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Richard B. Walker papers, 1903-2008

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Walker, Richard B.
Title
Richard B. Walker papers
Dates
1903-2008 (inclusive)
Quantity
24.87 cubic feet (24 boxes, 1 oversize vertical file, 4 floppy disks (3.5 in.), 1 sound cassette tape, and 1 sound tape reel)
Collection Number
6331 (Accession No. 6331-001)
Summary
Papers from a professor in the Botany Department at the University of Washington
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

No restrictions on access. No user access copy is currently available for sound cassette, sound reel, or 3.5 inch floppy disks. Users may obtain a reproduction of the media for a fee by contacting Special Collections.

Request at UW

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

Richard Battson Walker was born on October 24, 1916 in western Illinois. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Botany at the University of Illinois in 1938 and his PhD at the University of California, Berkeley in 1948. At Berkeley, he shared a lab with fellow botany graduate student Helen Bramsch, whom he married in 1940. Walker's graduate studies were interrupted by the Second Word War, when he served as an artillery officer in the US Army in Venezuela and Panama until 1945, when he left the service with the rank of Lt. Colonel. After completing his PhD, Walker was hired into the Botany Department at the University of Washington, where he spent the remainder of his career. He served as Chair of the Department from 1962 to 1971. As Chair, Walker supported the development of undergraduate biology courses and an interdisciplinary biology major. He served as Director of the Biology Undergraduate Program from 1975 to 1982, and was also an adjunct professor in forestry, from 1977 to 1985. Walker's research was interdisciplinary in nature, encompassing areas of plant physiology, nutrition, ecology, and adaptation. His thesis research was on the uptake of minerals from serpentine soils. Between 1958 and 1986, Walker participated in 6 expeditions to the Marshall Islands to study uptake into plants of radioisotopes generated by the hydrogen bomb tests conducted there by the United States. Walker was subject to mandatory retirement at age 70, but remained active in research and continued to be a contributing member of the Botany Department until his death at the age of 93 on March 10, 2010.

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Content Description

Botany Department history records, class syllabi, Walkers' lab notebooks, data, and graduate student proposals, various books and chapters by University of Washington Faculty, committee meeting minutes, notes on various science projects, correspondence, administration materials, and Gessel and Rigg materials. Also includes photos, slides, 4 - 3.5 inch floppy disks, 1 sound cassette tape, and 1 sound tape reel.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Creator's copyrights transferred to the University of Washington Libraries Special Collections.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Arranged in 17 series:

  • Series 1, Botany Department History Materials
  • Series 2, Botany Classes Syllabi Handouts (Walker and other faculty)
  • Series 3, Richard B Walker Lab Notebooks & Graduate Students Research Proposals
  • Series 4, Stan Gessel Materials
  • Series 5, R.B. Walker's Lab Notebooks and Data
  • Series 6, Scots Pine Materials & Data/Lab Notebooks
  • Series 7, Misc. Documents
  • Series 8, Books & Chapters by UW Faculty
  • Series 9, Staff & Faculty Files
  • Series 10, Committees
  • Series 11, Walker's Personal Files & Notes
  • Series 12, Various Science Projects
  • Series 13, RB Walker Correspondence
  • Series 14, RB Walker Files
  • Series 15, AR Kruckeberg Correspondence
  • Series 16, Administration Materials
  • Series 17, Gessel & Rigg Materials

Acquisition Information

Mary Ellen Walker

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Detailed Description of the Collection

 

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • University Archives/Faculty Papers (University of Washington)

Personal Names

  • Gessel, Stanley P
  • Kruckeberg, Arthur R
  • Rigg, George B
  • Walker, Richard B.--Archives

Corporate Names

  • University of Washington. Department of Botany--History--Sources

Other Creators

  • Corporate Names

    • University of Washington. University Archives


2020 (Last modified: 10/27/2020)

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