Nicholas Joseph Callan was an Irish Catholic priest and physicist. He was professor of natural philosophy at Maynooth College in County Kildare from 1834, and is best known for his work on the induction coil.

St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth, is a pontifical Catholic university in the town of Maynooth near Dublin, Ireland. The college and national seminary on its grounds are often referred to as Maynooth College.