Walter Barclay Kamb (December 17, 1931 – April 21, 2011) was a longtime professor and researcher at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
Professor Kamb was one of the first scientists to journey to the Antarctic to study how the glacier sheets move and operate.
Kamb served as chairman of the Caltech Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences from 1972 to 1983, and for a short period, from 1987 to 1989, he took charge as vice president and provost of the institute.
Later, following completion of his PhD, Kamb was offered the rare opportunity to join the Caltech faculty by Robert Sharp.
[8] In order to study these ice streams, Kamb and a team of 13 to 14 people made multiple expeditions to the Antarctic.
In the October 2002 to January 2003 expedition, they installed video cameras and equipment to allow for remote data analysis, so teams would not have to venture out so often.