Our people
Professor Bill Williams
Principal Investigator
- Phone:
- +64 6 356 9099, ext. 84645
Address:
Institute of Fundamental Sciences
Massey University
Private Bag 11 222
Palmerston North 4442
Biography
Bill Williams obtained an Honours degree in Physics with Astrophysics from Leeds University, UK and then undertook a PhD in NMR relaxation behaviour at the Open University. He went on to spend a number of years as a Postdoctoral Fellow in The Chemistry Department at York University, UK, working on various aspects of biological polymers.
Subsequently he spent 4 years with Unilever Research, before returning to academia in March 2003, with a position in The Institute of Fundamental Sciences at Massey University, NZ, where he is working on biophysics and soft-matter. (www.biophysics.ac.nz)
Bill is a fellow and currently secretary of the New Zealand Institute of Physics (NZIoP), and is the New Zealand representative in the International Union of Pure Applied Biophysics (IUPAB).
He was an invited participant at the Soft Meets Biology Gordon Research Conference in 2009, and was the Theme leader for the Soft Materials Theme of The MacDiarmid Institute from 2006 to 2011. He was an invited speaker at the 2010 International Hydrocolloids Conference, Co-chair and organiser of a Pectin Symposium at Pacifichem, and was recently invited to give the prestigious Pilnik Lecture at the 2011 Hydrocolloids conference in Wageningen.
He is also leading the PGP FSD Project Real-Time Measurement of Particle-Particle Formation and Growth Kinetics.
The inspiration comes from biology. Nowhere is the power of self assembly, and the properties that emerge from this self assembly, more prominent than in biology.
Professor Bill Williams
In the news
Annual Report
Journal Covers - Annual Report 2021
June 2, 2022
This page lists the various scientific journal covers that featured MacDiarmid Institute Investigators work in 2021.
Annual Report
Rethinking computing and communication, by combining cell biology with nanotechnology
May 6, 2022
Systems that blend biology with electronics could answer some big questions.
Annual Report
Adapting to the online environment
March 31, 2021
As classes and meetings moved online in March as Aotearoa New Zealand entered Level 4 lockdown, we adapted our community outreach activities to the virtual environment.
Annual Report
Pulling microfluidics out of a hat
March 31, 2021
For Dr Rob Ward and MacDiarmid Institute Principal Investigator Professor Bill Williams, commercialisation is the end point of a long learning process.
Annual Report
The emerging field of mechanobiology
March 31, 2021
Physics biology collaborations are forging mechanobiology – a research area key to understanding health and disease.
Annual Report
Patents and Spinouts 2019 - Annual Report 2019
May 27, 2020
This article from our 2019 Annual Report provides information about the MacDiarmid Institute's latest inventions, patents and spinouts.
Read more about Patents and Spinouts 2019 - Annual Report 2019
Annual Report
2018 funding successes - Annual Report 2018
April 8, 2019
Funding successes for our investigators and their research programmes during 2018. This funding enables our researchers and collaborators to continue their breakthrough research in advanced materials and nanotechnology.
Interface Magazine
Outreach – Institute Investigators visit Nelson College for Girls
March 24, 2015
While in Nelson for AMN-7 the MacDiarmid Institute’s seventh international conference for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, three of the Institute’s Investigators visited Nelson College for Girls to share with the Year 12 and 13 students their passion and enthusiasm for science. Senior science students from Nelson College for Boys also attended the presentations.
Read more about Outreach – Institute Investigators visit Nelson College for Girls
Learning Hub
Nature of Science – meet our scientists
October 23, 2013
Bill, Alex, Cather, Maan, Shaun and Sandy work at The MacDiarmid Institute - they all do science for a living, but have very different jobs and perspectives. One thing they all have in common is their passion for science.
Events
Materials: Fact or Fiction - Nelson (10 November)
September 24, 2020
Professor Bill Williams and Dr Erin Leitao give their scientific take on whether fictional materials could be reality in a not too far off future.
Podcasts
Materials Fact or Fiction - Kryptonite
December 8, 2020
Professor Bill Williams, Principal Investigator gives us his scientific take on Kryptonite from DC Comics' Superman.
Materials: Fact or Fiction - Axonite
March 9, 2020
In this episode of RNZ's 'Materials: Fact or Fiction', Professor Bill Williams discusses Axonite from Dr Who.
Materials: Fact or Fiction - Tenet
February 11, 2021
Professor Bill Williams explains the science behind time travel and entropy in Christopher Nolan's Tenet.
Sci Fi/Sci Fact - Axonite
July 18, 2023
Professor Bill Williams discusses Axonite from Dr Who - a 'thinking' material that can replicate any substance and spreads itself across the cosmos to feed itself.
Videos
Bill Williams - the machinery of DNA
March 21, 2019
Professor Bill Williams explores how understanding biological problems from a physical point of view can help with better treatments.
Nature of Science - Bill Williams
March 21, 2019
The MacDiarmid Institute's Professor Bill Williams talks about his job as a scientist and why he loves it.
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