Robert Williams (astronomer)

Robert Williams
Robert Williams
	Williams in 1986
Born	Robert Eugene Williams; October 14, 1940; Dunsmuir, California, U.S.
Alma mater	University of California, Berkeley (B.S.); University of Wisconsin–Madison (Ph.D.);
Awards	Beatrice M. Tinsley Prize (1998); NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal (1999); Karl Schwarzschild Medal (2016);
	Scientific career
Fields	Astronomy; Spectroscopy;
Institutions	University of Arizona; Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory; Space Telescope Science Institute;
Thesis	The Ionization and Temperature Equilibrium of a Gas Excited by Optical Synchrotron Radiation (1965)
Doctoral advisor	Donald E. Osterbrock
Website	stsci.edu/~wms

Robert Eugene Williams (October 14, 1940) is an American astronomer who served as the director of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) from 1993 to 1998, and the president of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) from 2009 to 2012. Prior to his work at STScI, he was a professor of astronomy at the University of Arizona in Tucson for 18 years and the director of Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory from 1986 to 1993.

Robert Williams
Williams in 1986
Born	Robert Eugene Williams (1940-10-14) October 14, 1940 Dunsmuir, California, U.S.
Alma mater	University of California, Berkeley (B.S.) University of Wisconsin–Madison (Ph.D.)
Awards	Beatrice M. Tinsley Prize (1998) NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal (1999) Karl Schwarzschild Medal (2016)
Scientific career
Fields	Astronomy Spectroscopy
Institutions	University of Arizona Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory Space Telescope Science Institute
Thesis	The Ionization and Temperature Equilibrium of a Gas Excited by Optical Synchrotron Radiation (1965)
Doctoral advisor	Donald E. Osterbrock

Website	stsci.edu/~wms