Ellen D. Williams (scientist)
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Ellen D. Williams (born December 5, 1953) is an American scientist, best known for her research in surface properties and nanotechnology, for her engagement with technical issues in national security, as chief scientist of BP, and for government service as director of
ARPA-E ARPA-E, or Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy is a United States government agency tasked with promoting and funding research and development of advanced energy technologies. It is modeled after the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agenc ...
.


Early life and education

Born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Williams grew up in the suburbs of
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
, Michigan.Statement of Ellen D. Williams before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (December 17, 2013)
/ref> She attended Michigan State University and received her
Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...
degree in chemistry in 1976. Her graduate studies were at the
California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...
, where she received her PhD in Chemistry in 1981, for research supervised by William Henry Weinberg.University of Maryland, Curriculum Vitae of Ellen D. Williams
/ref>


Career

Williams did postdoctoral studies at the
University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
under the supervision of R.L. Park from 1981 to 1983. Then promoted to assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, which is part of the
University of Maryland College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences The College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences (CMNS) at the University of Maryland, College Park, is home to ten academic departments and a dozen interdisciplinary research centers and institutes. CMNS is one of 13 schools and colleg ...
, she advanced to associate professor in 1987, and professor of Physics and the Institute for Physical Science and Technology in 1991. Building on her fundamental work on the morphology of solid surfaces, she founded the University of Maryland Materials Research Group in 1991 and led its expansion to become the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center in 1996. She served as its Director from 1996 through 2009. In 2000 she was named Distinguished University Professor. She was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2003,American Academy of Arts and Sciences, New Members, Class of 2003.
/ref> and to the National Academy of Sciences in 2005. She served as the Chair of the NAS committee on Technical Issues Concerning the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty from 2009-11. In 2010, Williams took a leave of absence from UMD to become chief scientist at BP, a position which she held until April 2014. Then, having been nominated by President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
in November 2013 to become director of
ARPA-E ARPA-E, or Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy is a United States government agency tasked with promoting and funding research and development of advanced energy technologies. It is modeled after the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agenc ...
and awaiting Senate confirmation, she became a senior adviser in the office of the
Secretary of Energy The United States secretary of energy is the head of the United States Department of Energy, a member of the Cabinet of the United States, and fifteenth in the presidential line of succession. The position was created on October 1, 1977, when Pr ...
. She was confirmed on December 8, 2014, and subsequently sworn into her position at ARPA-E.Energy.gov, "Dr. Ellen Williams Confirmed as Director of ARPA-E"
/ref> She served as ARPA-E director until the end of the Obama administration in January 2017, and then resumed her position as Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland. In May 2020, Williams was appointed as Director of the
Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surface ...
at the
University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
. Her five-year term as Director began in July 2020. She sits on the International Scientific Advisory Committee of Australia's
ARC Centre of Excellence in Future Low-Energy Electronics Technologies ARC may refer to: Business * Aircraft Radio Corporation, a major avionics manufacturer from the 1920s to the '50s * Airlines Reporting Corporation, an airline-owned company that provides ticket distribution, reporting, and settlement services * ...
.


Academic Research

Williams' research in experimental surface science explores fundamental issues in statistical mechanics, particularly including practical applications nanotechnology. Her research group pioneered applications of direct imaging techniques for atomic-scale structures on surfaces. She worked closely with theorists to design experiments to address theoretical and conceptual questions important to the fields of catalysis, thin film growth and nano-electronics. She has published over 200 academic articles, which have been cited over 8000 times. Her most widely cited work includes at least four areas of fundamental research (see Selected Publications below); structure-transport relationships in graphene, surface morphology and step fluctuations, electronic interactions with surface defects, and adsorbate-interactions.


Technical Issues in National Security

In parallel with her academic career, Williams has worked extensively in providing technical advice to the U.S. government, primarily through the Departments of Energy and Defense. As a result of her experience, in 2009 she was asked to lead a study on issues of verification of nuclear testing,“Assessing the Treaty's verifiability, Interview with Ellen Williams, Director of the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy” CTBTO Spectrum Publication, issue 23, p. 13 (2015)
which was one of the concerns cited in the Senate decision not to ratify the treaty in 1999. The resulting report,“Technical Issues Concerning the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty,” National Research Council, 2012.
/ref> reviews the verification capabilities in the US and at the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Organization (CTBTO), and shows that detection capability advanced significantly over the years after the 1999 U.S. decision not to ratify. The report places the state-of-the art detection capability in the context of different types of proliferation threats, and thus provides a valuable context for decision makers. The report also emphasizes the importance of sustaining and continuing to advance technical capabilities for verification, both in the U.S. and at the CTBTO. Williams is the vice-chair of
JASON Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He ...
, an independent group of scientists offering advice to the US government on key science and technology issues.


Chief Scientist at BP

At BP, Williams worked in Group Technology, where she was responsible for assurance of technology programs, and strategic research and program development. Early in her tenure, she set up the initial advisory structure for BP's Gulf of Mexico Research InitiativeGOMRI History.
/ref> Within the company, she advocated for increased implementation of advanced computational approaches in molecular chemistry, fluid dynamics, and distributed sensing and ‘big data’ analysis. She also led a strategic multi-university research program on natural resource constraints in the context of energy (the Energy Sustainability Challenge),.
/ref> In addition to the extensive University research publications that resulted from the program, the ESC team also created three reference booklets on energy-resource issues, “The ESC Materials Handbook",Zepf V., Reller A., Rennie C., Ashfield M. & Simmons J.: Materials critical to the energy industry. An introduction. 2nd edition, BP (2014). .
“Water in the Energy Industry,” Williams E. D. and Simmons J. E.: Water in the energy industry. An introduction. BP (2013).
/ref> and “Biomass in the Energy Industry”. Davis, S.C., Hay, W. & Pierce, J., Biomass in the energy industry: an introduction, BP(2014).
Williams has spoken widely about the need for advances in Science and Technology to sustainably supply the energy the world needs.


Department of Energy

Prior to Senate confirmation for her role in ARPA-E, Williams served as a senior advisor to the Secretary on DOE's technology transfer policies, issues, and plans. She established the Department's new Office of Technology Transitions Energy Department Announces New Office of Technology Transitions .
/ref> to expand the economic impact of the Department's extensive Research and Development activities. Williams joined ARPA-E just before its sixth anniversary, as the Agency's portfolio of active and alumni technology development programs ARPA-E projects and programs.
/ref> were forming a pipeline of energy technology innovation that ranges from early stage to more mature stages of technical readiness. As a result of ARPA-E's unique operational model, in which projects are managed both against ambitious technical and commercial goals, increasing numbers of the mature projects were proving attractive to follow-on investors, had products in field testing, or had early stage commercial products. ARPA-E Projects Receive more than $1.25 Billion in Private Follow-on Funding for Transformational Energy Technologies.
/ref> During her tenure at ARPA-E, Williams focused on streamlining ARPA-E's administrative processes to better support the innovation teams working under ARPA-E funding, on strengthening the support given teams in preparing their new technologies for commercial uptake, and on establishing rigorous assessment practices. Under her direction, the Agency produced the first two of a planned annual series of Impact Assessments, which present the challenges, technical achievements, and pathways to commercial impact for selected ARPA-E projects. ARPA-E Staff, "ARPA-E: The First Seven Years - A Sampling of Project Outcomes," Publication Date: Tuesday, August 23, 2016 .
/ref>ARPA-E staff, " ARPA-E Impacts: A Sample of Project Outcomes, Volume II,: Publication Date: Monday, February 27, 2017 .
/ref>


Awards and honors

In 2016 Williams was elected a
Foreign Member of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathematic ...
(ForMemRS) of London. Other honors include: * Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2019 * Honorary Member of
Sigma Pi Sigma Sigma Pi Sigma (), founded at Davidson College on December 11, 1921, is the oldest and only American honor society for physics and astronomy. It is an organization within the Society of Physics Students and the American Institute of Physics and ...
the physics honors society 2019. * Distinguished Alumnus Award, California Institute of Technology 2016 * Honorary Ph.D., Michigan State University, 2016 *
Member of the National Academy of Sciences Membership of the National Academy of Sciences is an award granted to scientists that the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) of the United States judges to have made “distinguished and continuing achievements in original research”. Membership ...
, 2005NAS Member Directory.
/ref> * Materials Research Society – David Turnbull Award, 2003 MRS, David Turnbull Lectureship Recipients.
/ref> * Fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...
, 2003 * American Physical Society –
David Adler Lectureship Award in the Field of Materials Physics The David Adler Lectureship Award in the Field of Materials Physics is a prize that has been awarded annually by the American Physical Society since 1988. The recipient is chosen for "an outstanding contributor to the field of materials physics, ...
, 2001 * Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Fellow (1996) * Fellow of the
American Vacuum Society AVS: Science and Technology of Materials, Interfaces, and ProcessingAIP: A Federation of the Physical Sciences
, 1993 AVS, Society Honors, List of Fellows.
/ref> * Fellow of the American Physical Society, 1992APS Honors Archive.
/ref> * American Physical Society Maria Goeppert Mayer Award, 1990 * Office of Naval Research Young Investigator, 1986-1989 *
Presidential Young Investigator Award The Presidential Young Investigator Award (PYI) was awarded by the National Science Foundation of the United States Federal Government. The program operated from 1984 to 1991, and was replaced by the NSF Young Investigator (NYI) Awards and Presiden ...
of the
National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National ...
, 1984-1989


Selected publications

Williams has authored or co-authored numerous
peer review Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work ( peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer revie ...
ed scientific journal articles including:


''Structure-transport relationships in graphene''

Applying the experimental approaches developed through her career, Williams worked with collaborator Michael Fuhrer to develop key early understanding about structural fluctuations and defect interactions in defining graphene's properties.
* 2007 Masa Ishigami, J. H. Chen, W. G. Cullen, M. S. Fuhrer, and E. D. Williams, “Atomic Structure of Graphene on SiO2 , Nano Letters 7, 1643-8 * 2008 J.H. Chen, C. Jang, M.S. Fuhrer, E.D. Williams and M. Ishigami, Charged impurity scattering in graphene, Nature Physics 4, 377- 381 * 2009 J. H. Chen, W. G. Cullen, C. Jang, M. S. Fuhrer and E. D. Williams , Defect Scattering in Graphene, Physical Review Letters 102, 236805 * 2011 J.-H. Chen, L. Li, W.G. Cullen, E.D. Williams and M.S. Fuhrer, Tunable Kondo effect in graphene with defects, Nature Physics, 7, 535


''Surface morphology and step fluctuations''

Williams’ research group discovered the remarkable ability of silicon surfaces to undergo reversible micron-scale changes in structure, and demonstrated how such changes are thermodynamically defined by changes in the free-energy of steps on the surface. The group's subsequent experimental work elegantly placed observations of structures and fluctuations of steps in a universally applicable theoretical formalism.
* 1987 R.J. Phaneuf and E.D. Williams. “Surface Phase Separation of Vicinal Si(111),” Phys. Rev. Lett. 58: 2563. * 1990 X.-S. Wang, J.R. Goldberg, N.C. Bartelt and E.D. Williams, Terrace Width Distributions on Vicinal Si(111), Phys. Rev. Lett. 65: 2430-33. * 1991 E.D. Williams and N.C. Bartelt, Thermodynamics of Surface Morphology,” Science 251, 393 (1991), * 1993 N.C. Bartelt, T.L. Einstein, E.D. Williams, J. J. Métois, J.C. Heyraud, J.L Goldberg, The Brownian Motion of Steps on Vicinal Si(111), Phys. Rev. B48, 15453. * 1991 R.J. Phaneuf, N.C. Bartelt, E.D. Williams, W. Swiech and E. Bauer., LEEM Investigation of Orientational Phase Separation on Vicinal Si(111), Phys. Rev. Lett. 21, 2986. * 1999 H.-C. Jeong and E.D. Williams, “Steps on Surfaces: Experiment and Theory,” Surface Sci. Report, 34 ; 171-294. (Review Article) * 2001 K. Thuermer, J. Reutt-Robey, E.D. Williams, M. Uwaha, A. Emundts and H.P. Bonzel, “Step Dynamics in 3D Crystal Shape Relaxation” Phys. Rev. Lett. 87: 186102-4. * 2007 B.R. Conrad, W.G. Cullen, D.B. Dougherty, I. Lyubinetsky, and E. D. Williams, "Spatial first-passage statistics of Al/Si(111)-(sqrt(3)×sqrt(3)) step fluctuations" Phys. Rev. E 75, 021603


''Electronic interactions with surface defects''

Williams’ group also explored the interaction of surface structure with electric fields and currents. They demonstrated how the incredibly small momentum-transfer due to an electron colliding with an atom can none-the-less cause micron-scale rearrangements of the material near the surfaces. *1996 Y. N. Yang, E. Fu and E.D. Williams, An STM Study of Current Induced Step Bunching on Si(111), Surface Sci. 356, 101 111. *1995 E.D. Williams, E. Fu, Y. N. Yang, D. Kandel and J.D. Weeks, Measurement of the Anisotropy Ratio During Current Induced Step Bunching, Surface Sci. 336, L746. *2000 C.S. Ganpule, V. Nagarajan, S.B. Ogale, A.L. Roytburd, E.D. Williams, and R. Ramesh, Domain nucleation and relaxation kinetics in ferroelectric thin films, Applied Physics Letters 77 3275-3277. *2009 B.R. Conrad, W.G. Cullen, B.C. Riddick, E.D. Willams, Pentacene islands grown on ultra-thin SiO2, Surface Science Letters 603(3); L27-L30 *2010 C.G. Tao, W.G. Cullen and E.D. Williams, Visualizing the Electron Scattering Force in Nanostructures, Science 328, 736-740


''Adsorbate-interactions''

Williams’ graduate work explored how catalytically important molecules such as carbon monoxide and hydrogen interact with metal surfaces. She made seminal observations of how such molecules organize on surfaces and how the molecules (which are called ‘adsorbates’ once they are on the surface) interact with each other. The nature of such adsorbates and their relationship to the formation of structures on surfaces informed all of Williams’ subsequent work. * 1978 E.D. Williams, S. L. Cunningham and W.H. Weinberg, A Determination of Adatom Adatom Interaction Energies: Application to Oxygen Chemisorbed on the Tungsten (110) Surface, J. Chem. Phys. 68, 4688. * 1979 E.D. Williams and W.H. Weinberg, The Geometric Structure of Carbon Monoxide Chemisorbed on the Ruthenium (001) Surface at Low Temperatures,”Surface Sci. 82, 93 * 1980 E.D. Williams, P.A. Thiel, W.H. Weinberg, and J.T. Yates, Jr., Segregation of Co absorbed Species: Hydrogen and Carbon Monoxide on the Rh(111) Surface, J. Chem. Phys. 72, 3496 * 1994 Y. N. Yang and E.D. Williams, High Atom Density in the "1x1" Phase Origin of the Metastable Reconstructions on Si(111), Phys Rev. Lett. 72, 1862 * 2005 Bo Xu, Chenggang Tao, William G. Cullen, Janice E. Reutt-Robey, and Ellen D. Williams, Chiral Symmetry Breaking in Two-Dimensional C60-ACA Intermixed Systems, Nano Letters 5, 2207-11.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Ellen D. 1953 births Living people People from Oshkosh, Wisconsin Michigan State University alumni California Institute of Technology alumni Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Foreign Members of the Royal Society American scientists University of Maryland, College Park faculty American chemists American women chemists Fellows of the American Physical Society Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science 21st-century American women scientists