Passing of Prof. Michael C. Murphy – A Colleague and Friend

It is with great sadness that I share with everyone the passing of our Colleague and Friend Prof. Michael C. Murphy. Mike and I became acquainted in 1995 following our arrival to Louisiana State University (LSU) in 1991 as assistant professors. We submitted a joint grant in 1995 and had been actively involved in submitting joint grants ever since. The vision of CBMM was not mine, but Mike’s who really pressed hard for mixed-scale systems for biomedical applications. As a result of Mike’s efforts, we recruited to LSU Prof. Sunggook Park, who brought to LSU nanofabrication expertise to realize his vision of mixed-scales (nm to mm). Sunggook was brought to LSU as a result of a grant Mike and I were able to land at LSU.

Mike was the consummate Mechanical Engineer – he was a stickler for experimental detail fortified with simulation data. During my tenure at LSU, we had weekly group meetings with Mike, Sunggook, Dimitris, and myself along with many PhD students, many of which are pictured above. As a chemist, I learned an immense amount about Mechanical Engineering from Mike and his team – for this I am forever grateful! Mike was also an excellent mentor – pictured above is Sunggook, Mike, and me at the ASME meeting (November 2023) with many of Mike’s students. Mike was selected as an ASME Fellow recently – well deserved. Mike’s students have done a tremendous job of being excellent researchers and mentors of future engineers – Mike told me he was very proud of all of you! This will surely keep the Mike spirit moving into the future. We will miss you Mike.

-Dr. Steven A. Soper