SOUTH
BELMAR - Dr. Walter
S. Mc Afee, 80, a physicist who
helped pioneer space exploration,
died Saturday at his home here.
In 1946, Dr. McAfee made
the mathematical calculations that en-
abled a Fort Monmouth team of sci-
entists to bounce the first radio sig-
nals off the moon's surface from the
Evans Signal Laboratory in Wall
Township. The work, dubbed Proj-
ect Diana, helped usher in the era of
space exploration and the develop-
ment of satellite communications
and missile guidance systems.
His calculations earned him na-
tionwide recognition and numerous
awards, including the first U.S.
Army Research and Development
Achievement Award in 1961.
Dr. McAfee, the second of nine
children of a carpenter, was born in
One City, Texas, and first began tin-
kering with physics at high school in
Texas.
"I was hearing of Einstein's
work.
I started hoping in a vague sort of
way that I could get to a place where
I could make a contribution," he said
in a 1985 interview.
He earned a bachelor of science
degree in mathematics, magna cum
laude, from Wiley College in Mar-
shall, Texas, and a master's degree
in physics from Ohio State Univer-
sity, and a doctoral degree in nuclear
physics from Cornell University in
1949.
To finance his higher education,
he tried to obtain training in
electronics, but found the field
closed to black persons. One electri-
cal institute in Chicago told him the
institute didn't have adequate facili-
ties for "colored people," he said in
a 1982 interview. |
White House ceremony: Dr. Walter S. Mc Afee (right)
is
shown with Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956 shortly after
the pres-
ident presented the Fort Monmouth physicist with one
of the first
of the Secretary of the Army's research fellowships,
which pro-
vided for post-doctoral study at Harvard University and
at labora-
tories in Europe and Australia.
He had his own way of handling
the prejudice he encountered over
the years. "I tried to deal with each
person as an individual," he said.
Dr. Mc Afee taught high school
mathematics and science in Colum-
bus, Ohio, and then in 1942 was
hired as a mathematical physicist for
the Fort Monmouth's Signal Corps.
During his 42 years at Fort Mon-
mouth, he held a number of supervi-
sory positions, retiring as scientific
advisor to the U.S. Army Electronics
Research and Development Com-
mand. While at Fort Monmouth, he
also served as director of a scientific
study on surveillance and target ac-
|
quisition for NATO. He also lectured
in atomic and nuclear physics and
solid state electronics at Monmouth
College, West Long Branch.
His citations and awards include
the Rosenwald Fellowship in Nu-
clear Physics, which he received in
1949 and which enabled him to com-
plete his doctorate; and a Secretary
of the Army research fellowship in
1956. In 1987 he was inducted into
the Science Hall of Fame at Wiley
College, and a scholarship was set
up in his name to be given to an out-
standing student in physics. In the
Shore area, scholarships in math-
ematics, science or engineering are
given in his name to high-achiev- |
|
ing high school students by the
Zeta
Epsilon Lambda Chapter of Alpha
Phi Alpha Fraternity in conjunction
with the Fort Monmouth Chapter of
the Armed Forces Communications
and Electronics Associating.
Dr. McAfee was listed in Ameri-
can Men and Women of Science,
Who's Who in the East, and Who's
Who Among Black Americans. He
received citations for his scientific
and technical achievements from
the New Jersey Council of Mayors in
1971, the Delta Sigma Theta Soror-
ity in 1970, and the Negro Business
and Professional Women in 1971.
He was a member of a number of
honorary scientific fraternities. He
was a member of the Board of Trus-
tees of Brookdale Community Col-
lege, Lincroft, Middletown Town-
ship, the Monmouth County
Museum, and the Monmouth
County Chapter of the Alcoholism
Council.
He also was awarded an honorary
doctorate in science at Monmouth
College in 1985 and received the
Steven's Award at Steven's Institute
of Technology in 1985.
Surviving are his wife, Viola
Win-
ston Mc Afee; two daughters, Diane
Mercedes Mc Afee, San Jose, Calif.,
and Marsha Ann Bera-Morris, Wash-
ington D.C.; three brothers, Leo
Cecil Mc Afee, Maud, Texas,
Charles Franklin Mc Afee, West Al-
lenhurst, Ocean Township and Mil-
ton Winfred Mc Afee, Long View,
Texas; and three sisters, Amelia
Robinson, New Brunswick, Sedalia
Sims, Marshall, Texas, and Velma
Williams, Houston. James H. Hunt
Funeral Home, Asbury Park, is in
charge of arrangements. |
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