Los Angeles, CA — Laser Scientist Professor Hildreth (Hal) Walker, Jr., and his wife, STEM Pioneer Dr. Bettye Walker, were the featured speakers at the L.A. County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s STEAM Conference held at the Voting Solutions for All People (VASP) in Whitter. The Walkers spoke to 100 Middle and High School students on the subjects of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM). California Universities, UCLA, and USC Campuses were represented with booths containing memorabilia for students to focus on higher education curriculum. In addition, students received STEAM Back packs, books and wrist bands: “STEAM Breaking Barriers & Bias.”
About Hildreth (Hal) Walker, Jr. and Dr. Bettye Walker
Laser Scientist and Professor Hildreth (Hal) Walker, Jr. was the first person to successfully fired the KORAD-1500 Ruby Laser to the moon in 1969 during the Apollo 11 Moon Landing when American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin became the first humans ever to land on the moon. This major achievement, now known as the Lunar Ranging Experiment (LURE), was the only interactive planetary experiment that took place for the first Moon Landing. It is also one of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Milestones: #198. These milestones celebrate major accomplishments in the field of electrical engineering and reflect Walker’s importance to the field.
Dr. Bettye Davis Walker is an internationally renowned educational innovator, former University Professor, and researcher who has worked with students in the US, Europe, West Africa, and most recently, South Africa. The A-MAN STEM Program is an outgrowth of the first and only Pilot Educational Research Project that Dr. Walker received and directed, which was funded by UCLA and focused on elementary school boys.
Dr. Walker is also a Rotarian and board member of the Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) Rotary Club as well as Rotary District 5280 Peace, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Co-Chairperson(2023-24). She has developed partnerships with Rotary Clubs in Vermont, Ohio, Canada, Cape Town, and Pretoria, as well as coordinated the establishment of more than a dozen state-of-the-art Computer Literacy Labs in schools throughout South Africa, funded by Rotary International.
The Walkers are co-founders of the African-American Male Achievers Network (A-MAN) STEM International Science Center and the Cape Town Space Society, a Chapter of the National Space Society, headquartered in Washington, D.C. A-MAN is dedicated to building the leaders and participants in science and technology for tomorrow. They share their legacy with girls and boys who are students and provide experiences that prepare them to attend higher academic institutions and begin fulfilling the nation’s leadership and technological needs.
1997, President Nelson Mandela invited Hildreth and Bettye to establish and implement Science & Technology programs in townships and schools across South Africa.
Prof. Hal and Dr. Bettye made history again on February 27, 2019, when South Africa welcomed the opening of the first chapter of the National Space Society (NSS) on the African Continent: The Cape Town Space Society (CTSS). Prof. Hal and Dr. Bettye Walker founded this first-ever Chapter.
Professor Hal and Dr. Bettye Walker are amazing people with important stories to tell as they move forward in the world of science and technology, generously sharing their knowledge with the world.
For additional information on A-MAN, visit their website at: http://www.aman.org,
