Hal Walker Innovative Lives Presentation
name: label: Presenter
content: Crew, Spencer, Dr., 1949-
label: Creator
content: Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation.
label: Inventor
content: Walker, Hal, Jr. (Hildreth), 1933-
label: Interviewee
content: Stephens, Lee
label: Speaker
content: Lemelson, Jerome H., 1923-1997
label: Speaker
content: Molella, Arthur P., 1944-
label: Speaker
content: Travis, John
label: Interviewee
content: Walker, Bettye Davis, Dr.
label: Speaker
content: Heyman, Ira Michael, 1930-2011
label: Names
content: A-MAN (African American Male Achievers Network)
title: label: Topic
content: Innovative Lives Program (NMAH public program series)
topic: label: Topic
content: Electric engineering -- 1980-2000
label: Topic
content: Inventors -- 1950-2000
label: Topic
content: Automobiles, Electric
label: Topic
content: Lasers
label: Topic
content: Inventions -- 20th century
label: Topic
content: Optics
label: Topic
content: Physics -- 20th century
label: Topic
content: African American inventors -- 20th century
label: Topic
content: Aerospace engineers
label: Topic
content: Aerospace industries
label: Topic
content: Photographs
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Created by the Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation in 1995.
creator: label: Presenter
content: Crew, Spencer, Dr., 1949-
label: Creator
content: Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation.
label: Inventor
content: Walker, Hal, Jr. (Hildreth), 1933-
label: Interviewee
content: Stephens, Lee
label: Speaker
content: Lemelson, Jerome H., 1923-1997
label: Speaker
content: Molella, Arthur P., 1944-
label: Speaker
content: Travis, John
label: Interviewee
content: Walker, Bettye Davis, Dr.
label: Speaker
content: Heyman, Ira Michael, 1930-2011
setName: label: See more items in
content: Hal Walker Innovative Lives Presentation
abstract: label: Summary
content: Collection documents inventor Hal Walker and his research and development work with lasers and electric automobiles.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Hal Walker was born in 1933 in Louisiana.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.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 0.5 Cubic feet (3 boxes)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1995 June 1
custodhist: label: Custodial History
content: 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.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.0602
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Interviews
label: Type
content: Lectures
label: Type
content: Betacam sp (videotape format)
label: Type
content: Videotapes
label: Type
content: Oral history
label: Type
content: Slides
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Collection is arranged into four series.

Series 1: Original videos 

Series 2: Master videos 

Series 3: Reference videos

Series 4: Photographs
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Collection processed by Alison Oswald, 2008.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: Series 2 digitized in 2014.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews -- 1980-2000
label: Genre/Form
content: Lectures -- 1990-2000
label: Genre/Form
content: BetaCam SP (videotape format)
label: Genre/Form
content: Videotapes
label: Genre/Form
content: Oral history -- 1990-2000
label: Genre/Form
content: Slides
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: 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.