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Alexander Murphy joined the faculty at Florida Polytechnic University as an Assistant Professor in 2023. Before coming to Florida Poly, he held a post-doctoral research position at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) and was an instructor for several courses in their mechanical engineering department.
Dr. Murphy’s research areas include design theory, design methodology, design cognition, design education, and engineering education. His dissertation investigated ways to improve systems thinking through functional decomposition, mental model elicitation, and different approaches to the prototyping process. While at UTD, his research examined how different representations impact systems thinking through and the cognitive mechanisms that influence subsystem clustering behavior. Dr. Murphy’s current research includes extending his prior work on systems thinking and representation, investigating the role of trained facilitation during the engineering design process, understanding the impact of mentorship during senior design (Capstone) courses, and creating a framework for prototyping that specifies how, when, and why to make a prototype.
In the field of engineering design, Dr. Murphy has published journal articles in the Journal of Mechanical Design (JMD), Research in Engineering Design (RED), and International Journal of Design, Creativity, and Innovation (IJDCI). He also regularly attends and publishes conference papers at the ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences (IDETC), American Society of Engineering Education Annual Conference and Exposition (ASEE), International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED), and International Conference on Design Computing and Cognition (DCC).
Awards and Honors
ASEE eFellow, American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), 2021
GRFP Fellowship, National Science Foundation (NSF), 2018
Associate Level Certificate, Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning, 2020
Tech to Teaching Certificate, Georgia Tech Center for Teaching and Learning, 2020
J. Conrad Hanson Fellowship, 2018
Education
Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021
M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Minor: Creative Writing, University of South Florida, 2016
Expertise
Design Theory
Design Methodology
Design Cognition
Design Education
Engineering Education
Professional Activities
Member, American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE), 2018 – Current
Member, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), 2018 – Current
Member, Design Society, 2023 – Current
Reviewer: Research in Engineering Design (RED), Journal of Mechanical Design (JMD), Artificial Intelligence for Engineering Design, Analysis, and Manufacturing (AIEDAM), Design Science (DS)
Select Publications
Murphy, A., Banks, H., Nagel, R., Linsey, J., 2023, “Functional Modeling Supports System Representation”, 2023 ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, Vol. 145 No. 9, pp. 091401, DOI: 10.1115/1.4062664.
Murphy, A., Floresca, E., Fu, K., Linsey, J., 2021, “An Investigation of Iterative vs. Parallel Prototyping Strategies in an Undergraduate Engineering Design Course”, Research in Engineering Design, 33 No. 2 pp. 173-190, DOI: s00163-021-00376-7
Paige, M., Fillingim, K., Murphy, A., Song, H., Reichling, C., Fu, K., 2020 “Examining the Effect of mood and Intuition on Design Outcomes”, 2019 International Journal of Design, Creativity, and Innovation, Vol. 9 No. 2, pp. 79-102, DOI: 1080/21650349.2021.1890228
Murphy, A., Ingram, H., Nelson, J., Bohm, M., Linsey, J., and Nagel, R., 2019, “An Update to a Functional Modeling Scoring Rubric with Overall and Question-Level Inter-Rater Reliability”, 2019 ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, 141 No. 8, pp. 084501-084501-10, DOI: 10.1115/1.4043205
Murphy, A., Patel, A., Zorn, S., Gericke, K., Summers, J., “The Influence of Representation on System Interpretation: A Search for Most Common Set Partitions”, 2023 International Conference for Engineering Design, Bordeaux, France, DOI: 1017/pds2023.343
Murphy, A., Whittle, A., Fu, K., Linsey, J., ”The Impact of Prototyping Strategies on Computer-Aided Design Behavior”, 2023 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, June 25 – June 28, Baltimore, Maryland. https://peer.asee.org/44462
Murphy, A.,Patel, A., Sen, C., Summers, J., 2022, “The Effects of Representation Modality on Subsystem Clustering”, 2022 ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences, DTM, August 14 – August 17, St. Louis, Missouri. https://doi.org/10.1115/DETC2022-90104
Murphy, A., Saracino, D., Akgun, B., Fu., K., Linsey, J., 2021, “Student Perceptions of Iterative and Parallel Prototyping Strategies in an Undergraduate Design Competition”, 2021 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, July 26 – July 29, Virtual Conference. https://peer.asee.org/37752
Murphy, A., Banks, H., Nagel, R., Linsey, J., 2019, “Graduate Students’ Mental Models: An Investigation into the Role of Function in Systems Understanding”, 2019 ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences, DTM, August 18– August 21, Anaheim, California. https://doi.org/10.1115/DETC2019-98383
Murphy, A., Nelson, J., Bohm, M., Nagel, R., and Linsey, J., 2018, “Question-by-Question Interrater Analysis and Suggestions for Improvements of a Functional Model Scoring Rubric”, 2018 ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences, DEC, August 26 – August 29, Quebec City, Quebec, CA. https://doi.org/10.1115/DETC2018-86074
