Patrick G. O'Shea BSc MS PhD FIEEE, FAPS, FAAS, FIAE, FRSA, President, University College Cork, 2017-2020

O'Shea was born in Cork, Ireland, son of Josephine Watkins and Michael O’Shea. The family home was at Slieve Mish Park, Kinsale Road, Turner’s Cross. He has two brothers and a sister. He attended secondary school at Coláiste Chríost Rí in the city.[1] He has a BSc degree from University College Cork, and MS and PhD (1986) degrees from the University of Maryland, all in physics.

O’Shea met his wife, Dr Miriam Smyth, while they were both students at UCC. She studied for a  BSc in Zoology/Biology at UCC, going on to obtain MS and PhD degrees at the University of Maryland before working in clinical and biomedical research, and administration. They were married in 1987 at the Honan Chapel, and have a son, Ronan.

O'Shea's area of expertise is in electromagnetics, electron accelerators, and free-electron lasers., Following his PhD, he worked as a scientist and Project Leader at the University of California Los Alamos National Laboratory from 1986 to 1994.  He then became a faculty member at Duke University, North Carolina (1994-98), followed by an extensive period at the University of Maryland: Faculty Member from 1998 to 2011, Director of the Institute for Research in Electronics and Applied Physics (2000-2005), Chair and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering (2005-2011). In 2012, O’Shea led the University of Maryland’s partnership with UCC when he and then UCC President, Dr Michael B. Murphy, met to formalise it.[2] During his visit to Cork on this occasion, he accompanied Murphy to the unveiling of a plaque in memory of Frederick Douglass at the Imperial Hotel, Cork.[3] O’Shea played a leading role in founding the Maryland NanoCentre and the Maryland Cyber Security Centre.  He became Vice President and Chief Research Officer in 2011, a post he held until 2016. In this position, he oversaw the university’s $500m annual research and innovation programme.[4]

On 14 June 2016, O'Shea was appointed the fifteenth president of University College Cork,[5] and took up the post on 1 February 2017.[6] He was the first since Dr Donal McCarthy in 1967 to be appointed from outside the college staff. During his tenure, a five-year Ford Centenary Quercus Scholarship was launched[7] and UCC’s most ambitious strategic plan, “Independent Thinking; Shared Ambition”, was launched in September 2017.[8] Also, in September, Cork University Press published the landmark Atlas of the Irish Revolution,[9] which was the basis of a later documentary series, “The Irish Civil War”.[10] In November, UCC opened its new School of Public Health, to address ‘the health and well-being of populations at the local, national and global level’, O’Shea said.[11] In 2018 the National Famine Commemoration was hosted at UCC.[12] O’Shea said that, ‘UCC is honoured to work with Minister Humphreys and the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and Cork City Council and host the National Famine Commemoration. The University has supported and invested in research on the Great Irish Famine for over twenty years. The award-winning publication The Atlas of the Great Irish Famine is internationally regarded as the most original and insightful publication on this topic.’ In February 2018, UCC was named a University of Sanctuary, which has continued to this day.[13] In March, UCC became the first Irish university to fly the transgender flag.[14] Then in May, O’Shea launched the Economic and Societal Impact Report of University College Cork based on research that showed UCC generates €2.3 million per day for the Irish economy.[15] This report was followed by the Irish Universities Association/Indecon report (April 2019), which showed that the Irish economy benefitted by €8.9 billion in 2018 from Ireland’s seven universities.[16]  O’Shea was chair of the Irish Universities Association (IUA) when the seven Irish universities launched Ireland’s Future Talent - A Charter for Irish Universities.[17]

Also in 2018, UCC became the first Irish university to join the Universities Studying Slavery (USS) research consortium.[18] In June, UCC hosted a visit of Prince Charles (now King Charles III).[19] During the visit, O’Shea and Prince Charles entered the famine hut,[20] known as ‘an Bothán’,[21] a replica of the appalling housing conditions endured by many during the Famine. Lord David Puttnam continued his relationship with UCC when the Puttnam Scholarship Programme 2018/19 was announced in October 2018.[22] In December 2018, UCC announced the launch of a world-leading Quantum Research Center jointly with Oxford University led by UCC graduate Prof. Séamus Davis.[23]

Acting on its commitment to Cork city centre, in the autumn of 2018, UCC and Munster Technological University opened the new Centre for Architectural Education in  Nano Nagle Place,[24] and the Centre For Executive Education in the former Cork Saving Bank.

In January 2019, to coordinate and expand its excellent and diverse programs in food and related areas, UCC launched its global Food Institute.[25] To reflect the high engagement by UCC students and staff in sport and well-being, UCC became the first Irish university to acquire Ibec’s ‘KeepWell Mark'.[26] In August 2019, UCC was awarded €25 million from the Higher Education Strategic Infrastructure Fund to develop the Cork University Business School in the heart of Cork city.[27] The first Festival of Sport was held at the Mardyke on 28 September 2019.[28] In December 2019, the award-winning Cavanagh Bridge was constructed across the River Lee behind the Aula Maxima.[29] Also in 2019, UCC was named as Ireland’s leading university for industry collaboration, as highlighted in the KTI Review and Annual Knowledge Transfer Survey 2019 (published in 2020).[30]

2020 opened with UCC signing the mission statement of UNIC (The European University of Post-Industrial Cities) – along with universities in Bilbao, Bochum, Istanbul, Liège, Oulu, Rotterdam, and Zagreb – at a ceremony in The Netherlands in February.[31] In July 2020, UNIC was awarded EU funding of €5m towards its development.[32] In February, a major addition to the campus infrastructure was the opening of The Hub as a student facility including the campus radio station. This building was created from the original Windle (Medical) Building but considerably extended.[33] The development of the building delivered a key goal in UCC’s 2017-2022 Strategic Plan, by supporting the creation of a seamless student-centred administrative, academic, and extracurricular experience. Then, on 25 March 2020, as part of government measures to counteract the worldwide SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic, UCC closed to in-person attendance, and the university continued its teaching and research operations remotely.[34] UCC projects made significant contributions to the COVID-19 response programme.[35]

In July 2020, following an illness, Dr O’Shea announced his retirement effective 15 September 2020.[36] During Dr O’Shea’s tenure, UCC improved its performance in international rankings, rising 52 places in the QS World University ranking in the previous two years, making UCC the fastest-rising university in Ireland.

In 2021, O’Shea returned to the University of Maryland where he is currently Special Advisor to the Vice President for Research.[37] He also continues scholarly work in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Institute for Research in Electronics and Applied Physics at the University of Maryland.[38] He is Principal Investigator in the Bright Beams Collective Research Group, working in particle beam and accelerator physics, at Maryland.[39]

O’Shea is a Fellow of the Irish Academy of Engineering, the American Physical Society, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Royal Society for the Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce. He is also a University of Maryland Distinguished Scholar-Teacher.

The portrait of Patrick G. O'Shea is on display in the University Library, UCC.

Scholarly output

Dr O’Shea has 345 publications listed in his ResearchGate profile.[40]  

Latest scholarly activities: https://ece.umd.edu/clark/faculty/448/Patrick-G-O'Shea

https://www.linkedin.com/in/pgoshea/

References

[1] S. Ó Luinneacháin, ‘UCC President visits alma mater – Coláiste Chríost Rí’, Rí Eolas magazine 44 (Samhradh 2017), https://ccrcork.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Ri%CC%81-Eolas-Magazine-2017.pdf (accessed 9 September 2024).

[2] ‘University of Maryland and University College Cork enter into partnership’, https://spac.umd.edu/news/story/university-of-maryland-and-university-college-cork-enter-into-partnership (accessed 23 July 2024).

[3] Dan Buckley, ‘Plaque recalls anti-slavery activist’s visit’, Irish Examiner, 1 September 2012 [with photo], https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-20206074.html (accessed 9 September 2024).

[4] University of Maryland, College of Computer Mathematical and Natural Sciences, ‘From research to market’, https://cmns.umd.edu/news-events/news/research-market (accessed 9 September 2024).

[5] Olivia Kelleher, ‘UCC physics graduate named university’s next president’, Irish Times, Education, 14 June 2016; Niall Murray, ‘UCC appoints first external president in 50 years’, Irish Examiner, 15 June 2016, 9. https://www.ucc.ie/en/news/archive/2016/university-college-cork-appoints-new-president.html

[6] https://www.ucc.ie/en/news/archive/2017/new-ucc-president-takes-up-office.html (accessed 23 July 2024).

[7] https://www.ucc.ie/en/news/archive/2017/ford-centenary-quercus-scholarship-launched-at-ucc.html (accessed 23 July 2024).

[8] https://www.ucc.ie/en/news/archive/2017/ucc-unveils-most-ambitious-strategic-plan-in-its-history.html; https://www.ucc.ie/en/media/support/strategicplanning/UCCStrategicPlan2017-2022.pdf (accessed 23 July 2024).

[9] Diarmaid Ferriter, ‘Atlas of the Irish Revolution is mammoth and magnificent’, The Irish Times, 16 September 2017, https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/atlas-of-the-irish-revolution-is-mammoth-and-magnificent-1.3211263 (accessed 23 July 2024).

[10] https://www.rte.ie/history/the-civil-war/2022/1128/1338814-the-irish-civil-war-the-making-of-the-documentary/ (accessed 23 July 2024).

[11] Evelyn Ring, ‘School of public health launched at UCC’, Irish Examiner, 22 November 2017, https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-20463233.html (accessed 23 July 2024).

[12] https://www.ucc.ie/en/news/archive/2017/2018-national-famine-commemoration-to-take-place-in-ucc.html (accessed 23 July 2024).

[13] https://www.ucc.ie/en/news/2018/ucc-named-university-of-sanctuary-launches-scholarship-scheme-for-refugees.html (accessed 23 July 2024).

[14] https://www.ucc.ie/en/news/2018/transgender-pride-flag-flying-at-ucc-in-first-for-irish-universities.html (accessed 23 July 2024).

[15] https://www.ucc.ie/en/news/2018/ucc-worth-23-million-daily-to-irelands-economy.html; https://youtu.be/TrWIa-jOBNM (accessed 23 July 2024).

[16] https://www.ucc.ie/en/news/2019/irish-universities-contribute-889-billion-to-irish-economy-annually.html (accessed 23 July 2024).

[17] https://www.ucc.ie/en/news/2018/seven-universities-launch-charter-to-secure-future-of-university-education.html (accessed 23 July 2024).

[18] https://www.ucc.ie/en/news/2018/ucc-first-irish-university-to-join-consortium-studying-slavery.html (accessed 23 July 2024).

[19] https://www.ucc.ie/en/news/2018/royal-visit-the-prince-of-wales-to-meet-talented-ucc-students-and-alumni.html (accessed 23 July 2024).

[20] Patrick Freyne, ‘Prince Charles declines spicy food before stepping into famine hut’, The Irish Times, 14 June 2018, https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/prince-charles-declines-spicy-food-before-stepping-into-famine-hut-1.3531004 (accessed 23 July 2024).

[21] https://www.ucc.ie/en/news/2018/an-bothan-a-symbol-of-famine-misery.html (accessed 23 July 2024).

[22] https://www.ucc.ie/en/news/2018/puttnam-scholarship-programme-201819-ucc-launches-new-initiative-.html (accessed 23 July 2024).

[23] https://www.ucc.ie/en/news/2018/world-leading-academic-joins-university-college-cork-.html (accessed 23 July 2024).

[24] Kevin O’Neill, ‘New school of architecture to build on colleges’ success’, 8 September 2018, https://www.echolive.ie/corknews/arid-40163769.html (accessed 23 July 2024).

[25] https://www.rte.ie/history/the-civil-war/2022/1128/1338814-the-irish-civil-war-the-making-of-the-documentary/

[26] https://www.ucc.ie/en/news/2018/ucc-is-first-irish-he-institution-to-acquire-ibecs-keepwell-mark--.html (accessed 23 July 2024).

[27] Paul O’Donoghue, ‘City centre site set to attract business students to Cork’, The Times 27 November 2018, https://www.thetimes.com/world/ireland-world/article/city-centre-site-set-to-attract-business-students-to-cork-mhw58gxlz  (accessed 9 September 2024).

[28] https://www.ucc.ie/en/news/2019/festival-of-sport-at-ucc-this-weekend.html

[29] Eoin English, ‘UCC names new bridge after philanthropist Tom Cavanagh’, Irish Examiner, 13 December 2018, https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-30891748.html (accessed 9 September 2024).

[30] https://www.ucc.ie/en/news/2020/ucc-highlighted-as-irelands-leading-university-for-industry-collaboration.html (accessed 23 July 2024).; https://www.knowledgetransferireland.com/Reports-Publications/KTI-Annual-Review-Annual-Knowledge-Transfer-Survey-2019.pdf

[31] https://www.ucc.ie/en/news/2020/ucc-joins-european-wide-alliance-of-post-industrial-city-universities.html (accessed 23 July 2024).

[32] https://www.ucc.ie/en/news/2020/eight-universities-jointly-launch-the-european-university-of-post-industrial-cities-unic.html (accessed 23 July 2024).

[33] https://www.ucc.ie/en/news/2020/the-hub-opens-at-university-college-cork-.html (accessed 23 July 2024).

[34] https://www.ucc.ie/en/news/2020/ucc-closes-as-part-of-covid-19-measures.html (accessed 23 July 2024).

[35] https://www.ucc.ie/en/news/2020/ucc-projects-granted-funding-under-covid-19-rapid-response-programme.html (accessed 23 July 2024).

[36] https://www.ucc.ie/en/news/2020/retirement-of-professor-patrick-oshea-president-of-university-college-cork.html (accessed 23 July 2024).

[37] University of Maryland, Division of Research, Patrick O’Shea, https://research.umd.edu/directory/patrick-oshea (accessed 23 July 2024).

[38] University of Maryland, A. James Clark School of Engineering, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Faculty Directory, Patrick G. O’Shea, https://ece.umd.edu/clark/faculty/448/Patrick-G-O'Shea (accessed 23 July 2024).

[39] University of Maryland, Institute for Research in Electronic and Applied Physics, Bright Beams Collective Research Group, https://ireap.umd.edu/research/bright-beams-collective-research-group (accessed 23 July 2024).

[40] Patrick O’Shea, Researchgate.net, https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Patrick-Oshea-3 (accessed 23 July 2024).

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