Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

History of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering at UCC

University College Cork (UCC), originally known as Queen's College Cork was founded by the provisions of an act which enabled Queen Victoria to endow three new colleges in Ireland . Our college opened in 1849 with 23 professors and 181 students. The UCC campus is located on its original site in Cork alongside the beautiful River Lee and its lush green surroundings.

In 1908, the Irish Universities Act formed the National University of Ireland and the college was given the status of a university college as University College Cork. A School of Engineering was initiated in 1905 which was mainly Civil Engineering and in 1914 the first degree course in mechanical and electrical engineering (EE) was set up. In 1954, a new Electrical Engineering building opened under the first Professor and Head of Department, Fred Teago. In 1956 the first class of 17 students graduated with Bachelors degree in electrical & mechanical engineering.

Professor Charles Dillon was appointed Head of Department in 1960 and during his tenure a third storey in 1964 was added to the original two storey EE building with a three-storey annex added to the main building to house the first main-frame computer at UCC. Professor Michael Sexton was appointed Head of Department in 1976, retiring in 1995. He was instrumental in developing teaching and research areas in satellite, digital and fibre-optical (including laser) communications.  In 1992, a further extension to the building was made to accommodate research and personnel in government funded programmes in telecommunications and power electronics.   

Professor John M. D. Murphy (shown here with then-President of UCC, Professor Gerry Wrixon) retired after 42 years service with UCC seen with Professor Wrixon, who made the retirement presentation. Professor Gerry Wrixon  also served as Professor of Electrical Engineering and was the first holder of the UCC Chair in microelectronics till he became UCC President in 1999.

Note that two visionary Professors, namely, Professor Wrixon and Professor Liam Kelly in the UCC Electrical Engineering Department have the distinction of serving as Founding Directors of the Tyndall National Institute. Professor John M.D. Murphy, a world leader in power electronics technology and coauthor of a leading book Power Electronic Control of AC Motors , Pergamon Press, 1988 was appointed Acting Head of Department in 1995.

An avid art enthusiast, Professor Robert Yacamini (far right) seen at an Art exhibition held in the EE Bldg to celebrate the works of famed Irish artist Seán Keating (1889-1977). 

In 1996, Professor Robert Yacamini, a Power Systems expert including wind energy research took up the appointment as Head, retiring in 2005. He was instrumental in organizing the 40th International universities power engineering conference 2005 at UCC and strengthening UCC’s reputation as a world leading center for power electronics research and education.

Professor Patrick J. Murphy, a leading authority in the field of telecommunications and a cofounder of Teltec Ireland, was Head from late 2005 to his retirement in 2009 and served UCC for 41 years. In 1999, Michael Peter Kennedy was appointed to the Chair of Microelectronics as UCC Professor of Microelectronic Engineering. Prof. Kennedy also served as the Head of the Microelectronic Engineering Department at UCC until its merger in 2011 with the Electrical Engineering Department. The merger brought the world-class microelectronics expertise at UCC within the umbrella of the Electrical Engineering Department. Dr. Michael Creed, Head of the School of Engineering served as interim Head of the Department from 2009 to July 2011. The present Head of Department is UCC Chair Professor Nabeel Riza, an international expert in photonics, who took up his appointment in August 2011.