Eric Arthur Walker (April 29, 1910 – February 17, 1995) was president of the Pennsylvania State University from 1956 to 1970 and a founding member of the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of ...

Biography

Born in

Long Eaton Long Eaton is a town in the Erewash district of Derbyshire, England, just north of the River Trent, about south-west of Nottingham and some 8½ miles (13.7 km) south-east of Derby. The town population was 37,760 at the 2011 census. It has ...

, England, Dr. Walker earned a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in Electrical Engineering, a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in business administration, and

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

in general science and engineering from Harvard. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Walker was associate director of the Underwater Sound Laboratory, initially located at Harvard, but relocated to the campus of Penn State University. Dr. Walker remained at Penn State, becoming head of the Department of Electrical Engineering, then

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of the College of Engineering and Architecture in 1951. Next Dr. Walker became vice president for research at Penn State in 1956, and President of the University, also in 1956. Penn State experienced changes and growth during the Presidency of Dr. Walker. The post-war student population at the university increased from 13,000 to 40,000, becoming one of the largest universities in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Dr. Walker also oversaw the creation of the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, and research expenditures for the university grew from $8,000,000 in 1956-57 to $36,000,000 in 1969-70. Dr. Walker served as Vice-Chair of President Eisenhower's Committee on Scientists and Engineers from 1956-1958.

Legacy

The Eric A. Walker building on Penn State's campus is named in honor of Dr. Walker. It houses the

Meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did no ...

department, one of the larger science departments at the university, as well as the

Geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...

department.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Eric A. 1910 births 1995 deaths People from Long Eaton Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences alumni Founding members of the United States National Academy of Engineering Harvard Business School alumni Presidents of Pennsylvania State University Fellows of the American Physical Society 20th-century American academics