JOHN W. CELL: Man, Mathematician, Educator
by Roberts C. Bullock
(Talk given at the dedication of the John W. Cell Library, May 20, 1868)
(Found in University Archives UA 9.3, Cell folder)
It was in 1935 that a young Ph.D. fresh from the University of Illinois applied for a position in the Mathematics Department at N. C. State College. In a letter of recommendation,`one of his professors wrote the following (quote) "Mr. Cell had exceptional ability, an unlimited capacity for work, real Initiative, and a boundless enthusiasm." As his colleague from the time of his arrival and as his office mate for 17 years, I came to observe first hand the profound accuracy of this description of Dr. John W. Cell.
Dr. Cell was born and reared in Kansas City, where he attended the public schools and studied two years at Kansas City Junior College. He then went on to the University of Illinois, where he received the Bachelor's degree in 1928 and the Master's Degree in 1929. Following this, he taught for three years at Southern Methodist University, and it was during this period that he married Mary Louise Keith in 1931. He returned to the University of Illinois to do part-time teaching and to continue his graduate studies, being awarded the Ph.D. in 1935.
And so it was that in August 1935 Dr. Cell came to Raleigh, bringing with him his wife and infant son, and settling down in an upstairs apartment in the home of Dr, Carey Mumford. They blended quickly into the life of the college community, and in time Dr. Cell became known as an expert bridge player, an adequate home shop worker, and an avid gardener. He also enjoyed fishing, especially surf casting.
At the time of his arrival, the Mathematics Department offered only four courses beyond Integral Calculus, but that same year marked the addition of three other young Ph.D. s to the staff, with three more to come the following year. So it was in this rather progressive setting that Dr. Cell began his career at N. C. State. He soon was instrumental in organizing a seminar (he was a great believer in seminars) in which each of us gave a series of lectures in a field of major interest. In a college where most of the mathematics teaching was for engineering students, he became deeply interested in applied mathematics, which to him meant: a blending of rigorous pure mathematics with applications to the physical and natural sciences and engineering. He established a close connection with the engineering departments and carefully studied their needs in mathematics. In his second year here he offered a sequence of three courses in Applied Mathematics covering a wide range of topics with numerous applications to engineering problems. This in turn Led to his active participation in the proceedings of the American Society for Engineering Education, and in this connection a project in the Society led to the publication in 1943 of his first book, entitled PROBLEMS ILLUSTRATING MATHEMATICS, which was favorably received and soon sold out. He went on to serve as Chairman of the Mathematics Division of the Society in 1947-48.
Dr. Cell was also a very active member of the American Mathematical Society and the Mathematical Association of America, serving as Chairman of the Southeastern Section of the latter in 1949-50.
During World War II, Dr. Cell interrupted his stay at N. C. State to spend a year at Aberdeen Proving Ground carrying out research on artillery rockets. He returned to N. C. State in time to play a leading role in setting up the new program of study for the Master's Degree in Engineering Mathematics, first listed in the 1946-47 catalog. This was the year in which he first offered his well-known sequence of courses in Operational Mathematics, which attracted so many students and represented the area in which much of his later research was concentrated. In 1951, Dr. Cell had published a textbook in Analytic Geometry which received wide adoption. In this same year he resumed his work on rocket research through consulting with Cornell Aeronautics Laboratory, and this led him to secure in 1952 a Rocket Research Project for N. C. State sponsored by Army Ordnance. He looked upon this project as a vehicle for the support of basic research and the education of graduate students. It also brought a powerful analog computing facility to the Mathematics Department. Through this and other sponsored research he was able to attract to our department several outstanding mathematicians. He made two trips to England in connection with rocket work, and on one of these he met Dr. Ian Sneddon, Professor of Mathematics at Glasgow University and one of the British Commonwealth's outstanding mathematicians, whom he secured as a consultant on one of the projects and as visiting lecturer at N. C, State. Through his close association with Dr. Sneddon, he was able to obtain visiting professors from Glasgow and Edinburgh, and new staff members from Glasgow and London. A graduate student exchange with the University of Glasgow also resulted. In 1957 Dr, Cell became Head of the Department of Mathematics at N. C. State. He brought with him a wide acquaintance with mathematicians in the United States and the British Commonwealth. This was of great help in securing additions to the mathematics staff. He immediately set his sights on obtaining approval by the University authorities for a Ph.D. program in mathematics, and this goal was attained and the announcement first made in the 1962 catalog. As a department head, one might describe him as follows:
(a) He showed a personal interest in the development of
each member of his staff. Although deeply interested in research, he equally recognized the
importance of good teaching, organizing and improving courses, and television work. He encouraged
his staff members to develop along the lines of their natural abilities.
(b) He set up a superior
student program based on the philosophy exemplified by this quote from one of his newspaper articles:
"Those schools and colleges with sufficient vision to rescue the able students from boredom and
stagnation and to provide a realistic and challenging program for them must be followed by all the
rest."
(c) He continued to teach his: sequence of courses in Operational Mathematics, to direct
research, and to experiment with visual aids in teaching.
(d) He believed in teamwork and
consulted freely with his graduate staff when major decisions were to be made.
(e) He practiced a
close supervision of graduate assistant teachers to assure sound teaching and to promote their
development.
(f) He had a deep interest in building a good library, and particularly in assembling
a sound departmental library.
Dr. Cell was an able, dynamic, and inspiring teacher. He had a sense of humor and a deft dramatic touch that held his audience. His enthusiasm was communicated to his students, and his influence on them was enduring. As early as 1943 he was selected by the student honor society of Tau Beta Pi to receive its first award for excellence in research, authorship, and teaching. In his last year of teaching, he received an Outstanding Teacher Award from the University.
Dr. Cell attained many other honors. He was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He served as president of the local chapters of the Society for the Sigma Xi, and Phi Kappa Phi, both of which are national honorary scholastic societies. He was the author of sixteen published papers and books, and received listings in eight different versions of Who's Who.
In closing, I quote from a friend's description of Dr. Cell: "Those who knew him best found that he was gentle, and, at heart, humble; a man who loved home and family and friends and flowers and music and quiet conversation."