Arthur Walker; Astrophysicist Probed Mysteries of the Sun

Arthur Walker, 64, a Stanford physics professor whose work helped scientists investigate mysteries of the sun, died at his Stanford home April 29 of cancer.

Using X-ray and thin-film telescopes, Walker photographed the sun’s corona, or outermost atmosphere, obtaining images that were printed on the cover of the Sept. 30, 1988, Science magazine. Before joining the Stanford faculty in 1974, Walker was an Air Force lieutenant who developed instruments to measure Van Allen belt radiation in Earth’s magnetic field, and studied the sun during a nine-year tenure at the Space Physics Laboratory of the Aerospace Corp.

His accomplishments in astrophysics were remarkable for a Cleveland-born African American once advised not to pursue science because of his color. He earned physics degrees from Case Institute of Technology and the University of Illinois and became a lifelong advocate for African American and underrepresented students in the sciences.