Paul P. Cull PhD

July 11, 1943 - December 17, 2019

Paul Cull, Ph.D. July 11, 1943-December 17, 2019 He was a neighborhood icon with flowing red beard and Hawaiian shirts and shorts, even in winter. A student once asked a barista at the old Beanery, where he rode his bicycle for coffee every day, who he was. “Why that’s Dr. Cull,” she said. “He’s a computer science professor.” “Oh,” said the student. “I thought he was the mailman.” Even neighbors and friends did not realize that he was a founding member of the Oregon State University Computer Science Department and a Professor Emeritus with more than 40 years of dedicated teaching and research. Dr. Paul Cull was a passionate teacher with both critics and admirers. Critics focused on his eccentricities. Admirers valued his genius and secured for him an Alumni Professor Award of the College of Engineering. He was a long-time co-director of a National Science Foundation summer program to encourage gifted young men and women to pursue careers in research (REU). Dr. Cull despised cheating and intellectual laziness. He valued personal contact with students, invited attendance at his office hours, and rewarded those who came to learn. He mentored numerous graduate students in his Friday afternoon coffee hours where he bought the coffee. He valued the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake because, as he explained, you never knew where an idea would lead. He scribbled ideas on napkins and authored or co-authored hundreds of publications, including a book on difference equations, book chapters, research papers, technical reports, book reviews, and conference presentations. Dr. Cull spoke at numerous conferences in the United States, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, and Belgium on topics in mathematical biology, algorithmic theory and Fibonacci numbers. Europeans who had never heard of Oregon heard of OSU through him. He was a consistent contributor to the BIOCOMP conferences at Vietri sul Mare, Italy, and the International EUROCAST (Computer Aided Systems Theory) meetings held at Las Palmas, Spain, where he was a biennial presenter for nearly 30 years. An avid student of the history of science, Dr. Cull gave his last major lecture at EUROCAST in February. Entitled “Tales from Computer and Systems Theory,” the lecture traced the development of computer theory from the computation of ballistics tables developed during World War II. As a speaker he employed a whimsical approach that brought even dull topics to life. This final lecture was rewarded with a portrait of himself painted by conference director and friend Dr. Roberto Moreno-Diaz. Dr. Cull achieved Life Membership in the Association for Computing Machinery (2013); the 50 Year Award of the Mathematical Association of America (2013); and the E. R. Caianiello Award for Biocybernetics, European Meeting on Cybernetics & Systems Research (2004 and 2010). Early Life in New Jersey Paul Cull was born in Jersey City, New Jersey on July 11, 1943. He was the second of seven children and the oldest of three boys in a traditional Catholic family. His father worked for the National Labor Relations Board, while his mother cared for the family at home. Paul’s parents didn’t give their children middle names because they believed children should choose their own at confirmation. For this reason Paul’s middle name is uncertain but it is probably Patrick—or maybe Peter. Paul’s academic excellence was recognized early, despite a few false starts. When the nun asked his geography class what Milwaukee was famous for, he proudly exclaimed, “Beer!” (She was thinking “furniture.”) Nevertheless, Paul graduated Holy Trinity elementary school (Hackensack) in 1957, and Bergen Catholic High School (Oradell) in 1961. He was active in scouting and achieved Eagle Scout status with 52 merit badges he himself sewed on his banner. Academic Life With seven children to support, Paul’s family could ill afford college, but fortunately his excellent grades propelled him forward. He was eligible for the military academies and briefly considered a military career, but ultimately chose Providence College in Rhode Island when they offered him a full scholarship and more concentrated study of math and science. He worked at Bischoff’s Ice Cream Parlor in Teaneck to supplement expenses. Paul graduated Providence College with honors in 1965, and once again his excellent academic record earned him acceptance and a scholarship at the University of Chicago, where he received his Ph.D. from the Committee on Mathematical Biology in 1970. Chicago was a life-changing experience for the new Dr. Cull. He pursued his lifelong research interests in the ideas of Warren McCulloch and Norbert Wiener, and met important scientists in the areas of cybernetics and mathematical modeling of biological systems. At Chicago, Paul’s association with his major professor, Dr. Luigi Ricciardi, opened the door to his lifelong relationship with Italian researchers. He worked with Dr. Eduardo Caianiello at the Laboratorio di Cibernetica in Arco Felice, conducted sabbatical research at the University of Salerno, and attended numerous conferences. As a result of Dr. Cull’s Italian connections, Italian students and researchers, such as Dr. Renato Capocelli and Dr. Luca Tallini, visited OSU. Marriage and Moving At Chicago Paul met his future wife, Elaine Marie Mishkinis, and they married quietly in 1969 at Ft. Collins, Colorado, while Paul was attending the NASA Conference on Theoretical Biology at Colorado State University. It was a prelude to a life where every subsequent vacation would take place at an academic meeting. The proposal had been typically terse. Walking down 53rd Street in the University of Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood, he said, “I guess we should buy you a ring.” Whether she agreed to the ring or to the proposal was unclear, but married they were. A recent English major, Elaine worked in public relations at the university hospital while Paul wrote his thesis. She typed it on an IBM Selectric with a changeable symbol ball for mathematical equations. Word processors were not yet in common use. In fact, when Paul finished his Ph.D. degree in 1970 and began applying for jobs, the field of computer science was very new. There were but a handful of computer science departments at universities across the country. Fortunately, thanks to the foresight of Dr. Arvid Lonseth and Dr. Harry Goheen of the mathematics department, OSU had begun forming a computer science department, so it looked like a good place for a new Ph.D. like Paul. After a phone interview, he was offered sight-unseen a joint position in mathematics and computer science while paperwork for the new computer science department was in process. Since its beginnings in 1971, computer science at OSU has enjoyed explosive growth and now enrolls over 3,000 students. Among his many contributions to the department, Dr. Cull served as assistant chairman, director of the original student projects laboratory, head graduate advisor, and member of the undergraduate program committee. He developed numerous courses in theory which he championed as the basis of a sound technical education. Home to Oregon In the summer of 1970 the new Mr. and Mrs. Paul Cull drove into Oregon on Highway 20, looking with consternation at the desert and sagebrush and signs labeled “Congestion”, where they saw only a trailer and gas pump. They arrived at the intersection of Highway 20 and Highway 99. There was a field on one corner, a boarded-up flea market on another, a closed gas station and a dilapidated house. Elaine burst into tears. “There’s nothing here!” she said. “We came all the way for this?” “Give me the map,” said the boy from New Jersey who better understood highway naming conventions. “Look—there’s a Highway 99E and a Highway 99W. This is 99E—Corvallis is at the intersection of Highway 20 and Highway 99W.” “What kind of a dumb state has TWO Highway 99s?” she said. They found Corvallis. They stayed. And the rest is history. A Beautiful Life Paul Cull—professor, husband, father, brother, brother-in-law, and uncle—died of pancreatic cancer on December 17, 2019, at home under the care of family, friends and Lumina Hospice. He was 76 years old. He was born during World War II. He lived through Korea, Vietnam, Chicago anti-war protests, the March on Washington, Woodstock, Laugh-In, flower power, bell-bottom trousers and waitresses on rollerskates. He witnessed and contributed to the computer age. He loved his family, Christmas, crossword puzzles, KenKen and Sudoku, Sherlock Holmes, mysteries, reading and Jeopardy. He came in second in Portland TV’s “On the Spot” game show tournament. He was dearly loved. Now he is dearly missed. Family Paul Cull is survived by his wife of 50 years Elaine Cull of Corvallis and their son John-Paul Cull of Portland; Paul’s brothers and sisters: Rosemary Lepore (Joe) of Cresskill, NJ; Mark Cull (Vally) of Brick, NJ; Rita Traina (Bob) of Bayville, NJ; Grace Sverapa (Jim) of Florida; and Leo Cull (Candice) of Corvallis. His parents Clement and Madeline Cull, and his sister Julia Janosy and her husband Alan, preceded him in death. Celebration of Life Family, friends, colleagues and students are invited to a celebration of life for Dr. Paul Cull to be held Thursday, January 30, at 3 p.m. at the McHenry Funeral Home. Donations in his name may be sent to Lumina Hospice, or earmarked for computer science teaching assistants through the OSU Foundation.