UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A Marine Corps veteran and linguist who plays a vital role in the U.S.-Japan alliance is the recipient of the 2025 Lt. Michael P. Murphy Award.
Inori Hayashi is the 2025 honoree of the annual award that recognizes a Penn State student who has made exceptional contributions to the global geospatial intelligence community.
Hayashi served in the Marine Corps for five years and is an associate at defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton, where she serves as a Japan Operations Branch Linguist for III Marine Expeditionary Force G-357. Hayashi is pursuing a master’s degree in homeland security with a concentration in intelligence and geospatial analysis online through Penn State World Campus.
The Lt. Michael P. Murphy Award honors Navy SEAL Lt. Michael P. Murphy, a Penn State alumnus who was killed on June 28, 2005, during a reconnaissance mission in Afghanistan and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions.
“The Penn State geospatial intelligence program is excited to honor Inori Hayashi as the recipient of the 2025 Lt. Michael P. Murphy Award,” said Greg Thomas, the lead faculty director of the degree programs offered online in geospatial intelligence. “Inori holds impressive qualifications and experiences from the Marine Corps and in her role facilitating intelligence sharing between U.S. and Japanese forces. Her vision of geospatial intelligence interoperability as a critical future development is the direction in which the world should move forward.”
Hayashi’s role with III Marine Expeditionary Force focuses on bridging operational and cultural gaps between U.S. and Japanese forces, supporting high-level coordination, and planning and executing joint exercises and operations. The scope of her interpretation work spans tactical field operations, strategic engagements, and support to G2 intelligence, where she assists with geospatial and map analysis that aids in visualizing terrain, force posture, and threat environments.
Hayashi sought a graduate-level education in geospatial intelligence to gain a deeper knowledge base.
“To truly serve as an effective interpreter in military and policy contexts, I need to grasp the strategic, technical, and operational frameworks behind the words,” Hayashi said. “This degree helps me do exactly that — providing me with the analytical foundation to support more informed, integrated, and impactful communication across allied forces."
The Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy Award
Penn State established the Lt. Michael P. Murphy Award in honor of Murphy, a Penn State alumnus who was killed in Afghanistan and posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his valiant service as a Navy SEAL.
The annual award recognizes a student in one of Penn State’s master’s degree programs in geospatial education who has served in the U.S. military or within the geospatial intelligence community and demonstrated exceptional contributions to the discipline. At Penn State, those programs are offered online by the Department of Geography in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences through World Campus.
The award is made possible by the generosity of the U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation, Maxar, and faculty, staff, and friends of Penn State.
Online geospatial intelligence education at Penn State
Penn State World Campus has been offering a Penn State education online for more than 25 years. Its comprehensive portfolio consists of more than 200 degrees and certificates.
The geospatial intelligence programs from Penn State are offered exclusively online through Penn State World Campus by the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. The offerings include graduate programs in geospatial intelligence, spatial data science, geographic information systems, and more.
Visit the Penn State World Campus website to learn more about the graduate portfolio of geospatial programs offered online at Penn State.
