Wallace Dean Decker
- Birthplace
- Enterprise, KS, USA
- Associated organizations
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Biography
Wallace Dean Decker was born in Enterprise, Kan., USA and received a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of California.
He was instrumental in the formation and development of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. After his retirement in 1986, he continued a part-time association with LLNL. He spent 33 years nurturing every facet of the lab, both technology-related and in organizational development. The latter included his studies of personnel practices in R&D institutions, which led to him becoming the first recruited member of IEEE-USA's Career Maintenance and Development Committee, formed in 1977.
He originated the CM&D Committee's IEEE-USA Biennial Careers Conference series in 1981, chaired the '83 conference, and served as chair of the committee. He was responsible for bringing the work of nationally recognized career experts to the committee, and remained its most influential advisor.
Decker died on February 4th, 1999.
