Philip Williams

Dr. Philip Williams is an active successful researcher in the Department of Chemistry who believes that students finding their passion for life-long learning and intellectual curiosity lies at the heart of the role of a university. He strives to show students the beauty in chemistry in part through a recognition that his most influential lectures are often the result of errors made my students or by himself. This discovery catalyzed a shift in his teaching to a more fluid lecture mode, to exploring worthwhile tangents with students to generate creativity and refined critical thinking to meet chemistry’s intellectual challenge. “Dr. Williams caused a paradigm shift in my perception in what attending a university as a student meant.” A former international student, now a professor herself, expressed that she has not encountered a teacher, advisor, mentor, more devoted to his students in her entire academic life. Colleagues express that Professor Williams teaches courses viewed as necessary evils, and performs a rare, remarkable feat of turning the experience into successfully creating community.