For other people of that name, see Peter Williams (disambiguation).
| Peter WilliamsCBE FRS HonFInstP FREng | |
|---|---|
| Born | Peter Michael Williams (1945-03-22) 22 March 1945 (age 79) |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Hymers College |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge Selwyn College, Cambridge |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics |
| Institutions | Selwyn College, Cambridge Imperial College London |
| Thesis | Defect structure and luminescent properties of semiconductors (1969) |
Sir Peter Michael Williams, CBE FRS HonFInstP FREng (born 22 March 1945) is a British physicist.
Education
Williams was educated at Hymers College and completed his undergraduate degree at Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1966, and his PhD at Selwyn College, Cambridge, with a thesis entitled "Defect structure and luminescent properties of semiconductors" in 1969.
Career
He began an academic career at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He then moved to industry and worked first at VG Instruments and later Oxford Instruments. He was chairman of Oxford Instruments from 1991 until his retirement in 1999.
Sir Peter is currently chairman of the National Physical Laboratory and vice-president and treasurer of the Royal Society. He was previously master of St Catherine's College, Oxford (2000–2002), president of the Institute of Physics (2000–2002), president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (2002–2003) and chairman of the UK's Engineering and Technology Board (2001–2006). He has been a member of the InterAcademy Council's Committee to Review the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that reported in August 2010.
In 2005 Williams became the fifth chancellor of the University of Leicester. He was also appointed patron for research at Marie Curie Cancer Care. He retired from this position in 2010. In 2015 Williams was appointed chairman of Kromek, an innovative British tech company making detectors for the medical, security and nuclear sectors.
Awards
He was elected as Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 1996. He received the CBE in 1992 and was knighted in the Queen's Birthday Honours list of 1998.
He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in May 1999.
He won the Richard Glazebrook Medal and Prize in 2005.
Other work
He was on the governing body of Abingdon School from 1997 to 2000.
References
- "Birthday's today". The Telegraph. 22 March 2012. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
Sir Peter Williams, Chancellor, University of Leicester, 2005–10; Master of St Catherine's College, Oxford, 2000–2002, 67
- ^ "List of Fellows".
- Cambridge University List of Members 1976
- "Sir Gareth Roberts appointed as chairman" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2006. Retrieved 8 February 2007.
- "Former Oxford Instruments and GKN chief returns to City". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019.
- "Directors". Companies House.
Further reading
- Commentaries – Sir Peter Williams, Department of Trade & Industry, 2004
- Patron Council Members (PDF), The BA, 2003
- New Heads of House, Oxford Blueprint, 10 October 2002
- New Chancellor Installed at Ceremony (PDF), Bulletin, University of Leicester, December 2005 / January 2006
- Sir Peter Williams is new research patron, Marie Curie Cancer Care, 2005 news archive
| Academic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byRaymond Plant | Master of St Catherine's College, Oxford 2000–2002 |
Succeeded byRoger Ainsworth |
| Preceded bySir Michael Atiyah | Chancellor of the University of Leicester 2005–2010 |
VacantTitle next held byThe Lord Grocott |
- 1945 births
- Living people
- People educated at Hymers College
- Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge
- Alumni of Selwyn College, Cambridge
- Academics of Imperial College London
- Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
- Knights Bachelor
- People associated with the University of Leicester
- Masters of St Catherine's College, Oxford
- Fellows of the Royal Society
- Presidents of the Institute of Physics
- Presidents of the British Science Association
- Presidents of the Association for Science Education
- Governors of Abingdon School
- Scientists of the National Physical Laboratory (United Kingdom)