David Alan Walker (18 August 1928 – 12 February 2012) was a British scientist and professor of

photosynthesis Photosynthesis ( ) is a system of biological processes by which photosynthetic organisms, such as most plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, convert light energy, typically from sunlight, into the chemical energy necessary to fuel their metabo ...

in the Department of Animal and Plant Sciences (APS) at the

University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Fir ...

. He authored over 200 scientific publications including several books during his lifetime.

Education

Walker was born in Hull and attended South Shields Boys' High School from 1939 to 1946. After doing his national service in the

Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty (United Kingdom), Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British ...

, he studied at King's College, Newcastle, then part of the

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

, where he received his Bachelor of Science and subsequently his PhD for research supervised by Meirion Thomas.

Career and research

Walker's research interests were in photosynthesis, specifically he:

Awards and honours

Walker was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

(FRS) in 1976. His nomination reads: In 2004, Walker received the International Society of Photosynthesis Research Communications Award "to acknowledge his outstanding efforts to communicate photosynthesis to the general public." Walker was also awarded a Doctor of Science degree from Newcastle University in recognition of his exceptional contributions of published work in his field.

References

1928 births 2012 deaths British botanists Researchers of photosynthesis Academics of the University of Sheffield Scientists from Kingston upon Hull Fellows of the Royal Society Alumni of King's College, Newcastle {{UK-botanist-stub