Dr. Michael Daley

(1942-2010)

Dr. Michael L. Daley, 67, a resident of Germantown, TN, died unexpectedly Monday, February 8, 2010, in Memphis, TN. He was the son of James J. Daley and Agnes E. (Hallisey) Walton and graduated from Arlington, MA, high school. He served in the USAF, 1960-1964. Dr. Daley was a Ballard Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The University of Memphis. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts, BSEE 1968, and the University of Rochester, MSEE 1970, PhD 1973. Dr. Daley’s early work focused on human eye tracking and the development of predictive mathematical models. He received a postdoctoral fellowship in the Dept. of Ophthalmology and Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Good Samaritan Hospital and Medical Center, Portland, OR. He then obtained a position at the Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland where he conducted research on methodologies to detect subtle changes in vision associated with diseases such as optic neuritis and multiple sclerosis and became interested in neurological diseases and traumatic brain injury. In 1988 he accepted a position as an associate professor in electrical engineering at Memphis State University (now The University of Memphis). Dr. Daley began to work on cerebral blood flow and intracranial pressure and has presented his work at several international conferences, including the Intracranial Pressure (ICP) meetings. His research included collaborations with several colleagues at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. His most recent work focused on modeling of blood flow through the brain and alterations caused by traumatic stroke. His goal was to develop a method to continuously assess cerebrovascular pressure regulation from pressure recordings obtained from brain-injured patients in the intensive care setting. This knowledge would be critical to adapting the clinical care individually to the patient, hopefully greatly improving the outcome of procedures employed. In this endeavor Dr. Daley enlisted collaborations in the USA, Europe, and Scandinavia. For several years Dr. Daley directed the high school regional Science Olympiad and a summer enrichment program for rising ninth graders. In 1997 he served as President of the Tennessee Academy of Science. In 1996 he received an Outstanding Engineer award from IEEE and was a Life Senior Member. Dr. Daley has contributed to over 50 articles to professional publications and holds a patent. He is survived by his wife of 41 years, Carol; his daughter and son-in-law Leah and Stephen Uftring of Fredericksburg, VA. He also leaves behind his siblings: James (Lorraine) of So. Dennis, MA; John of Hyannis, MA; and Mary Perini (Richard) of Arlington, MA; as well as many nieces, nephews, and great-nieces and nephews.