Cormac O'Raifeartaigh

{{Short description|Irish physicist}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}

{{Use Irish English|date=January 2021}}

{{Infobox scientist

| image = Picture_of_Cormac_O%27_Raifeartaigh_PhD_FRAS.jpg

| name = Cormac O'Raifeartaigh

| caption =

| pseudonym =

| workplaces = Waterford Institute of Technology

| fields = Physics

| nationality = Irish

| alma_mater = {{ublist |University College Dublin |Trinity College Dublin}}

| website = {{URL|antimatter.ie}}

}}

Cormac O'Raifeartaigh (Cormac O'Rafferty) is an Irish physicist based at Waterford Institute of Technology in Ireland. A solid-state physicist by training, he is best known for several contributions to the study of the history and philosophy of 20th century science, including the discovery that Albert Einstein once attempted a steady-state model of the expanding universe, many years before Fred Hoyle.{{cite journal |first=Davide |last=Castelvecchi |date=24 February 2014 |url=https://www.nature.com/news/einstein-s-lost-theory-uncovered-1.14767 |title=Einstein’s lost theory uncovered: Physicist explored the idea of a steady-state Universe in 1931 |journal=Nature }}{{cite news |work=Science Daily |title=A forgotten model of the universe: Analysis of Einstein's 1931 paper featuring a dynamic model of the universe |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140219075219.htm |date=19 February 2014 }}{{cite news |first=J. |last=Farrell |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnfarrell/2014/02/25/new-discovery-reveals-einstein-tried-to-devise-a-steady-state-model-of-the-universe/ |title=New Discovery Reveals Einstein Tried To Devise A Steady State Model Of The Universe |work=Forbes magazine |date=25 February 2014 }}{{Cite journal |arxiv = 1402.0132|doi = 10.1140/epjh/e2014-50011-x|title = Einstein's steady-state theory: An abandoned model of the cosmos|year = 2014|last1 = O'Raifeartaigh |first1 = Cormac|last2 = McCann|first2 = Brendan|last3 = Nahm|first3 = Werner|last4 = Mitton|first4 = Simon|s2cid = 38384067|journal = The European Physical Journal H|volume = 39|issue = 3|pages = 353–367|bibcode = 2014EPJH...39..353O}}

O'Raifeartaigh is known to the public as the author of the science blog [https://antimatter.ie Antimatter] and a monthly science column in The Irish Times. As a science ambassador for Discover Science & Engineering Ireland, he is a frequent participant in scientific debates in the Irish media.{{fact|date=January 2021}}

O'Raifeartaigh graduated from University College Dublin in 1988 with a BSc Hons in experimental physics. A PhD in solid-state physics from Trinity College Dublin in 1994 was followed by Marie Curie Research Fellowships at Aarhus University, Denmark and Trinity College Dublin. He currently lectures in physics at Waterford Institute of Technology and is a visiting associate professor at the School of Physics at University College Dublin.{{fact|date=January 2021}}

O'Raifeartaigh was elected a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society in 2014 and a Fellow of the Institute of Physics in 2016. He is a research associate at the School of Theoretical Physics of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies and was a research fellow at the [http://sts.hks.harvard.edu/ Science, Technology and Society Program] at Harvard University in 2010–2011.{{fact|date=January 2021}}

Cormac is the youngest son of the late Lochlainn O'Raifeartaigh, an Irish theoretical particle physicist.{{Cite web|title=Irish physicist who had a theorem named after him|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/irish-physicist-who-had-a-theorem-named-after-him-1.1117758|access-date=2021-11-05|website=The Irish Times|language=en}}