Oregon State Department of Physics Yunker Lecture Series

The Yunker Lecture Fund was established in 1981 as a result of an original generous gift to the Physics Department from Mrs. Gertrude Yunker, who wished to endow a lecture series in honor of her husband, Dr. Edwin Yunker.

Professor Yunker was a member of the OSU physics faculty from 1925 to 1968, and he served as department chair from 1949 to 1966. Under his leadership we started on the path to becoming a modern, research-oriented physics department. The purpose in establishing the lecture fund was to bring outstanding physicists to the campus to give talks on their specialty areas for a general audience. Additional gifts came from Dr. and Mrs. Yunker; from their daughter Elaine Yunker Whiteley, and her husband, Ben; from their son Wayne Yunker and his wife, Elaine; and from other relatives and friends. Since the first lecture in 1985, we have hosted delightful visitors who have offered stimulating talks on topics ranging from time travel to space-based weapons and from the structure of the universe to the structure of fundamental particles. Although Ed and Gertrude Yunker passed away in 1990, their generosity lives on through this excellent lecture series that they endowed.