Awards & Scholarships

Walter H. Voskuil received his undergraduate and advanced training at the University of Wisconsin. Following graduation, Dr. Voskuil taught for six years in the Department of Industry at the University of Pennsylvania. He was then associated with the National Industrial Conference Board in New York and results of his work were later published by the NICB in book form, "Competitive Position of Coal in the United States".

Dr. Voskuil was invited to join the Illinois Geological Survey in 1931 to organize a mineral economics group to coordinate the Survey's various mineral research programs. The mineral economics group, under his direction, conducted economic studies of the production, distribution and uses of minerals and mineral products with particular emphasis on the relation of minerals to the economy of the upper Mississippi Valley. During World War II he served with the Solid Fuels Administration under the Office of Price Administration. From 1944-45 he was associated with the New York Council on Foreign Relations. In 1950 Dr. Voskuil accepted a joint University of Illinois and Survey appointment as Professor of Mineral Economics in the Department of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering. One of his most significant contributions came when he pointed out the economic potential of the use of Illinois' coal and coke in the metallurgical industry. In 1960, after retiring from the Illinois Geological Survey, Dr. Voskuil was invited to join the Mackay School of Mines in Reno, Nevada, as Distinguished Visiting Professor and held his position until 1972. He organized and taught a course on World Mineral Economics during this period.