Tucker attended the
University of Oklahoma and where he earned his
bachelor's degree in
mathematics and
Master's in
physics. He continued his education from there and received his
Ph.D. in physics from the
University of California, San Diego in 1966. He has been active in environmental work, helping to found and lead two nonprofit organizations in Southern California: the Fallbrook Land Conservancy (FLC) and the San Diego Land Conservation Coalition. The FLC was formed in 1988. It has acquired and manages over 1850 acres of open space on 10 preserves throughout
San Diego County. == References==