As Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Walker serves as the primary representative of the Dean’s Office on all matters affecting undergraduate and graduate academics. He also assists in developing programs related to innovation in undergraduate education, manages a range of assessment programs, and interacts with school chairs on matters of academic programming.

Before joining the Dean’s Office, Walker was a professor and associate chair for graduate studies in the School of Aerospace Engineering. He earned his BSE, MSE, and Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from the University of Michigan.

Walker’s primary research interests include experimental and theoretical studies of advanced plasma propulsion concepts for spacecraft. Walker serves as the director of the NASA Joint Advanced Propulsion Institute (JANUS). He has authored more than 130 journal technical publications and holds two U.S. patents in electric propulsion and plasma physics. Walker serves as the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Deputy Director for Space Rockets and Advanced Propulsion and as an associate editor of the Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets. His technical leadership includes service on the NASA Advisory Council – Technology, Innovation, and Engineering Committee, the Department of Energy Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee, and the Electric Rocket Propulsion Society board of directors.