Starnes
Walker is Director of Research in the
DHS
Directorate for Science and Technology.
DHS
Under Secretary of
S&T
Jay Cohen (Rear Admiral,
USN,
Ret.) recruited Dr. Walker from
ONR.
As the former
CNR,
Secretary Cohen previously worked with Dr. Walker, who was most recently
Technical Director and Chief Scientist for the Naval
S&T
program. As Director of Research for the
DHS
S&T
Directorate, Dr. Walker oversees the Office of National Laboratories, the Office of
University Programs for the
DHS
Centers of Excellence, and the Academic Fellowship and Scholarship Program Office.
He joined the
S&T
Directorate in January, 2007. Previously, Dr. Walker joined
ONR
in September 2004 and served as the Technical Director and Chief Scientist,
reporting directly to the
CNR.
Working with the
CNR,
Dr. Walker was responsible for structuring and leading an
S&T
organization that ensures technological superiority for the
USN
and Marine Corps. Dr. Walker's budget authority was annually
$2,200M, plus an additional average Congressional increase of
$700M, and Dr. Walker served in a supervisory role for a workforce
of 5500 civilian and military personnel for
ONR
and
ONR's
Corporate Laboratory,
NRL.
Dr. Walker's leadership spanned the university community, the government
laboratory structure, industry, and international government defense
organizations to bring their resources and technical capabilities into the Naval
S&T
program, thereby ensuring strategic Naval capabilities to the future
and avoiding technological surprise for the nation. Dr. Walker's
previous position was as the Acting Associate Laboratory Director for
National Security, serving as the National Security Coordinator at
Argonne National Laboratory. Most recently, Dr. Walker served on the
DoD's
Defense Science Board in the Summer Study to define Future Strategic Strike
Systems with
STRATCOM
as the
COCOM
sponsor. Dr. Walker is a former member of the
Senior Executive Service and has served as the Senior Advisor for
S&T
at
DTRA
from 2000-2003.
Dr. Walker was a standing member of the Defense Science and Technology Advisory
Group for
DDR&E
in
OSD.
Dr. Walker started his career at the Naval Weapons Center–Corona Laboratories
in 1968 as a research physicist. In 1970 he joined the Naval Weapons Center–China
Lake. In 1973, Dr. Walker joined Phillips Petroleum as a research physicist.
Advancing to a senior scientist position, he founded and directed programs in
physics, technology, nuclear weapons support, energy, and bioengineering, as
well as an ending assignment serving as the environmental director for operations.
From 1992 to 1998, he served as Vice President–Technology for Morrison Knudsen
Corporation with responsibility for developing new technology and engineering
partnerships with the DoD, State, and National Laboratories. From 1998 to 1999,
Dr. Walker led a team with British Nuclear Fuels Limited that successfully
developed a new process from an
R&D
platform through pilot plant demonstration for the chemical separation of transuranics.
Dr. Walker holds the
BS,
MS,
and
PhD
degrees in Physics from the University of California. He holds an honorary degree
in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Missouri–Rolla. Dr. Walker
is Chairman of the Joint Laboratory Board of the Joint Improvised Explosive
Devices Defeat Organization. He also serves as Chairman of the Engineering
Development Board of the University of Missouri—Rolla and as a guest
scientist to Los Alamos National Laboratory. Previously, Dr. Walker served as
science advisor to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and led a tritium
production
R&D
program at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory. As a distinguished member
and Senior Advisor for
S&T,
Dr. Walker was awarded in 2002 the
DTRA
Exceptional Civilian Service Medal. He received the
R&D
100 Award in 1980 and he has served on the Air Force Studies Board,
National Academy of Sciences Committees, and Institute of Chemical Waste
Management Steering Committee. His team, for their leadership in Project Sapphire,
received a Presidential Citation from the White House. Dr. Walker has published
widely in the fields of physics, chemistry, and optics, with numerous patents
issued. He was a Navy Fellow and recipient of three consecutive Naval Weapons
Fellowship awards. Dr. Walker is a member of the American Physical
Society and American Nuclear Society.
