Michael (Mick) O'Shea is a Professor of Physics, associate department head, and director of the graduate physics program at Kansas State University. His research focused primarily on the material science of rare-earth based materials, especially the relationship between their structure and magnetic properties when in nanostructured form, and he has published over 70 papers in peer-reviewed journals with his Ph.D. and M.S. students. He has served as an editor for the proceeding of the Magnetism and Magnetic Materials conference published in Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials and in IEEE Transactions on Magnetism. More recently, he has published work on the physics of outdoor sports including climbing, skiing, backpacking, and whitewater rafting. He teaches in all areas of physics at the undergraduate and graduate level and has received the Kansas State Stamey Teaching award. He also works seasonally during summer for Colorado Outward Bound as an instructor and course director on wilderness courses in Colorado and Utah. He completed his undergraduate degree in physics from the University of East Anglia and his Ph.D. from Sussex University in the United Kingdom. He did a postdoc at the University of Nebraska before moving to Kansas State University in 1983.