Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Guide to the Hal Walker Innovative Lives Presentation

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.0602
Creators:
Crew, Spencer, Dr., 1949-
Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation.
Walker, Hal, Jr. (Hildreth), 1933-
Stephens, Lee
Lemelson, Jerome H., 1923-1997
Molella, Arthur P., 1944-
Travis, John
Walker, Bettye Davis, Dr.
Heyman, Ira Michael, 1930-2011
Dates:
1995 June 1
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.5 Cubic feet
3 boxes
Repository:
Collection documents inventor Hal Walker and his research and development work with lasers and electric automobiles.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
This collection contains original (Betcam SP), master (Betacam SP), reference (1/2" VHS) videos and photographs documenting Spencer Crew, Secretary I. Michael Heyman, Arthur Molella and Jerome Lemelson in honor of the establishment of the Lemelson Center and the first Innovative Lives Program (a series of lecture-demonstrations by American inventors and entrepreneurs for young people--by Hildreth "Hal" Walker. Hal Walker discusses his background and how he became an inventor. With John Travis, a chemist from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Walker demonstrates the properties and applications of lasers, including measuring the distance to the moon and voice communications. Walker developed laser equipment that projected images of the moon back to the earth during the 1969 Apollo moon walk.

Arrangement

Arrangement
Collection is arranged into four series.
Series 1: Original videos
Series 2: Master videos
Series 3: Reference videos
Series 4: Photographs

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Hal Walker was born in 1933 in Louisiana. In 1951, he joined the Navy and served for four years as a qualified electrician's mate. In 1955, Walker joined Douglas Aircraft Company installing radar systems and at the same time began taking classes at L.A. City College. Soon after joining Douglas Aircraft, a series of layoffs occurred and Walker joined RCA working with the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS). He continued to sharpen his technical and managerial skills developing industrial and medical uses for lasers, plasma, quantum physics, and holography. By 1981, Walker joined Hughes Aircraft, the organization that brought Laser Target Designator Systems (LTDs) to the United States Army's weapons inventory. Walker retired from Hughes Aircraft in 1989 and with his wife, Dr. Bettye Davis Walker, founded A-MAN, the African American Male Achievers Network, Inc. Science Discovery Learning Center. A-MAN's mission is to utilize Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)-related projects as a motivational tool and advance the educational achievement, and the intellectual and career development of African-American, Latino and other minority students pre-K thru 12thgrades.

Administration

Author
Alison Oswald
Custodial History
This program was the "first in a series of lecture-demonstrations by American inventors and entrepreneurs for young people called Innovative Lives. The collection was transferred from the Lemelson Center to the Archives Center on July 8, 1997.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Created by the Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation in 1995.
Existence and Location of Copies
Series 2 digitized in 2014.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Alison Oswald, 2008.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Use
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions. Signed copies of releases for Hal Walker and Mark Lee Stephens on file.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research but the original videos are stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Preferred Citation
Hal Walker Innovative Lives Presentation, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Electric engineering -- 1980-2000 Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Inventors -- 1950-2000 Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews -- 1980-2000 Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lectures -- 1990-2000 Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Automobiles, Electric Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lasers Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Inventions -- 20th century Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Optics Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Innovative Lives Program (NMAH public program series) Title Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
BetaCam SP (videotape format) Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Videotapes Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Oral history -- 1990-2000 Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Physics -- 20th century Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
African American inventors -- 20th century Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Aerospace engineers Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Aerospace industries Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Slides Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
A-MAN (African American Male Achievers Network) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Archives Center, National Museum of American History
P.O. Box 37012
Suite 1100, MRC 601
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
archivescenter@si.edu