Bleakney, Walker, 1901-1992

Walker Bleakney was a renowned physicist known for his contributions to the fields of atomic physics, molecular physics, and fluid dynamics; his research on the ionization of gases; and his study of blast waves. Born in Elderton, Pa., Bleakney earned his BS degree at Whitman College in 1924 and his PHD at the University of Minnesota in 1930. After working for two years at Princeton as a National Research Fellow, he joined the faculty as an instructor in 1932. Promoted to assistant professor in 1935, he became associate professor in 1938 and professor in 1944. Bleakney was named Cyrus Fogg Brackett Professor of Physics in 1953 and Class of 1909 Professor 10 years later. From 1960 to 1967, he chaired the Department of Physics.

Author of many technical reports, Bleakney was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1959 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1963. During and immediately after World War II, he served with the National Defense Research Committee, the Office of Scientific Research and Development, the National Research Council, and as a consultant to the Army, the Navy, and the Atomic Energy Commission. He was the head of the Princeton Ballistic Project. His research covered various fields of physics, including shock waves, atomic scattering, and nuclear phenomena. He died in 1992.