Dr. Williams joined the Department of Physics at Hope College in the fall of 2019. His research is focused in the subfield of physics concerning the fourth state of matter, plasma. Plasmas are hot, electrically charged fluids that are found in nuclear fusion experiments and make up 99.99% of the normal matter that fills the universe. The study of plasmas has application in nuclear fusion energy, space physics and astrophysics. Dr. Williams has expertise in studying plasma turbulence in fusion confinement device through the use of computational and mathematical methods. Since coming to Hope, he has expanded his research to encompass not only fusion plasmas but astrophysical plasmas as well. His current interests are focused around using reduced mathematical models to better understand fundamental plasma processes that occur in stellar interiors and atmospheres, specifically focusing on the plasma convection and reconnection processes. Dr. Williams loves exploring these exciting topics with Hope College students through research projects conducted both in the summer and the academic terms.

Dr. Williams also has a passion for effective physics education and enjoys teaching topics across the physics curriculum (though electricity and magnetism will always be his favorite). He is thrilled to be at a place like Hope College that places such a strong emphasis on personalized interaction between students and faculty. Dr. Williams became department chair in the 2026–2027 academic year and looks forward to building up the program and increasing participation in physics. He always welcomes any opportunity to geek out with students that have an interest in physics!

Areas of expertise

• Gyrokinetic modeling of fusion plasmas
• Plasma turbulence theory and computation
• Reduced models descriptions of fluid and plasma dynamics

Education

• Ph.D., physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2019
• B.S., physics, University of Central Florida, 2013

Honors, Grants & Awards

• National Science Foundation Launching Early-Career Academic Pathways in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences, “Explorations in Nonlinear Plasma Physics Phenomena at Hope College,” 2025–2027, $160,196
• National Science Foundation ACCESS, “Expanding Plasma Physics Research at Hope College,” 2024–2026, 1.5 million CPU hours
• Hope College, “Janet L. Andersen Excellence in Teaching Award,” 2026
• Michigan Space Grant Consortium Seed Grant, “Examining Reduced Model Descriptions of Tearing Modes in Solar Plasmas,” 2020–2021

Published work

• “An Analysis of Stable Mode Contributions to Rayleigh-Benard Convection,” with A.G. Lowe, submitted to Physics of Plasmas, 2026
• “An examination of nonlinear collisionless magnetic reconnection through eigenmode decomposition,” with N.T. Stolnicki and A.E. Fraser, Physics of Plasmas, 2024
• “Impact of Resonant Magnetic Perturbations on Zonal Flows and Microturbulence,” with M.J. Pueschel et al., Nuclear Fusion, 2020
• “Direct Measurement of a Toroidally Directed Zonal Flow in a Toroidal Plasma,” with T. Nishizawa et al., Physical Review Letters, 2019
• “Measurements of impurity transport due to drift-wave turbulence in a toroidal plasma,” with T. Nishizawa et al., Physical Review Letters, 2018
• “Observation of trapped-electron-mode microturbulence in reversed field pinch plasmas,” with J.R. Duff et al., Physics of Plasmas, 2018
• “Turbulence, transport, and zonal flows in the Madison symmetric torus reversed-field pinch,” with M.J. Pueschel, P.W. Terry and T. Hauff, Physics of Plasmas, 2017

Outside the College

Dr. Williams enjoys spending time with his family (wife, two daughters, and golden retriever) and friends. He enjoys a variety of hobbies: going on hikes, kayaking; being very bad at pickup sports like basketball and ultimate frisbee; making music on a handful of different instruments; playing games (card, board and video games alike); reading sci-fi, fantasy, philosophy and apologetics; and appreciating craft beverages. He and his family are actively engaged in their local church, where Dr. Williams participates regularly on the worship team and does his best to love people like Jesus.