Robert M. Walker (February 6, 1929 – February 12, 2004) was an American physicist, a planetary scientist, the founder and director of McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, noted for his co-discovery of the etchability of nuclear particle tracks in solids, [1] as well as his conjecture that meteorites and lunar rocks contain a record of the ancient radiation history of various stars including the Sun. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] Asteroid 6372 was named Walker in his honor by the International Astronomical Union. [4] Walker was a member of the National Academy of Sciences. [4] [5] Walker was also a fellow of the American Physical Society, [5] the American Geophysical Union, [5] the Meteoritical Society [5] and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. [5] He was also a founder and the first president of Volunteers in Technical Assistance (VITA). [5] [6]
Notable distinctions
- 1964 American Nuclear Society Annual Award [5]
- 1966 Yale Engineering Association Annual Award for Contributions to Basic and Applied Science [4] [5]
- 1967 Doctor, honoris causa, Union College [4] [6]
- 1970 NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Award [4] [5]
- 1971 E. O. Lawrence Memorial Award of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission [4] [5]
- 1973 Elected to the National Academy of Sciences [4]
- 1975 Docteur, honoris causa, University of Clermont-Ferrand, France [4]
- 1985 Antarctic Service Medal of the National Science Foundation [5]
- 1991 J. Lawrence Smith Medal, National Academy of Sciences [4] [5]
- 1992 Officier de l’Ordre des Palmes Academiques [4] [5]
- 1993 Leonard Medal of the Meteoritical Society [4] [5]
- 1997 Peter Raven Lifetime Achievement Award, St. Louis Academy of Science [4]
- 1999 Asteroid 6372 named Walker by International Astronomical Union [4] [7]
- 2004 Doctor, honoris causa (posthumous), Washington University in St. Louis [4]
Life and career
- February 6, 1929, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- 1950 graduated from Union College with a degree in physics
- 1954 Ph.D. in physics, Yale University
- 1966 the McDonnell Professor of Physics, Washington University
- February 12, 2004 died in Brussels, Belgium stomach cancer
Personal life
Walker was married to the cosmochemist Ghislaine Crozaz. [8]
References
- ^ R. L. Fleischer, P. Buford Price, and Robert M. Walker (1975) Nuclear Tracks in Solids (U. California Press, Berkeley).
- ^ New York Times:Big Science; Is It Worth the Price?; Small-Scale Science Feels the Pinch From Big Projects; page 3 of 5;September 4, 1990
- ^ New York Times:PLANES SOAR INTO STRATOSPHERE TO SNARE BITS OF THE COSMIC PAST;page 2 of 3; May 11, 1982
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o National Academies Press:National Academy of Sciences;Biographical Memoirs;Robert M. Walker;By P. Buford Price and Ernst Zinner
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Washington University in St. Louis;Robert M Walker;1929 - 2004
- ^ a b c New York Times:Union College:Robert M, walker, director of the laboratory for space physics
- ^ "(6372) Walker". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer. 2003. p. 528. doi: 10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_5826. ISBN 978-3-540-29925-7.
- ^ Sciences, National Academy of (2005). Biographical Memoirs: Volume 86. doi: 10.17226/11429. ISBN 978-0-309-10369-5.
External links
- 1929 births
- 2004 deaths
- 20th-century American physicists
- Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni
- Union College (New York) alumni
- Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
- Scientists from Philadelphia
- Scientists from St. Louis
- Physicists from Missouri
- Fellows of the American Geophysical Union
- Scientists from New York (state)
- Washington University physicists
- Washington University in St. Louis faculty
- Fellows of the American Physical Society
- Deaths from stomach cancer