TO THE CHAPTER INVISIBLE
Hildreth Walker, Jr. 1933-2024 Trailblazing Scientist, Professor, A-MAN Founder, STEM Champion, U.S. Navy H ildreth “Hal” Walker Jr. (Los Angeles (CA) Alumni 1989)
“... WALKER WILL BE REMEMBERED FOR HIS DECADES-LONG ADVOCACY AND MENTORSHIP IN INTRODUCING AND ADVANCING STEM CAREERS TO YOUNG PEOPLE OF COLOR AS WELL AS REMOVING BARRIERS TO ENTRY FOR MINORITIES IN THE SPACE AND TECHNOLOGY JOB SECTOR. ”
a pioneering laser scientist and dedicated STEM advo- cate, entered the Chapter Invisible on November 24, 2024, at 91 in Cape Town, South Africa. In addition to his historical contribution to space technology, Walker will be remembered for his decades-long advocacy and mentorship in introduc- ing and advancing STEM careers to young people of color as well as remov- ing barriers to entry for minorities in the space and technology job sector. Born in New Orleans, LA on 28 July 1933, electrical and aerospace engineer and laser system specialist, Hil- dreth “Hal” Walker, Jr., grew up in Alexandria, LA and later in Los Angeles, CA. After graduating high school, Walker joined the U.S. Navy in 1951 and served four years, ending his mili- tary career as an electrician’s mate. Discharged from the U.S. Navy, he accepted
a position at the Douglas Aircraft Company, installing radar systems in Navy jet bombers. Later, Walker graduated cum laude from Pacific Christian College (now Hope International University) with a bache- lor’s in business technology management on the GI Bill. In 1959, Walker was a technical member of the RCA Corporation’s BMEWS (Ballistic Missile Early Warning System) stationed in Bear Air Force in Alaska to detect Soviet Missile nuclear attacks. This pro- gram was the United States’ first early warning system
against a nuclear attack. Later, Walker worked on other technical projects, including the first television broadcast transmitted from Earth to a satellite and back to Earth again in 1962. Next, Walker joined in 1964 KORAD Laser Systems, a Division of the Union Carbide Corporation. In 1969, he led a Union Carbide team that adapted a ruby laser for measuring the distance from the Earth to the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission. Walker’s team trained a laser beam from Lick Observatory in California at a reflector
mirror, only 18 inches wide, that Astronauts Neil Arm- strong and Buzz Aldrin set up on the Moon’s surface. Walker’s team recorded the most accurate measure- ment of the distance ever, exactly within 5 meters. The equipment used for the experiment is now on permanent exhibit in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. This significant achievement, now known as the Lunar Ranging Exper- iment (LURE), was the only interactive planetary experiment for the first Moon Landing.
60 THE JOURNAL ♦ FALL 2024
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