurling Championship: 1974

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Michael 1941 births Living people Alumni of University College Cork Academics of University College Cork Presidents of University College Cork Charleville hurlers Carrigaline hurlers UCC hurlers Cork inter-county hurlers 20th-century Irish sportsmen