Susan L. Williams

Susan Lynn Williams (June 21, 1951 – April 24, 2018) was an American marine biologist and Distinguished Professor of Evolution and Ecology at the University of California, Davis, where she directed the Bodega Marine Laboratory from 2000-2010. She researched marine coastal ecosystems (in particular seagrass, seaweed, and coral reef habitats) and how they are affected by human activities. She was a strong advocate for environmental protection, credited with helping pass legislation expanding the boundaries of Northern California's Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank national sanctuaries, increasing the area of federally-protected coastal waters.

Early life and education Williams attended the University of Michigan, where she earned a bachelor's of science degree in biology in 1972. She then earned a master's degree in biological oceanography from the University of Alaska in 1977 and a doctoral degree in botany and marine biology from the University of Maryland in 1981.

Career Williams served as science director of the United States National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration's National Undersea Research Program in the Virgin Islands before becoming a professor of biology at San Diego State University, where she directed the University's Coastal and Marine Institute. She returned to teaching full-time in 2010 and remained on the UC Davis faculty until her death from a traffic collision in Petaluma, California on April 24, 2018. This was one of the first times plastic debris were reported in fish sold directly for human consumption.

Another study Williams performed in collaboration with Indonesian scientists looked into ways to restore seagrass beds, endangered habitats that are important for, among other things, supporting fisheries and protecting coastlines. Working in Indonesia's Coral Triangle, a biodiversity hotspot made up of seagrass, coral reefs, and mangrove forests, Williams and her colleagues showed that restoration efforts were more effective when they planted multiple species of seagrass instead of just a single species. These findings can help direct seagrass restoration efforts around the world.

Advocacy and community outreach

Williams encouraged scientists to engage meaningfully with the general public as well as with politicians. Her connection with political activism began early in her scientific career; in 1993, she was appointed to a panel of scientists consulting with the assistant secretary of the Interior, and in 2000 she received an Aldo Leopold Fellowship in Environmental Leadership.

Williams also used her scientific work to speak out about the dangers of climate change; in 2010, she helped raise the alarm that even small increases in ocean temperature could rapidly accelerate the growth of invasive species in marine environments.

Williams was remembered by colleagues as an effective mentor and strong advocate for women scientists. In 2009, UC Davis' Consortium for Women and Research named her an "outstanding mentor."

Awards Fellow of the California Academy of Sciences, 2003 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2006 Distinguished Scholarly Public Service Award, UC Davis Academic Senate, 2010 Outstanding Mentor Award, UC Davis Consortium for Women and Research, 2009 Outstanding Student in Oceanography, University of Alaska, 1977 Outstanding Biology Faculty Member, San Diego State University, 1993 Aldo Leopold Fellowship in Environmental Leadership, 2000 Distinguished Service Award, Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation, 2013 Outstanding Leadership Honor, Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation, 2011 Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, 1997

Selected publications

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