The world-renowned physicist from St Francis Terrace

In 1964 Sean Lemass was the Taoiseach, Cassius Clay defeated Sonny Liston to become World Heavyweight Champion, and a foursome from Liverpool released 'Meet The Beatles'. 1964 was also the year when Athlone native Robert O'Connell started teaching physics at Louisiana State University. Today, almost half a century later, the 76-year-old is still going strong as the university's longest-serving professor. A native of St Francis Terrace, he was the eldest of William and Catherine O'Connell's six children, and their only son. One of his sisters, Ann Colleran, is the proprietor of the Roncalli B&B in St Francis Terrace. Though her brother is considered a leading authority on theoretical physics, she said he's always remained very modest and down-to-earth. The head of his university's physics and astronomy department, Michael Cherry, recently said that the contribution which Robert has made over the years has been immense. "He is unique in that he teaches some of our advanced courses where he is the expert on the subject," Mr Cherry said. Robert this week told the Westmeath Independent that his education from the Marist Brothers in Athlone - and a scholarship from Westmeath County Council - helped him to get where he is today. When he was growing up Ireland was struggling economically but, despite this, he said Athlone was a great place in which to live. "The biggest influences in my life were my wonderful parents and the Marist Brothers' schools," he recalled. "I obtained a scholarship from the Marist Brothers which enabled me to attend secondary school and I obtained a first-class education there. As a result, I obtained a Westmeath County Council scholarship, which enabled me to attend University College Galway in 1950. There I found that my Athlone education was at least on a par with the top schools in the country. "All of the Marist Brothers who I encountered left a strong favourable impression on me. I also remain grateful to Westmeath County for providing the funds which made a huge difference in my life." He stated that very few were able to attend university at the time and he believed he was the only one from his class who made it to third level. After completing college and working as a telecommunications engineer for four years he moved to the US to seek better opportunities in the area of science. He completed his PhD at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana in 1962 and then returned to Ireland to marry his fiancee Josephine. After working at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies for a year, he returned to the States and was offered the role at Louisiana State University, which today has some 30,000 students. He lives in Baton Rogue, Louisiana, but has returned to Ireland "practically every year since I left." He stated that when he is home he always makes a point of visiting his sister Ann in Athlone. One of his reasons for continuing to work is the research opportunities which his university offers. "My research work is like a hobby for which I get paid," he said. However he said the details of the research are not easily explained to the average person. "My wife keeps asking me that question all the time, and I'm afraid I'm inclined to not answer," he said. "However, she's still with me."