| Robley Cook Williams | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 13, 1908 Santa Rosa, California |
| Died | January 3, 1995 (aged 86) |
| Citizenship | American |
| Nationality | American |
| Institutions | University of Michigan University of California, Berkeley |
| Alma mater | Cornell University |
| Known for | work with Tobacco mosaic virus |
| Influences | Ralph Walter Graystone Wyckoff Wendell Stanley |
Robley Cook Williams (October 13, 1908 - January 3, 1995) was an early biophysicist and virologist. He served as the first President of the Biophysical Society.
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Williams attended Cornell University on an athletic scholarship, completing a B.S. in 1931 and a Ph.D. in physics in 1935. He was also selected for membership in the Quill and Dagger society. Williams began his career as a researcher as an assistant professor of astronomy at the University of Michigan, and from 1945, associate professor of physics. A growing fascination with viruses led him to leave Michigan in 1950, when he was invited to the University of California, Berkeley by Wendell Stanley, to serve as a professor at the newly created Department of Virology.[1]
Together with Heinz Fraenkel-Conrat, Williams studied the Tobacco mosaic virus, and showed that a functional virus could be created out of purified RNA and a protein coat. That same year, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences. Williams was involved in the early use of electron micrography in biology[2]. Working with Ralph Walter Graystone Wyckoff he helped develop a technique to take three-dimensional electron microscope images of bacteria using a "metal shadowing" technique. He also helped develop biophysical techniques such as freeze etching and particle-counting by the spray-drop technique.[3]
His son, Robley C. Williams, Jr., is a professor emeritus of biological science at Vanderbilt University.