William Williams (metallurgist)


William M. Williams was a Welsh-born metallurgical engineer, expert witness and Birks professor of metallurgy at McGill University.

Education

Williams was born in Tonypandy, Wales in 1927, the son of a coal miner. In 1944, he was able to win a scholarship to study at the University of Bristol; where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1948, and later a Master of Science in physics. In working to earn his master's degree, he studied stereo micro-radiography at the University of Chicago, under the direction of Cyril Stanley Smith. Around the same time, he also took up a position as a metallurgist with the Revere Copper Company in Rome, New York.
In 1960, Williams earned his doctorate from the University of Toronto.

Career

Williams commenced lecturing at McGill University in 1960. In 1966, he was selected to be the chairman of the department of Mining and Metallurgy; a position he held until 1980. Under his direction during this time, the department expanded significantly to become Canada's premier university Metallurgical Engineering department.
Throughout his career, he was consulted to investigate numerous engineering failures including such notable events as the 1965 LaSalle Heights disaster, the Mississauga train derailment of 1979 and the crash of Quebecair Flight 255, having published several papers on failure analysis. From 1990 to 2000, he was a consultant metallurgist for Via Rail. Williams also served as an expert witness in about 40 court cases in Canada and the United States, and was twice appointed Judge's Expert by justices James K. Hugessen and Antonio Lamar respectively.

Publications