My Engineers Notebook Robert Murphy

My Engineers Notebook Robert Murphy My Engineers Notebook Robert Murphy My Engineers Notebook Robert MurphyRob Murphy, a 2013-2014 ASME Early Career Leadership Intern to Support Engineering (ECLIPSE) Intern, at the Annual Meeting Leadership Recognition Reception held at the Dallara IndyCar Factory in conjunction with the 2013 ASME Annual Meeting. Robert Murphy is currently a staff engineer at Solar Turbines Inc. in San Diego, Ca., and a 2013-2014 ASME Early Career Leadership Intern to Support Engineering (ECLIPSE) Intern. Murphy has a bachelors degree in aerospace engineering, and a bachelors and masters degree in mechanical engineering from West Virginia University in Morgantown, W. Va. During school, Murphy welches an active member of Engineers Without Borders (EWB), serving as both a project lead and chapter president. As a member of the Nicaragua Water Filtration Team, Rob helped design and implement slow sand filters in Nicaragua to provide potable water to two childrens feed ing centers. In grad school, where his studies had a gas turbine/heat transfer focus, he was awarded an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) Fellowship and a University Turbine Systems Research (UTSR) Fellowship. During the ORISE Fellowship, Murphy worked on the development of the high pressure and temperature combustion facility at National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). While a UTSR Fellowship at Solar Turbines Inc., he worked on projects as a member of the Heat Transfer Group. In July of 2012, he started at Solar in the New Grad Rotational Program. As an ECLIPSE Intern, Murphy has been assigned to the Institutes Sector, specifically the zwischenstaatlich Gas Turbine Institute, where he has been actively involved as a paper reviewer, session co-chair, author and presenter. Murphy is also an active volunteer with the Society of Women Engineers, the Solar Armed Forces Support Network, and Toastmasters.Whats inside your engineers notebook?My engineers notebook is full of a lot of short notes, figures and equations. I cant say it would be very useful to someone else, but it helps me keep track of the different projects and issues that Ive worked on.Whose notebook would you most like to peek into? Why? I cant say that there is any one part but after being in industry for the last year, I realize that we are lucky to have great tools and equipment to work with in current times. So, I would really like to peek into an engineer from several decades back that didnt have all of the tools that I have at my fingertips today. I imagine it would be very detailed and thorough since they didnt have computers at the same level that we do today.How and when did you know you wanted to become an engineer?In high school I wasnt sure what I wanted to do, but my grandmother and high school basketball coach both suggested that I look into engineering. It seemed interesting so I decided to pursue it at WVU. The first year at WVU allows students to taste differ ent engineering disciplines. I decided to dual major in mechanical and aerospace engineering. Even after two degrees, I wasnt sure what I wanted to do in engineering. Going to grad school and getting exposed to gas turbines allowed me to find the field I was passionate it. When I found that, I knew I had finally found the thing I wanted to dedicate years of my life to.Whats the most exciting project youve ever worked on?This is a difficult question to answer. Ive only been in the field for about three years, but I have been able to work on several exciting projects. My masters work was performed in a high pressure and temperature combustion facility. Performing research in a facility like this is both challenging and exciting. Since joining industry, I have been able to work on projects involving engine maintenance and overhaul, heat transfer, mechanical design, combustion testing, and materials work. As I rotate through different groups in the program I am able to experience new an d exciting projects every few months.What do you think youd be doing if you hadnt become an engineer?Im not entirely sure. As I get older, I keep gravitating toward things that allow me to work with a lot of different people. So I guess I would be doing something in a customer-focused position, but Im unsure of what it would be. Rob Murphy Whats your favorite activity when youre not working?I like to go hiking, read and try new things. Living in southern California is an excellent location to find great hiking and new activities. A new hobby that I have just started is scuba diving. Its a fun way to view the ocean from an entirely different perspective.Was there a book or a movie that piqued your interest in science or inspired you to become and engineer?Top Gun. Anyone reading this is probably laughing at that one, but the movie got me interested in planes. I kept that interest while I was growing up and it definitely led me toward a career in science. As for books, I generally try to read things that arent science-related. I get enough science related reading done at work.Who are your heroes, either within the engineering profession or in the rest of your life?Im not sure that I have heroes. I have been lucky to have some amazing mentors and friends, such as Dr. Andrew Nix, Dr. Seth Lawson, Karon Wynne, Doug Straub and my entire Solar Turbines family that continue to guide, support and motivate me through my professional life. Those people along with a few others and my family have provided me with an amazing support structure. Whats the most meaningful or rewarding aspect of being connected to engineering?Being able to solve problems to provide better products to the customer in any field is very rewarding. The other aspect of engineering that has been very meaningful for me has been my involvement with a lot of different outreach events. Ive was fortunate it enough to travel to Nicaragua to build water filters for underprivileged kids with En gineers Without Borders. Being able to interact with the people that your product is going to help was a very humbling and rewarding experience.What does ASME me to you?ASME has given me a lot of opportunities to grow as a person and engineer. Through conferences and events, it has given me many opportunities to make friends and contacts in a lot of different areas of the world. Each event typically provides an educational session or seminar to allow for professional growth in certain soft skills. Since becoming an ECLIPSE Intern, I have had the opportunity to see a lot of different aspects of ASME outside of the gas turbine areas, and this has allowed me to see how vast and diverse ASME is. ASME is always growing and diversifying, which makes it one of the best sources of knowledge and experience for mechanical engineers in any field.