Alan Williams
1935 – 2023
(Photo: University of Leeds)
Emeritus Professor Alan Williams, former Livesey Professor of Fuel and Combustion Science at the University of Leeds, passed away on 6 September 2023. Alan was a respected member of the international combustion and energy communities, attending numerous conferences and authoring many research publications. A longer write-up of Alan’s long and illustrious life and career is available courtesy of the University of Leeds, with a few of the many highlights detailed below:
Williams obtained his education from the University of Leeds where he studied chemistry as an undergraduate. He received his PhD in 1959, studying the spontaneous combustion of methyl nitrite and the role of alkoxyl radicals in nitrite pyrolysis. From 1959 to 1964, he worked as a Research Fellow at the University of Leeds, funded by the British Gas Fellowship Scheme. This research led to seminal work concerning hydrogen flame kinetics and the development of the first computer models of flame structure.
During this period, Williams met his wife-to-be, Maureen, marrying on 30 July 1960. Over their 63-year marriage, they celebrated the birth of three sons and four grandchildren.
Williams was appointed as a lecturer in 1964, and quickly built his career through his promotion to the position of Livesey Professor of Fuel and Combustion Science, and then to Head of the Department of Fuel and Combustion Science in 1973. He was, at age 38, the university’s youngest professor.
Williams’ early research in combustion fundamentals led to coal research where he and colleagues developed models that supported the development of large-scale coal power generation in the U.K. He also worked on co-firing biomass up to 100% biomass, and the modelling of gas fired furnaces, including oxy-natural gas and flameless combustion.
Later in his career, he worked on small-scale biomass combustion, assessing the design of traditional cooking stoves, used by 2.8 billion people worldwide, to help improve their cooking efficiency and reduce emissions. Williams continued as Head of the Department of Fuel and Energy at Leeds, and then the Energy and Resources Research Institute, until his retirement in 2000, when he became a Research Professor and continued in active research.
His research output was significant, authoring more than 700 papers and conference publications throughout his career. He also published four books: Combustion of Sprays of Liquid Fuels (1976); Combustion of Liquid Fuel Sprays (1990); Combustion and Gasification of Coal (2000); and Pollutants Generated by the Combustion of Solid Biomass Fuels (2014).
In 1995, Williams was awarded the status of Commander of the British Empire for services to the Scientific Development of Fuel Chemistry and was named a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 1999 for his work in combustion, energy conservation, and other fields. He received many honors and delivered numerous keynote lectures. Some examples include the Sugden Award from the Great Britain Section of The Combustion Institute in 1993, the 1997 Robens BCURA Coal Science gold medal, and a lecture delivered in the Royal Institution. In 2017, he received the George Westinghouse Gold Medal from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He was appointed a Fellow of The Combustion Institute in 2018.
Williams was involved in active research until his passing, never losing his extraordinary passion for knowledge and research. He touched many lives and leaves a rich legacy, not least through the innumerable PhD students he has supervised from all over the world.
For more information about the life and work of Prof. Williams, read the full write-up on the University of Leeds website. The Combustion Institute honors Prof. Williams’ accomplishments and the work of scientific leaders who make significant contributions for the advancement of many diverse communities around the world.