In Memoriam: Professor John O'Connor 1934-2024

John was born in Dublin in 1934 and was educated by the Augustinian Friars at New Ross, County Wexford. He took first-class honours in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering from University College, Dublin in 1956, then spent two years as a Graduate Apprentice with British Nylon Spinners (later ICI Fibres) at Pontypool. He then went on to a PhD at Cambridge, writing his thesis on the mechanics of fretting, The Transmission of Oscillating Forces Between Bodies in Contact.

In 1962, he took up his first academic post at the University of Minnesota (USA) as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Aeronautics and Engineering and Mechanics. In 1964, he joined the University of Oxford as a University Lecturer in Engineering Science. That same year, he was appointed as St Peter’s first Tutorial Fellow in Engineering. At the time, Engineering at Oxford was a modest and developing enterprise, with an annual intake of just 60 undergraduates (compared to more than 180 today) and an academic staff of 15. He officially took up his appointment at St Peter’s in 1965, becoming just the eighth engineer to hold a tutorial fellowship at an Oxford college.

In 1966, John struck up what would become a lifelong collaborative friendship with the orthopaedic surgeon John Goodfellow, resulting in a major interdisciplinary project that has now impacted hundreds of thousands of lives globally. Their revolutionary design of a new development in knee-replacement surgery, the Oxford Meniscal Knee, or ‘the Oxford Knee’, was based on the natural menisci of the human knee (the two cartilage elements between the surfaces of the femur and tibia), making possible a smaller and partial replacement, a far-less invasive procedure than a total knee replacement. The first operation using the Oxford Knee took place in 1976, and within 40 years more than 650,000 Oxford Knees had been implanted in patients around the world. At the bottom of this story, you can learn more about the Oxford Knee in John’s own words.

John was Vandervell Fellow and Tutor in Engineering at St Peter’s College from 1964 to 2001 and following his retirement in 2001 was made Emeritus Fellow. He was appointed Research Director of the Oxford Orthopaedic Engineering Centre in 1991 and was made Professor in 1996. In 2018, University College Dublin presented him with an honorary Degree of Doctor of Science.

Professor of Engineering Science and Senior Proctor Tom Adcock says "John retired the year before I came up to St Peter’s as an undergraduate, so I sadly missed him as a tutor. However, since I became a fellow I have met many of his former students and it is clear that he was both revered and loved by them. I have heard many tales of his teaching, and his relaxed and gentle - yet thorough and exacting - tutorials. I was lucky enough to get to know John when I returned to college as Tutorial Fellow in Engineering in 2012. He was kind and generous with his time. I value every conversation I shared with him. When John retired from College, he set up a fund to support fellows’ research expenses in perpetuity. Many of us have benefited from John’s generosity which has allowed us to disseminate our research and opened up new research opportunities. John was a wonderful man who made our world a better place and transformed many lives. But he did it all with a smile and a gentle laugh. He was modest about his achievements but always willing to share his wisdom. His Oxford Knee changed the lives of many and continues to be used today—my stepfather received an Oxford Knee four years ago."

Memorial Service

There will be a memorial service for Professor O’Connor in St Peter’s College Chapel on Saturday 10 May 2025, at 2:30pm. The event is being organised jointly by the College and the O’Connor family. All are encouraged to be in their seats by 2:20pm. The event in the Chapel will be followed by refreshments in the Hall for those who can stay. Please register here.