Posted on March 30, 2004 at 10:35 a.m.
BIRMINGHAM, AL — Less than a week after traveling to Washington, D.C., to accept the prestigious Dr. Robert H. Goddard Scholarship from the National Space Club, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) senior engineering student David Murphy has earned a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship, one of the most coveted national fellowships in the sciences.
The three-year, $90,000 NSF Graduate Fellowship is awarded to outstanding graduate students in the mathematical, physical, biological, engineering, behavioral or social sciences. To earn the fellowship, the student must be pursuing graduate studies that lead to research-based master’s or doctoral degrees and be in the early stages of their graduate study. They also must demonstrate intellectual ability, a strong academic record, and perform research that enhances scientific understanding and benefits society.
Murphy, who has a double major in mechanical and biomedical engineering and a member of the UAB Honors Program, will earn his bachelor’s degree in May. He is still considering his graduate school options, which include UAB and Cambridge University in England.
“I’m so thankful for the opportunities the NSF Graduate Fellowship will afford me and incredibly excited about the challenges that lie ahead,” Murphy said. “I believe my undergraduate experience at UAB has thoroughly prepared me to begin the cutting-edge research in micro air vehicles that I want to pursue.”
“On rare occasions, a teacher is privileged to work with a student who seems likely not just to make a name for himself but to change the world,” said Ada Long, Ph.D, director of the UAB Honors Program. “David is superb in the field of engineering, creating and undertaking remarkable research opportunities. His broad-based education, exceptional service background and tireless dedication to excellence will enrich and energize his specialized research in the field of technology, making him an invaluable leader in the complex and challenging future that lies ahead of us.
Under the guidance of Associate Professor of Engineering Heng Ban, Ph.D., Murphy and a team of other UAB students have participated in NASA’s Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities Program, in which undergraduate students fly experiments aboard a KC-135 aircraft. The team has flown an experiment three times over the past three years, examining the charge distributions on particles in micro-gravity. Murphy was team captain during the project’s second year.
Murphy also has conducted combustion research under the direction of faculty in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. He studied microslot diffusion flames and co-authored a technical paper on the subject. As part of this research, Murphy led a team of mechanical engineering students studying the behavior of these flames on another KC-135 microgravity flight.
Murphy, son of Ken and Rosanne Murphy of Hoover, is a graduate of Shades Mountain Christian School. Murphy is no stranger to exceptional honors. He earned the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship for the academic year 2003-2004 and earned a spot on the USA Today 2002 All-USA College Academic Third Team, ranking as one of the top 60 college students in the United States.
Murphy’s other honors include being named the Engineering Student of the Year in 2001 by the Alabama Society of Professional Engineers and earning the award for the 2001 Outstanding Undergraduate Engineering Student at the UAB School of Engineering. Murphy is a member of the University Honors Program, UAB Mechanical Engineering Honors Program, American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society. Murphy has earned Presidential Honors eight times and has been on the dean’s list three times. He also has been a student engineer in the Research and Environmental Affairs Department at Southern Company for three years.