Georgia Tech’s Renewable Bioproducts Institute recently received a generous financial gift to be applied to its Fellowship program. 

The Fellowship supports more than 40 Ph.D. students based on their alignment with the strategic thrusts of Georgia Tech and RBI and the research priorities of the forest bioproducts industry.

Dr. Elvin F. and Mrs. Walker’s gift will be applied toward the principal of RBI’s more than $40 million endowment and will support through perpetuity the graduate program.

"We are so pleased and grateful that the IPC/IPST alumni continue to support the current activities in RBI,” said Meisha Shofner, who currently serves as RBI’s interim executive director. “The applications for bioproducts are rapidly expanding, providing more opportunities for RBI's activities to benefit society, and making gifts like those from the Walkers even more impactful." 

Dr. Walker received his bachelor’s degree in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from Georgia Tech in 1958 and his master’s from Lawrence College in 1960. He earned his Ph.D. in 1964 from the Institute of Paper Chemistry (IPC) – the forerunner of RBI – in Appleton, Wisc. He delivered his doctoral dissertation in June 1964 titled “Effects of the Uronic Acid Carboxyls on the Sorption of 4-0-Methylglucuronoarabinoxylans and Their Influence on Papermaking Properties of Cellulose Fibers.” His full dissertation can be read here.

Dr. Walker built a long and successful career within the pulp and paper industry. He has since retired and lives in the Charlotte, N.C., area.