David Walker leads SRI’s Ocean Modeling program, which focuses on environmental modeling and estimation problems, using remote and in situ sensor data, for ocean and riverine applications. Walker’s specialties are in hydrodynamic modeling, variational inverse modeling, and data assimilation.

Prior to joining SRI, Walker was a Chief Scientist in Research at the General Dynamics Michigan Research and Development Center, where he led programs in hydrodynamic modeling and inverse problems. He worked as Associate Director of the University of Michigan Energy Institute to start up that organization. Prior to that, he was an Associate Research Scientist in the University of Michigan College of Engineering where he studied free-surface hydrodynamics for Naval applications. 

Walker has served as principal investigator on 35 grants and contracts from the Office of Naval Research, DARPA, the Department of Energy, and other government agencies. He is the author of 24 refereed publications, as well as numerous conference and symposium presentations and technical reports. Walker was named SRI Fellow in 2017.