Later, in 1968 he was FHPI in vivo awarded the Doctor of Science at the University of Newcastle in recognition of his exceptional contributions of published work in his field. The author of over
230 publications, including several books, David was made a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1976. In 1991, he received a Humboldt Research Prize, and in 2004, he received the inaugural Communications Award from the International Society of Photosynthesis Research (ISPR). For his accomplishments and a list of some of the publications, which illustrate his outstanding contributions to our understanding of the mechanisms involved in photosynthesis see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Alan_Walker; and online information in Orr and www.selleckchem.com/MEK.html Govindjee (2010, pp. 188, 189, 197, 198), and at http://www.hansatech-instruments.com/david_walker.htm. See Fig. 1 for two photographs
of David Walker taken at two different times. Fig. 1 Two photographs of David Walker taken at different times For a colorful, informative and detailed description of David’s career, including how he came to study plant biology and chloroplast function, see his memoir, “Tell me where all past years are” (Walker 1997, see also Walker 2003a). Besides his many contributions to our understanding of the photosynthetic process, David spent equal time over many years in technical developments. These include methods for the isolation of intact, fully functional chloroplasts, and oxygen electrode systems for studying selleck photosynthesis, which were combined with chlorophyll fluorescence analysis to simultaneously measure O2 evolution and photochemistry, and the fate of energy absorbed by Photosystem II. As a science writer, David was Non-specific serine/threonine protein kinase unique; he was both eloquent and literate. According to David, “By the time that I was four, long before infants’
school, my mother (Dorothy) and my ‘mad’ aunt had taught me to read, thereby giving me the finest gift that any child could receive. I learned to read fast and to read widely.” (Walker 1997). David’s’ ongoing goal in life was to make science accessible to, and appreciated by, the general public. His approach incorporated science, history, art, poetry, humor, nature and the environment. In addition, he agonized over science and politics, which was captured in his writing. Along with his outstanding style of writing, he also incorporated illustrations by his son Richard, making the science very accessible to the public. In August, 2004, David received “The Communications Award” from the International Society of Photosynthesis Research for his outstanding efforts to communicate photosynthesis to the general public. This was in recognition of contributions beyond his more than 200 publications in science journals. David said he appreciated the encouragement engendered by this award, his colleagues in research and friends, and that he was pleased to be a part of the international community.