Hoyt Walker

Hoyt Walker died Feb. 15. He was 72.

Walker was born in Portland, Oregon, and attended Grant High School. He earned three bachelor's degrees in math, physics, and computer science at Oregon State University. He later earned two master's degrees in geography and computer science while working full time at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. There he was a dedicated scientist and software developer for the National Atmospheric Release Advisory Capability (NARAC) program since the 1970's. His work was and still is highly integrated into the core NARAC dispersion models that predict how pollutants travel through the atmosphere and where they settle based on weather, terrain, the nature of an accident and other data. He pioneered the development of meteorological and topological databases, and the mathematics for running them. In many of these areas he was the lone subject matter expert, with an ideal combination of scientific and computer knowledge that enabled NARAC to set the international standard for emergency response atmospheric release modeling centers. His name is on many NARAC publications.

He is survived by his wife Susie, step-daughters Nicole Vanderpool and Allyson Vanderpool Rothfuss (Andrew), sisters Marguerite Johnson (Daren Sr) and Caroline Walker and nephews Willie, Waldo, Vince and Daren Jr. He was preceded in death by his parents.