Thomas David Spearman (born 1937, known as David Spearman) is an Irish

mathematical physicist Mathematical physics refers to the development of mathematical methods for application to problems in physics. The ''Journal of Mathematical Physics'' defines the field as "the application of mathematics to problems in physics and the developmen ...

who is Fellow Emeritus of

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

(TCD), where he spent his career and at various times served as head of the department of pure and applied mathematics, bursar, vice provost and pro-chancellor. He was Professor of Natural Philosophy at TCD from 1966 to 1997. He is the author of ''400 years of Mathematics at TCD (1592–1992)''.

Life and career

Born Thomas David Spearman in Dublin in 1937, was educated at Greenlanes School and Mountjoy School.Thomas David Spearman CURRICULUM VITAE
/ref> He then attended TCD, where he was a Scholar in Mathematics in 1956 and was awarded a BA in mathematics and natural philosophy in 1959. He did his PhD on "Problems in Pion Physics", (awarded by

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

in 1961) under fellow Irishman Jim Hamilton, over a period in which the latter moved from Cambridge to the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. He was at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

1961–1962, the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...

1962–1964 and the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charte ...

1964–1966. In 1966 he was appointed to the chair of natural philosophy back at his alma mater, TCD, and in 1969 was elected a Fellow of TCD,Dr David Spearman is Inaugurated as New Pro-Chancellor
Trinity College website, 25 March 2009 and subsequently became a Senior Fellow. In 1970 Spearman published the book ''Elementary Particle Theory'' (North Holland), co-written with A. D. Martin.Elementary Particle Theory
Review By Michael J. Moravcsik,

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

, 18 Dec 1970 In time, he served in numerous administrative roles, including head of the department of pure and applied mathematics (1966–1991), bursar (1974–1977), and vice provost (1991–1997). He was Vice President of the European Science Foundation (1983–1989). He supervised three PhDs, authored of ''400 years of Mathematics at TCD (1592–1992)'', and retired in 1997. He has remained active in college and other affairs, being TCD pro-chancellor and President of the Royal Irish Academy (1999–2002). He was chairman of the European Academy's Science Advisory Council (EASAC) (2004–2007).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spearman, Thomas David 20th-century Irish mathematicians Academics of Trinity College Dublin Alumni of the University of Cambridge Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Fellows of Trinity College Dublin Presidents of the Royal Irish Academy People educated at Mount Temple Comprehensive School Scholars of Trinity College Dublin 1937 births Living people