Biography
Distinguished University Professor Ellen Williams earned her B.S. in 1976 from Michigan State University and her Ph.D. in 1981 from the California Institute of Technology. Her research interests are in surface chemistry and nanotechnology. She founded the University of Maryland Materials Research Science and Engineering Center and served as its Director from 1996 through 2009. She served as Chief Scientist at BP from 2010-14, and as Director of the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) from 2014 until early 2017.
Research
Research Area:
Research Projects:
- Surface Physics
- Nanoelectronic materials
- Experimental statistical mechanics
- Flexible electronics
Centers & Institutes: Quantum Materials Center; Institute for Physical Science & Technology; Materials Research Science & Engineering Center
Teaching
- Physics 662: Intersections of Technology and Policy in Modernizing the Energy System
- PLCY699B Intersections of Technology and Policy: Modernizing the Energy System
- Physics 662: Intersections of Technology and Policy
News
- Ellen Williams Named Director of ESSIC
- Ellen Williams Named Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
- Ellen Williams Returns to UMD
- Ellen Williams Named Caltech Distinguished Alumna
- Ellen Williams Elected Foreign Member of the Royal Society
- Ellen Williams Interviewed in Scientific American
- Ellen Williams Nominated to Key Administration Post