Walker knew carbon
Evan Pugh Professor of Materials Science (1974), Philip Walker was a leading authority on the science of carbon, graphites, and coals. Walker came to Penn State for his doctorate in fuel science, which he received in 1952. Dr. Walker was one of the founders of the American Carbon Society and the editor of Chemistry Physics of Carbon, and associate editor of the international journal Carbon.
Walker helped to organize a modern fuel science program and developed a worldleading carbon research program at Penn State, attracting top researchers from around the globe. He was the first to use absorption of carbon dioxide for measurements of
surface areas of coals. An internationally known scholar of coal and carbon science, he published over 300 scholarly articles. In 1971, he received the Skakel Award, the highest award of the American Carbon Society, for “achievements in virtually all areas of the field of carbon which have significantly influenced the science and technology of carbon materials.” In 1967, Walker was appointed head of the newly formed Department of Materials Science and Engineering.