Ken Williams Appointed ERWR Program Head

Source:  Susan Hubbard

As of August 1st, 2013, Kenneth Hurst Williams will assume the position of Program Lead for the Environmental Remediation and Water Resources (ERWR) Program within the Earth Sciences Division—a position that Susan Hubbard (now ESD Director) has held since 2003. In this role, Williams will be responsible for ERWR strategic development, for identification and coordination of funding opportunities, and for serving as a point of contact and spokesperson for the Program. Since the ERWR Program is part of the Environmental and Biological Program Area, Williams will also work with Janet Jansson (Ecosystems Biology Program Lead) and Susan Hubbard to advance the overall Program Area.

Water quality and resource issues are becoming increasingly important: they are critical components of many climate change, energy resource, and land-use challenges. Williams’ experience and educational background make him extremely well suited to lead this program. A staff geological scientist at LBNL-ESD since 1993, Williams has a B.A. in geology, an M.S. in geophysics, and a Ph.D. in Environmental Science, Policy and Management from UC Berkeley. He has a broad environmental knowledge and a deep understanding of remediation science, and has been a pioneer in the field of biogeophysics, which focuses on quantifying subsurface biogeochemical processes using geophysical data. He is an Associate Editor of JGR-Biogeosciences and is the Watershed Component Lead of the DOE BER Subsurface SFA at LBNL, which seeks to quantify coupled microbiological, geochemical, and hydrological processes that control elemental cycling from the cell to the watershed scale.

Congratulations, Ken!