I first met Bill at the University of Wisconsin. I was a graduate student and he joined as a new faculty. He came to Wisconsin from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and earlier had gotten his Ph.D. at the University of Florida in plasma physics, I believe. He joined a group of professors and graduate students focused on radiation damage in materials for nuclear fusion applications. Bill seemed to have an extremely diverse background in nuclear engineering but I soon came to realize the he had a unique understanding of materials, mechanics, and nuclear technology.
I took a course from Bill. I believe it was about special problems in radiation damage or close. He revealed an in-depth understanding of microstructural features of materials and the many interactions with radiation. I didn’t realize the extent of his understanding but ultimately came to believe that of all the many scientists and engineers I have encountered, he was foremost in relating the role of microstructural interactions with macroscale properties of engineering materials.
Further, and perhaps most important, he was welcoming and supportive of students’ inquiries and would easily spend time discussing problems and assessing solutions. He treated me like a peer, which I certainly wasn’t, but it just felt good working on interesting phenomena and exploring methods to explain.
I remember to this day a problem that I chose and how good it felt to complete a solution. It was only possible with Bill’s guidance. At the risk of boring the reader with the details, I will describe briefly. I wanted to provide an analytic solution to the deposition time dependence of ion impact on the production of stress wave generation in metals. I was familiar with the basic concepts of ion deposition, stress wave propagation, and the defining equations. After laying out the appropriate equations, I discovered that I was unfamiliar with the mathematics to solve same. Bill reviewed my work and agreed that it was on the right track but then added “this is a perfect application for the method of reflections.” I was then aware and amazed at how deep and broad his understanding of engineering mathematics was. I proceeded to develop a solution that I was able to add to my dissertation topic. I still keep the 14 pages of my hand-written notes in my records today. I still don’t know how unique the work was but it sure felt good to complete. It wouldn’t have happened without Bill’s insight and welcoming nature.
I completed my work in summer of 1978. Bill was on my committee. I then returned to Sandia National Laboratories and assumed a position as a first level manager. I kept in contact with some at Wisconsin, especially my major professor Gerald Kulcinski, who had adroitly guided my entire time in graduate school there and to whom I will forever be indebted. I don’t remember exactly when or the circumstances but Bill left Wisconsin. As fate would have it, he joined Sandia at our California laboratory. It was a material sciences group that I had no contact with. For years we had no real contact except perhaps a professional encounter on occasion.
Remarkedly, in 1995 I was informed that I would be sent to California to manage our laboratory there. I welcomed the opportunity and it opened a whole new arena for me. Lots of new people to meet and lots of new work to understand and support. Upon my arrival, one of the very first people to meet me was Bill. He was his usual welcoming self but went out of his way to provide support in what for me was a new role and environment. We met a number of times to share the California living experience and review his work and that of his colleagues. I still recall how I wished I had the time to participate in their work and company.
Near the end of my time in California a new national problem arose—the aging of plutonium. Bill was uniquely qualified for this work, which was being done by Los Alamos National Laboratory and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Bill took the assignment, and while still at Sandia, to join the LLNL team. Bill and I discussed the work numerous times and I was convinced that Bill was the best possible person to work this problem. It was closely aligned with my graduate work and I relished any time we had to discuss the phenomena involved and its ultimate impact on the utility of the metal. The team was centered at LLNL and it was clear that Bill would be a major contributor to this effort. Consequently, Bill and I discussed his resigning from Sandia and becoming an employee of LLNL. There were many aspects to consider but it became clear that for the project to be successful and for Bill’s personal life, the best decision was to change employers. It meant, however, that our relationship would not be as direct or close.
I soon left California and returned to New Mexico as leader of our nuclear weapons effort. As much of my responsibilities included work in California, I kept in touch with our laboratory there and maintained an office. Bill did not give up on our discussions about the aging of plutonium and we still engaged in conversation about the conduct of the project and its potential outcome. I kept thinking how perfect it was to have Bill with his directly aligned expertise work on this important problem. In 2005, I became President of Sandia National Laboratories. My contact with Bill faded but my recollection of him never did. He was one individual that I consider formative in my life. His gracious nature, his towering intellect, and his genuineness as an understanding friend still remain with me. He supported me when I needed it and unselfishly filled my gaps in knowledge when it was so important. I count myself lucky to have known him and to benefit from his unique understandings.
