Dr. Christopher Williams

Dr. Christopher Williams is the L.S. Randolph Professor and the Electro-Mechanical Corporation Senior Faculty Fellow in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Virginia Tech. He is the Director of the Design, Research, and Education for Additive Manufacturing Systems (DREAMS) Laboratory. He is the former Director of the Macromolecules Innovation Institute and holds affiliate faculty appointments in the Department of Engineering Education and the Department of Material Science & Engineering and.

His Additive Manufacturing (AM) expertise spans innovations in (i) AM processes and materials; (ii) design methodologies and tools to guide AM use (i.e., “Design for Additive Manufacturing”); and (iii) cyber-physical security for AM. He has co-authored over 185 peer-reviewed articles and has presented 85+ invited talks. He is a recipient of a National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2013). For his AM research contributions, he was awarded the 2012 International Outstanding Young Researcher in Freeform and Additive Manufacturing Award (FAME Jr. Award; presented by the International Solid Freeform Fabrication Symposium) and the 2010 Emerald Engineering Outstanding Doctoral Research Award in the area of Additive Manufacturing. His research contributions have been recognized by nine Best Paper awards at international design, manufacturing, and engineering education conferences. He currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Additive Manufacturing Community Advisors for SME.

Dr. Williams has also received several recognitions for his contributions at Virginia Tech. He received the Alumni Award for Excellence in Graduate Advising and the College of Engineering’s Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research in 2019. He received the John R. Jones III Faculty Fellowship in Mechanical Engineering in 2017, and was named a College of Engineering Faculty Fellow in 2015. For his contributions in the classroom, he received the 2014 W. S. “Pete” White Chair for Innovation in Engineering Education, the 2012 XCaliber Team Award, the 2012 Excellence in Access and Inclusion Award, the 2011 W. S. “Pete” White Award for Innovation in Engineering Education, and the 2009 Dean’s Award for Outreach Excellence.

Dr. Williams 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).