Dr. Paul Williard

Biography

Paul Gregory Williard is a Professor of Chemistry at Brown University. He was born and raised in Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania, and completed his B.S. and M.S. degrees at Bucknell University in 1972, focusing on chemistry. Williard earned his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1976, with a dissertation on a novel carbon-carbon bond forming reaction. Following a post-doctoral fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he joined Brown University in 1979 as an Assistant Professor, later advancing to Associate Professor in 1986 and Professor in 1992. He served as the Chair of the Department of Chemistry at Brown University from 1999 to 2005 and again from 2016 to 2019. Williard has received various fellowships and funding for his research, including from the National Science Foundation and the Fulbright Program. His research areas encompass organic chemistry with a particular focus on the total synthesis of marine natural products, drug development, and the characterization of reactive intermediates. Additionally, he is known for employing advanced techniques like X-ray diffraction analysis and diffusion NMR spectroscopy in his studies. Williard has numerous publications that reflect his extensive work in reactive intermediates and asymmetric synthetic reaction methods. He is actively involved in collaborative drug development projects aimed at cancer treatment.

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Awards