David Murdock

Memorial services for Dr. David Phillip Murdock 58, of Cookeville will be held at a later date. Dr. Murdock was born September 16, 1954, to the late Lawrence Bernard and Rose Sylvia Murdock. He died suddenly at his home on Thursday, May 23, 2013. He is survived by his wife Laurie Lett Murdock (whom he married March 23, 2003 in Cookeville) and her children David, Brad, and Leah Schroeder all of Cookeville; his brother Steve and Maxine Murdock of Whittier, California, and their children, and his sister Sharon and Jim Tree of Yakima, Washington, and their children. Dr. Murdock was a graduate of El Rancho High School ("�72) in Pico Rivera, California, the California Institute of Technology (BS Chemistry, "�76), the University of Colorado, Boulder (MS Physics, "�83), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Ph.D. Physics, "�87), and the Nuclear Theory Center at Indiana University, Bloomington (post-doc, "�89). Dr. Murdock has served as Professor of Physics at Tennessee Technological University since 1989, and remains affiliated with the Nuclear Theory Center and the REU program at Indiana University, Bloomington. Dr. Murdock was passionate about Physics. In his own words, "I love doing physics; I decided to make theoretical physics my career because I enjoy applied mathematics and am intrigued by the idea that it can be used to predict the detailed behavior of the objects in the world around us, from the carts rolling on tracks in our Phys 2111 labs down to the electrons in atoms and the quarks and gluons inside the nucleon. It is fun and challenging to try to understand the laws which tell us how the universe works and to try to impart some of the beauty and utility of this subject to students. No foolin"�."� Dr. Murdock also harbored a love of music. He performed as a chorister and soloist with the Mastersingers Community Chorus, taught an Acoustics course dealing with the physics of sound, and maintained an extensive record collection. He will be sorely missed by the physics and music communities, as well as the broader Tennessee Tech family. Memorial contributions may be made to Cookeville Master Singers.