Chris Walton was born in Jackson, Tenn., but considers Fayetteville his hometown. Throughout his primary and secondary school years, his family moved frequently because of his parents’ occupations. Fayetteville was home for eight years and where he graduated from high school with high honors.
Walton decided to follow two previous generations of his family to the University of Arkansas. He graduated in May 2010 with a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering and a minor in mathematics.
During his time at the U of A, he was very active in various student organizations. He joined the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), served terms as president and vice president of the Student African American Brotherhood, and was a member several other campus groups, including the Pi Tau Sigma Honors Mechanical Engineering Society. Walton was also a resident assistant for the 2007–2008 academic year and a First Year Experience mentor for the Razorback Outreach for Community Knowledge (R.O.C.K.) Camp in 2007, 2008 and 2009.
He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at Mississippi State University and is working at MSU’s Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems as a research assistant under the advisement of Mark Horstemeyer, Ph.D. His research focus is on the damage progression of the chemo-mechanical effects on magnesium alloys. This multidisciplinary research field integrates chemistry, materials science, solid and fracture mechanics, and probability and statistics.
Early in his graduate school career, Walton received honors and accolades through the guidance of Dr. Horstemeyer. He applied for multiple fellowships and was named a 2011 GEM Fellow, sponsored by the National GEM Consortium and Corning Incorporated. He also received Honorable Mention in the 2011 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program. In fall 2011, Walton was invited to join the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society for his academic success at MSU. In 2012, Walton was named a NSBE Mike Shinn Distinguished Member of the Year and NASA Mississippi Space Grant Consortium Fellow.
Professionally, Walton has gained valuable work experience in industry through six internships. He has worked for Tyson Foods Inc., The Dow Chemical Company (2), L’Oréal USA, Corning Incorporated and the Idaho National Laboratory during his collegiate career.
