Walker, R. L. (Robert Lee), 1919-2005

Robert Lee Walker received a Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1948.

From the description of Robert Lee Walker spectrometer notes, 1947. (Cornell University Library). WorldCat record id: 64054044

Professor of Physics at Caltech from 1949-1981; an expert in experimental high energy physics and in particular in the design of detectors. Before coming to Caltech he worked on the Manhattan Project at both the University of Chicago and Los Alamos, and earned his PhD at Cornell in 1948. During his early years at Caltech, he was involved in the construction and operation of the billion-volt electron synchrotron, at the time the most powerful machine of its type.

From the description of Papers of Robert L. Walker, 1937-1994. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 154306492

Biography

Born in Saint Louis, Missouri on June 29, 1919, Robert Walker spent most of his childhood in Winnetka, a suburb north of Chicago. After graduating from a local high school, he attended Harvard University for one year and then transferred to the University of Chicago, where he graduated in 1941 with a B.Sc. in physics. During the war, Walker worked on the Manhattan Project first in the Metallurgical Laboratory of the University of Chicago, then in Los Alamos National Laboratory where the atomic bomb was built.

When the war ended, Walker decided to pursue an academic career and entered Cornell University. At this stage of his life he developed a strong interest in high-energy physics. During his dissertation work, he built a tiny cyclotron, designed experiments, made measurements, then analyzed the data. In less than one year, Walker obtained his PhD (1948). He stayed an additional year at Cornell University and participated in the construction of their 300 MeV electron synchrotron.

Early in the fall of 1949, Robert Walker joined the California Institute of Technology as an Assistant Professor of physics. Soon after, he became involved, along with Bruce Rule and Robert Langmuir, in the enormous task of building the most powerful machine of its type ever built, the Caltech 1.2 Billion-Volt Synchrotron. Sadly, he was also involved some twenty years later in its dismantlement. During and after the operation of the synchrotron, Walker's interest was in elementary particle physics, and more specifically in the study of photoproduction of pions.

Dr. Walker referred to himself as being sometimes a "professional committee person." He was indeed a member of various professional organizations, most of them sponsored by the Atomic Energy Commission to study the fate of various high-energy physics programs in the United States.

In addition to his research, teaching and involvement in committees, Dr. Walker published an influential book Mathematical Methods of Physics with Jon Mathews, which is still in print.

In 1982, Professor Walker decided to retire from Caltech. He is now living in New Mexico, enjoying activities such as building harpsichords, reading about biology, and canoeing in the Arctic.

From the guide to the Robert L. Walker papers, 1937-1994, (California Institute of Technology. Archives.)