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Kenneth H. Williams

Senior Scientist

Environmental Remediation and Water Resources Program Lead

M/S 74R316C

Phone: 510-701-1089

Fax: 510-486-5686

khwilliams@lbl.gov

Curriculum Vitae

  • Education
  • Experience
  • Patents
  • Awards
  • Professional Service
  • Synergistic Activities
  • Collaborators and Other Affiliations
  • Media
  • Other Web Pages

Biography

Dr. Kenneth H. Williams is a Senior Scientist and Program Lead for Environmental Remediation and Water Resources Program in the Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California. He received a B.A. in Geology, an M.S. in Geophysics, and a Ph.D. in Environmental Science, Policy & Management from the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author or co-author of 200+ peer-reviewed publications and currently serves as an associate editor of JGR-Biogeosciences. He is a pioneer in the field of biogeophysics, with a particular emphasis on the development of minimally invasive techniques for characterizing the subsurface activity of microbial communities and the end products of their metabolism. His current research interests include seasonal variations in redox-sensitive elements, such as C, N, S, Fe, and Mn, issues impacting the long-term mobility of contaminant metals in the subsurface, and the coupling of hydrological and biogeochemical processes that impact both. He currently serves as the Deputy Lead and Chief Field Scientist of Berkeley Lab’s Watershed Function Scientific Focus Area based near Crested Butte, Colorado (USA), which addresses questions pertaining to the ability of mountains watersheds to retain and release water, nutrients, carbon, and metals in the face of climate perturbation and climate extremes.  In this capacity, Dr. Williams is tasked with overseeing and integrating the field research activities of a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional team of researchers (National Laboratory, University, Industry) that span the continuum of spatial scales from pore to catchment.  Accomplishing these goals requires a deep knowledge of a broad range of topics within earth system sciences, including catchment hydrogeochemistry, ecohydrology, microbe-mineral interactions, redox cycling of biologically critical elements within sediments, streams, and groundwater, and the underlying biological pathways and proxy signatures (e.g. gene and protein expression) associated with both.

Research Interests

  • Applied geophysics: Primary focus on biogeophysics and hydrogeophysics
  • Biogeochemistry: Understanding the drivers of the biological cycling and modification of biologically critical elements (e.g. C, N, S, P, Fe) and redox sensitive contaminants (e.g. U, Se, As)
  • Contaminant dynamics and remediation: Understanding the factors that control contaminant (e.g. U, Se, As, Mo, Pb, Zn) mobility in the environment, contaminant plume persistence, and development of novel remediation approaches for minimizing their impact to the environment
  • Subsurface microbiology: Use of molecular microbiological techniques for understanding the metabolic potential of different landscape units (e.g. soils, sediments, bedrock, surface water, groundwater)
  • Watershed system science: Understanding the consequences of climate change, climate perturbations, and extreme events on water quantity and water quality.

Education

  • Ph.D. Environmental Science, Policy & Management, University of California, Berkeley, 2008
  • M.S. Geophysics, University of California, Berkeley, 2002
  • B.A. Geology, University of California, Berkeley, 1993

Experience

  • Senior Scientist, LBNL, Berkeley, CA, 2021-Present
  • Environmental Remediation and Water Resources Program Lead, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), CA, 2013-Present
  • Geological Staff Scientist, LBNL, Berkeley, CA, 2012-2021
  • Science Advisor, GreenPyro, Inc., Palo Alto, CA, 2013-2014
  • Chief Materials Scientist, Biochar Solutions, Inc., Carbondale, CO, 2012-2014
  • Geological Staff Scientist, LBNL, Berkeley, CA, 2009-2012
  • Senior Scientific and Engineering Associate, LBNL, Berkeley, CA, 1998-2009

Patents

  • An Organic Molecule Coated CoFION Amendment for Biostimulation of FeRB (DOE #S-110,776). Benjamin Gilbert, Jillian F. Banfield, and Kenneth H. Williams. [2010], IB-2316

Awards

  • Outstanding Student Paper; Near Surface Geophysics Section of the American Geophysical Union, Joint Assembly, “Monitoring microbial chemotaxis and sulfate-reduction using the self-potential method”, 2005

Professional Service

  • Member-at-Large, Geological Society of America, Geology and Public Policy Committee, 2021-2024
  • Member, Board of Trustees, Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, Gothic, CO, 2018-Present
  • Associate Editor, Interpretation, 2014
  • Associate Editor, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 2013-Present

Synergistic Activities

  • Deputy Lead and Chief Field Scientist, Watershed Function Scientific Focus Area; East River, Colorado Field Site in Gothic, Colorado
    Chief Operating Officer for multi-institutional, multi-disciplinary watershed testbed with 150+ investigators, staff, and students and an annual research budget of ca. $10M tasked with investigating impacts of climate perturbation on mountainous systems and their ability to retain and release water, nutrients, carbon and metals over annual to decadal timescales. Serve as primary point of contact for water stakeholders including USGS, EPA, Coal Creek Watershed Coalition, the Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District, and the Colorado Water Conservation Board.
  • Chief Field Scientist and Field Site Manager of the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Rifle Subsurface Biogeochemistry Field Site in Rifle, Colorado
    Oversee research operations for the Department of Energy’s Office of Legacy Management at their floodplain focused former uranium mill tailings site near Rifle, Colorado. Coordinate research activities amongst a combination of Office of Science, National Science Foundation, and Office of Legacy Management funded investigators focused on developing reactive transport models coupling hydrologic behavior of the Colorado River with uranium plume persistence.

Collaborators and Other Affiliations

  • J.F. Banfield (University of California, Berkeley); D.R. Lovley (University of Massachusetts); L.D. Slater (Rutgers University); P.E. Long (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory); A. Kemna (University of Bonn);
  • S.S. Hubbard (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)

Media

  • Williams, K.H. (2016). Climate Change: A Matter of Degree, 5280 Denver’s Mile High Magazine.
  • Williams, K.H. (2016). Science where the water starts, Crested Butte Magazine.
  • Williams, K.H. (2015). Berkeley Lab’s Genomes-to-Watershed Scientific Focus Area: Watershed Structures and Controls.
  • Williams, K.H. (2014). Snowmaking in Rifle in the name of science, The Daily Sentinel.
  • Williams, K.H. (2012). Public seminar on the history of uranium and vanadium milling near Rifle, Colorado, Garfield County Library as part of National Science Foundation’s Discover Earth Series.

Other Web Pages

  • Berkeley Nanogeoscience Center
  • Video: Panel discussion of at the film screen of Robert Redford's documentary "Watershed: Exploring a New Water Ethic for the New West"
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