Sheila Tinney (1918 - 2010)
A pioneering academic in mathematical physics, Sheila Tinney was described by Nobel Laureate Erwin Schrödinger as ‘among the best equipped and most successful of the younger generation of physicists in this country’.
Born Sheila Power in Galway city in 1918, Tinney was just one of 8 girls among 126 boys to sit an honours mathematics paper in the Irish Leaving Certificate. She had the highest marks in geometry and also in Latin of all Irish girls in that year.
It is believed she was the first Irish woman to receive a PhD in the field of mathematics. She published papers on a range of topics such as crystal lattices and wave mechanics, working alone, or alongside great scientific figures such as Yukawa, Schrödinger, and Heitler. After time spent at Princeton University in 1948, where Einstein was still teaching and Openheimer was Director, she returned to Ireland where she became Associate Professor of mathematical physics at University College Dublin in 1966. It was here she gained a reputation as a strong role model for young female academics. She died on 27 March 2010.
Lesson Activities
So, Sheila Tinney lectured in Physics at UCD - but just what is Physics? A teacher shared the following You Tube video on Scoilnet in which comedian (and Science graduate) Dara Ó Briain gives a potted history of Physics in under five minutes
And if you want to look at some real applications of Physics then take a look at How an MRI Machine Works. Now, that's Physics in action!
In the Primary classroom the PDST has created a resource Design and Make a Playground which offers example criteria for the design and make, as well as possible approaches and extensions.Maths and Physics in practice!
Podcast
Listen to the Heritage Council episode where they speak with Sheila's son, Hugh Tinney.
Questions:
1. Had Sheila's father an influence on her career? Explain your reasoning.
2. At Leaving Cert stage, was Sheila an exceptional student?
3. Describe Sheila's career and family life.
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