UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN River Falls

Distinguished Teacher

2016 - Ian Williams

Ian Williams brought his expertise in geophysics to UW-River Falls in 1982 and has taught a variety of courses including Structural Geology, Geophysics, Planetary Geology, Environmental Geology and Energy for Sustainable Management.  He is an avid traveler, who has not only led many of the annual regional geology field trips, but has been heavily engaged in the Semester Abroad: Europe, the Wisconsin in Scotland and the International Traveling Classroom (ITC) programs. He is always looking for new and unique ways to interest students in geology and in 2006 he created a novel teaching tool, a graphic or comic textbook "Continents in Collision" to explain how mountains are built. His passion for teaching motivated him to be involved with the new faculty orientation and faculty development programs on campus for nearly a decade.  Williams had been previously honored as the Outstanding Teacher in the College of Agriculture in 1995 and the UWRF Adviser of the Year in 2015.  Williams also served as the adviser for the River Falls Geological Society for 30 years.

Williams holds a BS from Durham University in North East England, an MS from Newcastle University in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, and a PhD from the University of California at Santa Barbara.  He is originally from the United Kingdom and became an American citizen several years ago

Willaims