Longtime NU engineering professor dies from cancer

By Natasha Waggoner
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

On Monday, February 25, Michael Murphy, Norwich University professor of computer engineering and former chair of the engineering department, passed away from cancer.

"We knew he had cancer, and we had seen some dramatic changes just this semester," said Dennis Tyner, current chair of the engineering department. "It was a shock for a lot of people, not the fact that he had cancer, but they were shocked at how fast he deteriorated."

According to Christopher Ketz, 25, a senior computer science major from Springfield, VT, he had three classes with Professor Murphy: programming languages, operating systems, and computer architecture.

"He was very knowledgeable and didn't have to rely on his notes," Ketz said. "He knew all his subjects very well."

According to Tyner, Murphy was the founder of the computer-engineering program.

"He wanted to leave the university being known as the founder of computer engineering, that was one of the things he told me," Tyner said. "To me, this is an important thing because computer engineering is so important in the world today, and by being the founder of the program that means that he was one of the people responsible for knowing early on in the early stages that this was something important in the world."

Murphy himself had a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and originally came to Norwich University as a professor for mechanical engineering, according to Tyner.

As an engineer, Professor Murphy was often described as "abnormal," according to Tyner.

"Professor Murphy, as a person, was kind of abnormal for an engineering person," Tyner said. "People tend to think engineers are very introverted people, but he was a very outgoing person, talkative to the max. You could not go to his office, talk to him about a particular issue, and leave in 5 minutes; that was impossible."

The funeral mass for Prof. Murphy was held on Thursday, February 28, in White Chapel and afterwards there was a reception in Milano ballroom, put on by Murphy's family and the engineering department.

"We had a fantastic turnout at the services," Tyner said. "His mechanical and computer-engineering students showed up, as well as a lot of his friends and family and friends from the Air National Guard."

According to Tyner, Murphy used to fly with the Air National Guard, and as a tribute to him, the Guard conducted a flyover of Norwich University on the day of his funeral.

"Professor Murphy, like so many of the other faculty at this school, taught for a long time, started in 1973, and he dedicated his life to students here at Norwich University," Tyner said. "Students were his love and his life, and he spent hours with them on the telephone, hours in the office with them, and he loved what he was doing."

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