Walter Hermann Bucher

Who was Walter Hermann Bucher?

Dr. Walter Hermann Bucher was a German-American geologist and paleontologist.

He was born in Akron, Ohio of Swiss-German parents. The family then returned to Germany where he was raised. In 1911 he was awarded a Ph.D. by the University of Heidelberg with a focus on geology and paleontology. The same year he returned to the U.S. and joined the University of Cincinnati as a lecturer. By 1924 he was a professor of geology at the institution.

His early works were on paleontology, and he performed studies of stromatolettia, oolites, and ripple-shaped markings.

In 1935 he became president of the Ohio Academy of Sciences. In 1940 he joined the Columbia University, specializing in structural geology. It is thought, that at this time he worked as a consultant on the Manhattan Project, hypothesizing how the detonation of the atomic bomb could affect the earths crust. In the same year he joined the National Research Council, consultant as chairman of the Division of Geology and Geography. In 1946 he was elected president of the New York Academy of Sciences, and from 1950 until 1953 he served as president of the American Geophysical Union.

From 1920 onward Dr. Bucher was noted for his studies in cryptovolcanic structures, significant deformations of the crust of the Earth, and structural geology.