2001 Seaborg Award: William B. Walters

Award Statement C&EN (Pages 4-5)

He received his B.S. degree in chemistry from Kansas State University, Manhattan, in 1960 and his Ph.D. degree in physical chemistry from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, in 1964.

He has spent his career peering into atomic nuclei with clever and innovative techniques. The results of these techniques have not only been important in determining why nuclei behave the way they do, but they have also been useful in other fields.

For example, Walters recently coauthored a paper with graduate student Jo Ressler and others on a half-life measurement of ⁸⁰Zr, a neutron-deficient isotope that is thought to be made in X-ray bursts. Walters’ work reduced the believed half-life of ⁸⁰Zr, simplifying models of how X-ray bursts create a number of different elements. During his career, he also helped develop ways to find trace elements in a wide variety of samples, including archaeological specimens.

“Bill Walters’ passion has been the structure of the nucleus,” one colleague says.

Retirement Article