News
Professor Christopher Williams has been appointed Associate Director of the Macromolecules and Interfaces Institute
BLACKSBURG, Va., December 9, 2014 – Christopher Williams, an Associate Professor with a joint appointment in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech, has been appointed Associate Director of the Macromolecules and Interfaces Institute (MII) effective January 10, 2015. As Associate Director, he will be part of the leadership team for MII and will be responsible for building collaboration between the faculty in MII, the College of Science, the College of Engineering, the College of Architecture and Urban Studies, and the Institute’s industrial partners, as MII continues to build and strengthen its research portfolio.
Chris is the Director of the Design, Research, and Education for Additive Manufacturing Systems (DREAMS) Laboratory and is the current W. S. 'Pete' White Chair for Innovation in Engineering Education. His research contributions have been recognized by six Best Paper awards at international design, manufacturing, and engineering education conferences. He is a recipient of a National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2013), the 2012 International Outstanding Young Researcher in Freeform and Additive Fabrication Award, and the 2010 Emerald Engineering Additive Manufacturing Outstanding Doctoral Research Award. For his contributions in the classroom, he received the 2012 XCaliber Award, the 2011 W. S. “Pete” White Award for Innovation in Engineering Education, and the 2009 Dean’s Award for Outreach Excellence. Chris holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, Georgia) and a B.S. with High Honors in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Florida (Gainesville, Florida).