Teddy Hall Remembers Emeritus Fellow Dr Bill Williams

St Edmund Hall was deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Dr Bill Williams at the age of 90 on Wednesday 15 April 2020. He was a Fellow and Tutor in Physics from 1963 to 1996 and served as Vice-Principal from 1993 to 1996 after which he became an Emeritus Fellow upon his retirement.

Physics at the Hall was launched by the election of George W. Series to a Fellowship in 1954. George was joined in 1963 by Bill, whose field, high energy nuclear and elementary particle physics, involved experiments at CERN and the Stanford linear accelerator.

In 1968 George left the Hall and Bill was then joined by Nick Stone. Bill and Nick worked together for 30 years, ably supported by the mathematics teaching of Christopher Phelps. Bill’s expertise in electromagnetism, elementary particle physics and relativity combined neatly with Nick’s interest in atomic and condensed matter physics. Bill’s Tutorial Fellowship passed to Philipp Podsiadlowski who is known internationally for his work on supernovae, stars and galaxies.

Upon retirement, Bill remained a strong supporter of the Hall, running the legacy campaign and Floreat Aula Society, a recognition to Aularians who have committed to remembering the Hall in their will, for a number of years.  He was also a regular attender at college events, lunches and dinners. He is survived by his wife Renée, who taught French language classes to our students for many years, and a son and daughter.

Nick Stone, Hall Emeritus Fellow, has kindly written an obituary for Bill which is available to read here.

He will be sadly missed by all that knew him at the Hall, past and present.

The Bill Williams Memorial Fund

To honour Bill’s life, teaching and outstanding contribution to Physics the Hall has established a Bill Williams Memorial Fund. All gifts will be dedicated in Bill’s memory to support the Hall’s Physics Fellowships.

Gifts can be made securely here or please contact the Development Office to discuss further.