Mr. Murphy, the future Tech and Engineering department chair
SI is set to receive a new department for the 2023-24 year, school administrators announced in late January. The school will establish the Technology and Engineering Department, following trends in recent years of increasing popularity in learning engineering and tech skills. Engineering, both AP Computer Sciences, and Project Invent are the classes that fall under the new department’s umbrella. The launch will mark the first new department created in modern SI history.
“The purpose of creating this new department is to provide focus and structure for those courses which might be classified under science or math, but perhaps do not currently fit into a larger study path,” Ms. Levine wrote in an email to the community, adding that the classes, which are all currently planned as electives, will help to “create a coherent sequence of study for students interested in pursuing computer science and engineering.”
Mr. Murphy, currently an AP Stats and Pre-Calculus teacher as well as moderator of the Robotics Club, was announced as the first department chair of Technology and Engineering. Mr. Murphy spoke about his visions for the future of the department which include potentially adding a Robotics class and lab, a beginners Computer Science class teaching Python, and physical expansions when SI begins its renovation journey.
“We are a stone's throw from Silicon Valley,” Mr. Murphy said about the particular importance of technology for students at SI. Subjects such as Robotics and Engineering are, as a result, especially popular and prominent.
SI engineering and technology has grown swiftly since its origins. Both Engineering and AP Computer Science came from humble beginnings but have blossomed into popular classes and clubs with developed curriculums.
Mr. Murphy has always had a dedicated interest in creation through technology, personally coding his classes’ websites, and said he is excited to see where the future of Tech and Engineering leads. The new department will especially give Robotics the platform to evolve into a class with a proper lab and curriculum. Mr. Murphy explained, “We can't do a lot of the robotics stuff that we'd like to do. That is years down the road because we need a new and functional space. Right now the Robotics Lab is an old bus garage.”
Engineering students race boats made during class in the pool
Reilly Moriarty ’23 & Jack Quach ’23 are Vol. 71 Editors-in-Chief
Comments