By Damanpreet Singh Lobana '25
Photo Courtesy of William & Mary
Warren Wesley Buck III was born on February 16, 1946, in Washington D.C. His father worked for the now known National Oceanic and Authority Administration (NOAA) headquarters located there. During high school, Warren excelled in mathematics and foreign language before securing the track scholarship to attend Lincoln University to pursue bachelor studies in mathematics in 1964. However, after attending the university for two years, he reapplied and was admitted to Morgan State University for his remaining undergraduate studies, where he discovered and pursued his interest in physics.
Warren arrived at William and Mary first in 1968 on a full scholarship for his graduate studies in theoretical physics and later in 1971 to complete his doctorate. He was involved in the management of the proton accelerator obtained from NASA from the physics department. He would be accepted under the mentorship of Fred Crownfield and Victor Ligouri, a prominent individual in his research in radar technology and the professor of sociology at the university respectively. During his time, he became a member of the Omicron Delta Kappa fraternity and was the founding president of the Black Students Organization.
Throughout his career, Buck has made numerous contributions in research regarding physics, publishing numerous papers in various journals with a specific emphasis on nuclear and subatomic particles. He was eventually recognized for his work as an educator and researcher, obtaining membership to the American Physical Society (APS) and serving on advisory boards and committees including the Committee on Education of the American Physical Society and the Pacific Science Center. The Quality Education for Minorities notably named him as the ‘giant in science’. He was also ordained with the Hulon Willis Association Impact Award by William and Mary.
He became a faculty member of Hampton University in 1984 before accepting a full professorship in 1989. His contribution included inaugurating the Ph.D. program in physics, which was the first Ph.D. program at the university. Additionally, he also started the Hampton University Graduate Studies (HUGS) summer school for prospective students willing to undertake nuclear physics courses. Warren was also involved in establishing the science program at the Department of Energy’s Jefferson Lab in Newport News, Virginia. He was also the founding director of the Nuclear/High Energy Physics Research Center of Excellence in the university. He also became the chancellor and dean at the University of Washington for six years, where he also inaugurated its new permanent campus in fall 2000. In 2007–2008, he was elected as co-chair of the Committee on New Opportunities in Solar System Exploration New Frontiers Program by NASA.
While Dr. Buck has spent most of his professional life working in physics and university administration, he has continued to explore an internal desire for artistic expression and is the owner of Buck-ART, LLC. Recently, Buck created the Omega series, a collection of acrylic paintings depicting auras (energy fields) and symbolizing our complex, multifaceted connectivity with each other. He is currently continuing as a physics professor and the Board of Visitors member at William and Mary.