Engineer who worked on mine safety and for NASA
A devoted, visionary scientist and engineer, John N. Murphy was a pioneer who put Pittsburgh on the map through his work in mine safety, regenerative medicine and even the NASA Gemini space program.
“My father has had a significant and lasting impact in advancing Pittsburgh’s prominence in the global scientific community,” said his son Michael Murphy, of Cornwall, Lebanon County.
A longtime director at the Pittsburgh Research Center of the U.S. Bureau of Mines in South Park — the largest research center of its kind in the country — who went on to become a professor and the first executive director of the McGowan Center for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, Mr. Murphy, of Peters, died June 13 of complications from Parkinson’s disease. He was 83.
Growing up as the eldest of three boys in Brookline, his father was always interested in figuring out how things worked, his son said.
“He actually had all kinds of odd jobs,” he said. “He was like the neighborhood handyman. He fixed leaky roofs, learned a lot about mechanics and electrical systems and showed a lot of talent in that.”
After graduation from St. Justin Catholic High School in 1957, Mr. Murphy earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Pitt in 1961 while working as a janitor to put himself through school.
At a Pitt vs. Duquesne basketball game in 1959, he met Catherine Schneider, whom he would marry in 1962.
Mr. Murphy also worked his way through an MBA program at Duquesne University, where he attended night school while serving as an electrical research engineer at the mining research center.
By 1978, he was named research director of the facility, which developed new mining technology while working to ensure the safety of miners.
“His core area of research was in blasting — he was a certified explosives engineer,” his son said. “They were working on ways to reduce the size and improve the safety of the explosives used in mining.”
During a collaboration between the mining research center and NASA in the 1960s, Mr. Murphy was part of a team that evaluated the safety system for the Titan II rocket, used as the propulsion system for NASA’s Gemini program — one which defined and tested the skills that would be needed to go to the moon.
“The Titan II was first developed as a nuclear missile, then after Project Mercury they decided to create a version of it for manned space travel,” his son said. “They had to figure out how to release the rocket while keeping the crew safe.”
In the work with NASA, Mr. Murphy understood that details and accuracy were of the utmost importance — recall how the failure of a simple, rubber O-ring led to the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986.
Mr. Murphy felt so strongly that he once fired an employee on the spot for saying that a piece of work “was close enough,” his son said.
“My father was a very buttoned-professional with little tolerance for tomfoolery,” his son said. “He took what he was doing very seriously. He knew that you can’t become complacent. There’s no margin for error — when you screw up, people die. He had that kind of discipline and mentality.”
When the Bureau of Mines was absorbed into other federal agencies in the late ’90s, Mr. Murphy worked briefly as a senior scientist at the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health.
“His agency was moved into the Department of Energy, and they already had project managers,” his son said.
It was a difficult time for Mr. Murphy, who was nowhere near ready to retire.
“He ultimately found his way over to Pitt, teaching chemical engineering and industrial health and safety,” his son said.
By 2001, Mr. Murphy was appointed as the first executive director of the McGowan Institute, which started as a small group of scientists focused on artificial organ technology.
“They got major research funding and decided to pivot to things like medical assist devices, regenerative technology, stem cell technologies and cellular scaffolding,” his son said.
The institute broadened its reach with scientists and engineers from diverse disciplines and grew to more than 250 researchers.
Mr. Murphy spread his wings and found ways to invigorate collaboration with a new classroom design that favored interactive, open spaces and teamwork.
His concepts have been replicated throughout the scientific community and secured Mr. Murphy several awards.
“He was very interested in innovation and innovating the process of innovation, so to speak,” his son said. “The process was very important to him.”
He loved the job so much that Mr. Murphy stayed on at the institute until last month, when he finally retired.
“He was working until the very, very end,” his son said. “He was brilliant — he was inseparable from the work he was doing and the impact he was having. He really believed in it and it was the most important thing.”
Mr. Murphy’s singular devotion was “legendary,” said William Wagner, who now serves as director of the McGowan Institute. He remembered his friend as a humble man who always showcased the work of others.
“John is passionate about seeing his colleagues recognized for their work,” said Mr. Wagner in an interview prepared by the institute to mark Mr. Murphy’s retirement. “He was behind so many nominations of McGowan faculty for international awards and recognitions and delighted in seeing others receive accolades.”
“Professor Murphy’s management style is one I always tried to emulate. He knew what needed to be done and who was responsible for doing it, but he was always kind and helpful even under the tightest deadlines,” said Harvey Borovetz, deputy director of artificial organs and medical devices at the institute.
“The heartfelt outpouring from everyone associated with McGowan regarding his retirement is the best evidence I can provide about how deeply appreciated and highly regarded John Murphy is by all of us.”
Mr. Murphy holds two patents, has authored more than 90 technical publications, and served as the 2011 president of the Society of Mining Engineers, according to the institute article.
When his son became a Boy Scout, Mr. Murphy volunteered as an assistant scoutmaster and later became committee chair for Boy Scout Troop 225 in Bethel Park.
“He was very into scouting and he embraced camping with me,” his son said. “After I left scouting, he stayed on and was highly involved at the council level. And, he actually wrote his own merit badge.”
The badge — Mining in Society — teaches about the role mining has had in history and how it continues to impact everyday life, his son said.
“Everything in your cellphone exists because of mining,” his son said. “Everything from the glass, silicon and lithium — it all comes from mining. He was passionate about helping people understand that, because it isn’t exactly sexy.”
His father, with his wry sense of humor, was an otherwise stoic man who believed that listening and serving were more important than speaking, Michael Murphy said.
“He was very much a leader in everything he did and he was a humble servant leader. His favorite phrase was ‘Silence is the better part of valor,’ ” he said. “He was very giving of himself and his time. He always put himself behind other people and they were attracted to him because of that humility. They recognized how smart he really was when he came to the table with zero pretense.”
Along with his son and wife, Mr. Murphy is survived by his brothers Thomas, of St. Louis, and Richard, of Peters; and three grandchildren.
A Celebration of Life service is being planned for 6-9 p.m. Thursday at Valley Brook Country Club, 425 Hidden Valley Road, in Peters. RSVP to https://sites.google.com/ view/john-n-murphy-life-celebration/
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the SME Foundation or the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine.