Paul Kornman was one of the original members of ISIP. He joined ISIP in Fall'94 as a Junior, just having returned from his last coop assignment at Mississippi Power. He was majoring in Electrical Engineering with emphasis in Communications. He was one of our top undergraduate students (his overall GPA was 3.9), and had earned the respect of friends and faculty for his excellent work ethic.

In addition to being a top student, he was an excellent engineer with good practical knowledge base. Whether fixing his car, rewiring motors with his dad, or linking his friends apartments by a local area network, Paul was known as a person who got the job done.

During his tenure in ISIP, Paul made many significant contributions to ISIP. He worked long hours many weekends pulling cable, punching down connectors, etc. He even rewired the computer room for 110V service, converting it from 220V required for the Vax formerly housed in the room (the remnants of the Vax are shown next). He was personally responsible for implementing ISIP's 10BaseT local area network - which was quite a step forward for Simrall at the time (we pulled up a lot of marginal thin-wire and serial port cable in the process). Since its deployment, we haven't had one minute of downtime.

Paul was also a noted steam tunneler, having conducted many serious explorations around campus. Steam tunneling is a favorite underground activity of local undergraduates.

He was also a fan of Beavis and Butthead, and was known for his fondness of the Great Kornholio - after whom he named his PC. Somehow, I think the picture below needs no explanation for those of us who knew Paul well.

Paul Kornman was killed in an auto accident by a drunk driver early morning on Tuesday, October 17, 1995. True to Paul, he was driving home at 1 AM after studying late into the night at his office in Simrall. The driver of the other vehicle was 18 years old, and a pledge in the same fraternity Paul belonged to.

Needless to say, this has devastated his family and friends in ways that are impossible to describe. The driver responsible for Paul's death requested a sentence of probation after pleading guilty to vehicular homicide, pleading that this was a one-time mistake. On October 22, 1996, he was sentenced to 10 years hard time. Mississippi law requires a minimum of 85% of the sentence to be served.

The presiding judge, in his closing statements, told the defendant that while he might be sorry for making this tragic mistake, the fact was that by stepping in the car drunk, he was violating the law. The judge noted that while rehabilitation was a concern, he had a responsibility to his constituency to uphold the law and send a clear message that violation of the law will not be tolerated. He added that while the driver will get out of prison one day, and resume his life, Paul's family will live with this the rest of their lives.

Paul had a bright future ahead of him - surely one who would make a difference. It is hard to say what good can come of such a tragic loss, but maybe it will make others, particularly students, think twice before drinking and driving.