Sheila Tinney facts for kids

Sheila Christina Tinney (born Sheila Power, 15 January 1918 – 27 March 2010) was an amazing Irish scientist. She was a mathematical physicist. This means she used math to understand how the universe works.

In 1941, she earned her PhD from the University of Edinburgh. She finished it in just two years! Her teacher was the famous scientist Max Born. Sheila Tinney is thought to be the first woman born and raised in Ireland to get a doctorate in math or science.

Her Life and Studies

Sheila Christina Power was born in Galway city. She was the fourth of six children. Her father, Michael Power, was a math professor at University College Galway. Her mother, Christina Cunniffe, sadly passed away when Sheila was 12.

Sheila went to school with Dominican nuns in Galway and Dublin. She was very good at math. In her final high school exam, the Leaving Certificate, she got top marks in math. Only 8 girls in the whole country did that year!

After one year at University College Galway, she moved to University College Dublin (UCD). She earned her science degree there in 1938. She got First Class Honours in Math and was the best in her class.

She continued her studies at UCD and earned her Master's degree in 1939. She then won a special scholarship. This allowed her to study at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. Two years later, in 1941, she earned her PhD. She studied how crystals are built.

Working with Great Minds

After her studies, Sheila came back to Dublin. She became a teacher at University College Dublin. She was also one of the first three scholars at the brand new Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS). This was in October 1941.

At DIAS, she worked with very famous scientists. These included Paul Dirac, Arthur Eddington, and Erwin Schrödinger. She became very interested in quantum physics. This is the study of tiny particles and energy. She wrote important papers with Schrödinger and other scientists.

From 1948 to 1949, she took time off from UCD. She was a visiting scholar at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. There, she worked with more brilliant minds. These included Albert Einstein!

Sheila Tinney created the first math courses on quantum mechanics at UCD. She taught this subject to many students for years. She retired in 1979.

In 1952, she married Seán Tinney. He was a former engineering student she had taught. They had three children. One of their children is the famous classical pianist Hugh Tinney.

A Role Model for Women

By the early 1900s, women were slowly being accepted into universities. Even Trinity College Dublin started letting women in from 1904. But some older groups were slower to change.

The Royal Irish Academy (RIA) is a very old and important group for Irish scholars. They made it hard for women to join. But in 1949, they finally allowed four women to become members. Sheila Tinney was one of them!

In 2016, the RIA honored Sheila Tinney. They hung her portrait on their walls. It was part of a special display celebrating 12 female academic leaders.

Even at University College Dublin, Sheila faced challenges because she was a woman. One professor remembered how Sheila was passed over for a promotion. A younger man who was less qualified got the job instead. But Sheila was known for helping younger women. She supported them as they tried to build their careers.

Her Lasting Impact

Sheila Tinney's amazing work is still remembered today. In 2016, a special medal was made for the top student winners of The Undergraduate Awards. This medal honored Sheila Tinney. It called her a "trail-blazing and brilliant academic." It said she achieved great success through her strong belief in herself and hard work.

Also in 2016, the RIA showed a portrait of Tinney. It was painted by Vera Klute for the Women on Walls exhibition. In August 2018, a special plaque was put up at UCD to honor Sheila Tinney.

Images for kids

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  Sheila Tinney (far right), Paul Dirac (center), and other physicists and mathematicians at DIAS in 1942.