David Williams
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Phone: 480-965-7045
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Fax: 480-965-8960
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PSF 506B TEMPE, AZ 85287-6004
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Mail code: 6004Campus: Tempe
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David A. Williams is a Research Professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration and the director of the Ronald Greeley Center for Planetary Studies, a NASA-supported planetary data center at ASU. He is also the director of the NASA Planetary Aeolian Laboratory at the Ames Research Center in California. Professor Williams is currently performing research in volcanology and planetary geology, with a focus on planetary mapping, geochemical, and remote sensing studies. His recent research focuses on planetary geologic mapping of objects across the Solar System, including the satellites of Jupiter, the planets Mars, Titan, and Pluto, and the asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres, as well as computer modeling of the physical and geochemical evolution of lava flows in a variety of planetary environments.
He was involved with NASA’s Magellan Mission to Venus, Galileo Mission to Jupiter, and Dawn Mission to asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres. He is a Co-Investigator on the European Space Agency’s Mars Express orbiter mission. He is a past chair of the Planetary Geology Division of the Geological Society of America (GSA), and, in 2014, he was elected to become a fellow of the GSA. Also in 2014, the International Astronomical Union named asteroid 10,461 DAWilliams in his honor. Professor Williams is also a Science Team member and Deputy Imager Lead of NASA's Psyche mission, selected by NASA in January 2017 as the next Discovery mission to visit metal asteroid (16) Psyche in 2029. In 2017 he received the Ronald Greeley Distinguished Service Award from the Planetary Geology Division of the Geological Society of America. He is a past Secretary of the Planetary Sciences Section of the American Geophysical Union.
- Ph.D. Geology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 1998. Dissertation: Analytical/Numerical Modeling of the Emplacement and Erosional Potential of Archean and Proterozoic Komatiitic Lava Flows. Advisor: Dr. C. Michael Lesher (now at Laurentian University, Sudbury)
- M.S. Geology, Arizona State University 1992. Thesis: Multispectral Studies of Selected Crater- and Basin-Filling Lunar Maria from Galileo Earth-Moon Encounter 1. Advisor: Dr. Ronald Greeley (deceased)
- B.S. Astronomy and Astrophysics, minors: Mathematics, Geology, Indiana University-Bloomington 1989
David Williams' research focuses on volcanology and planetary geology, with an emphasis on understanding the emplacement styles and compositions of extrusive volcanic products on the terrestrial planets and outer planet satellites. Dr. Williams utilizes photogeologic analyses of spacecraft data, geologic mapping using ArcGIS, mathematical computer modeling, and reduction of spacecraft and sample mineralogical and geochemical data to study planetary volcanology. Dr. Williams is the Director of the Ronald Greeley Center for Planetary Studies, the NASA Regional Planetary Information Facility at ASU. He is also the Director of the NASA Planetary Aeolian Laboratory, which operates wind tunnels at ASU and at the Ames Research Center in California. He was involved with NASA's Magellan Mission to Venus, Galileo Mission to Jupiter, and Dawn Mission to asteroid 4 Vesta and dwarf planet 1 Ceres. He is a Co-Investigator on the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter mission, and is the Deputy Lead for the Psyche Multispectral Imager for NASA's Psyche Mission.
Note for Prospective Graduate Students: I am NOT taking on new graduate students for the foreseeable future. As a Research Professor, I normally do not fund graduate students or take them on as a primary advisor. I can serve on graduate student Supervisory Committees, however. If you want to come to SESE, you should seek out one of the tenured/tenure-track professors to be your primary advisor on a project of interest to you both. If my expertise would be useful to you for your Primary PhD project, then I am happy to serve on your Supervisory Committee. You should also know that, in ASU-SESE, our PhD students are required to do TWO projects for their PhD, the second significantly different from the first and with enough content to lead to one lead-authored paper by the student. Depending on the project, I could serve as an advisor on such a secondary project if it involves planetary geology or volcanology. You can learn about all our faculty at: https://sese.asu.edu/people/faculty
Professor Williams is the Director of the Ronald Greeley Center for Planetary Studies, a NASA-supported planetary data center at Arizona State University. The staff of the RGCPS supports ASU students, faculty, and staff with planetary research using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software.
For PDF reprints of Dr. Williams' published papers, please email him at: David.Williams@asu.edu
Principal Investigator: Planetary Data Training, NASA Topical Workshops, Symposia, and Conferences; 2022-2023. Total Costs: $370,357.
Principal Investigator: Planetary Aeolian Laboratory, NASA Planetary Science Division; 2022-2023. Total Costs: $821,717.
Co-Investigator: Geologic map of Noachis Terra, NASA Mars Data Analysis Program; 2022-2026. PI: H. Bernhardt. Co-I Costs: $24,010.
Co-Investigator: Geologic map of Huygens Landing Site, Titan, NASA Cassini Data Analysis Program; 2021-2024. PI: Michael Malaska, NASA JPL. Total ASU Costs: $91,452.
Co-Investigator: Io Thermal Emission from Juno, NASA New Frontiers Data Analysis Program; 2021-2024. PI: Ashley Davies, NASA JPL. Total ASU Costs: $77,047.
Co-Investigator: USGS Global Geologic Map of Ceres, NASA Planetary Data Archiving, Restoration, and Tools Program; 2021-2024. PI: Scott Mest, PSI. Total ASU Costs: $9,620.
Principal Investigator: Digitizing the Ronald Greeley Slide Collection, NASA Planetary Data Archiving, Restoration, and Tools Program; 2020-2021. Total Costs: $54,526.
Co-Investigator: Assessing Dwarf Planet Ceres’ Past and Present Habitability Potential, NASA Planetary Mission Concepts Program, 2019-2020. PI: Julie Castillo-Rogez. Total Costs: $12,540.
Principal Investigator: Completing the Io GIS Database, NASA Planetary Data Archiving, Restoration, and Tools Program; 2019-2021. Total Costs: $183,894.
Co-Investigator: Global geologic map of Pluto, NASA Planetary Data Archiving, Restoration, and Tools Program; 2019-2022. PI: Oliver White, Total Costs: $27,110.
Principal Investigator: USGS Global Geologic Map of Titan, NASA Planetary Data Archiving, Restoration, and Tools Program; 2021-2023. Total Costs: $242,538.
Co-Investigator: Geologic map of Huygens Landing Site, Titan, NASA Cassini Data Analysis Program; 2021-2024. PI: Michael Malaska, NASA JPL. Total ASU Costs: $91,452.
Courses
2025 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
2024 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| GLG 422 | Planetary Volcanology |
| GLG 598 | Special Topics |
2024 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SES 692 | Research |
| SES 692 | Research |
| SES 792 | Research |
| SES 792 | Research |
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
| SES 592 | Research |
| SES 592 | Research |
2024 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
| IPI 296 | Inquiry |
| IPI 496 | Advanced Inquiry |
| SES 294 | Special Topics |
| SES 598 | Special Topics |
2023 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SES 692 | Research |
| SES 692 | Research |
| SES 792 | Research |
| SES 792 | Research |
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
| SES 592 | Research |
| SES 592 | Research |
2023 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
2022 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SES 792 | Research |
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
| SES 592 | Research |
| SES 692 | Research |
2022 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SES 692 | Research |
| SES 692 | Research |
| SES 792 | Research |
| SES 792 | Research |
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
| SES 592 | Research |
| SES 592 | Research |
2022 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
| SES 692 | Research |
| SES 792 | Research |
| SES 599 | Thesis |
2021 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SES 792 | Research |
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
| SES 592 | Research |
| SES 692 | Research |
| IPI 296 | Inquiry |
| IPI 496 | Advanced Inquiry |
| SES 294 | Special Topics |
| SES 598 | Special Topics |
2021 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SES 692 | Research |
| SES 692 | Research |
| SES 792 | Research |
| SES 792 | Research |
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
| SES 592 | Research |
| SES 592 | Research |
2021 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
| SES 692 | Research |
| SES 792 | Research |
| SES 599 | Thesis |
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
2020 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SES 792 | Research |
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
| SES 592 | Research |
| SES 692 | Research |
2020 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SES 592 | Research |
| SES 592 | Research |
2020 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
| SES 692 | Research |
| SES 792 | Research |
| SES 599 | Thesis |
2019 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SES 792 | Research |
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
| SES 592 | Research |
As a Research Professor, I normally only teach classes very rarely. Every few years I teach:
GLG 422/598 Planetary Volcanology (3 credits, co-taught with Professor Amanda Clarke)
and for the ASU Interplanetary Initiative:
IPI296/496 and SES294/598 Star Trek and Humanity's Future in Space
In the past, I have taught or co-taught:
GLG 490/598 Geology of the Outer Planet Satellites
GLG 101 Physical Geology
GLG 404/598 Fundamentals of Planetary Geology
NASA Group Achievement Award, Dawn Science Team (Ceres Encounter), 2019.
Awarded Ronald Greeley Distinguished Service Award, Planetary Geology Division, Geological Society of America, October 2017.
Honored by the IAU with naming of asteroid 10,461 DAWilliams, July 12, 2014
Elected to Fellowship, Geological Society of America, May 2014
NASA Group Achievement Award, Dawn Science Team (Vesta Encounter), 2013.
Co-Editor, GSA Special Publication, “Recent Advances in Lunar Stratigraphy”, 2011.
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), 1998-present.
International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior (IAVCEI),
1996-present.
American Geophysical Union (AGU), 1993-present.
Geological Society of America (GSA), Cordillera Section and Planetary Geology Division, 1991-present.
American Astronomical Society, Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS), 1992-present.
The Planetary Society, 1985-present.
Ph.D. Supervisory Committee member, Brendan Chapman, 2nd project advisor, Global scale contractionas a mechanism for resurgent Martian volcanism, Ph.D. dissertation, Arizona State University, Anticipated May 2025. Current employment: Ph.D. student, School of Earth & Space Exploration, ASU.
Ph.D. Supervisory Committee member, Madison Borrelli, 2nd project advisor, Investigating formation of lava channels on Venus, Ph.D. dissertation, Arizona State University, Anticipated May 2025. Current employment: Ph.D. student, School of Earth & Space Exploration, ASU.
Ph.D. Supervisory Committee Co-chair, John Christoph, 2nd project advisor, Mission Concept and Technical Feasibility of Synthetic Aperature Radar for Geologic Observation of the Subsurface of Io, Ph.D. dissertation, Arizona State University, Anticipated May 2022. Current employment: Ph.D. student, School of Earth & Space Exploration, ASU. https://sese.asu.edu/node/1844
Ph.D. Supervisory Committee Co-chair, Vincenzo Cataldo, 3-D Modeling of the Erosional Potential of Turbulent Lava Applied to Lunar Sinuous Rilles, Ph.D. dissertation, Arizona State University, May 2022. Current employment: Staff, School of Earth & Space Exploration, ASU. https://isearch.asu.edu/profile/2095135
Ph.D. Supervisory Committee member, Sierra Ferguson, Investigating Small-Scale Populations of Impact Craters and Tectonic Features using High-Resolution Cassini Imagery, Ph.D. dissertation, Arizona State University, August 2021.
Ph.D. Supervisory Committee member, Zachary Torrano, Early Solar System Processes and Parent Body Relationships Recorded by Chromium and Titanium Isotopes in Meteorites, Ph.D. dissertation, Arizona State University, August 2020. https://isearch.asu.edu/profile/2589309
Barrett Undergraduate Honors Thesis Committee Member, Cara Courtney, Modeling the Effects of Flow Conditions and Rheology on Lava Flows with Polyethylene Glycol. Arizona State University, May 2020.
M.S. Supervisory Committee Co-chair, Genevieve Studer-Ellis, Structural and Geomorphic Mapping of Northern Claritas Fossae and the Thaumasia Graben, Mars: Implications for Formation, M.S. thesis, Arizona State University, August 2019. Current employment: Just graduated, seeking employment.
Ph.D. Supervisory Committee member, Jessica Noviello, Identification and Quantitative Classification of Europa’s Microfeatures: Implications for Microfeature Formation Models and the Europa Clipper Flagship Mission, Ph.D. dissertation, Arizona State University, August 2019. Current employment: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Eargh & Space Exploration, Arizona State University. https://sese.asu.edu/node/1300
M.S. (In Passing) Supervisory Committee Member, Emily Zawacki, Reconstructing an explosive basaltic eruption in the Pinacate volcanic field (Sonora, Mexico), M.S. thesis, Arizona State University, December 2018. Current employment: Ph.D. student, School of Earth & Space Exploration, ASU. https://isearch.asu.edu/profile/2594276
M.S. Supervisory Committee Co-chair, Kyle Mohr, Geological Mapping of Ascraeus Mons, Mars, M.S. thesis, Arizona State University, December 2017. Current employment: Ph.D. student, School of Earth & Space Exploration, ASU. https://isearch.asu.edu/profile/2442567
Ph.D. Supervisory Committee Member, Melissa Bunte, Geological Studies of Europa and Io, Ph.D. dissertation, Arizona State University, December 2013. Current employment: Professor of Astronomy, Mesa Community College: http://contacts.mesacc.edu/melissa.bunte
M.S. Supervisory Committee Co-chair, Leon Manfredi, The Volcanic History of the Tempe Volcanic Province, Mars, M.S. thesis, Arizona State University, December, 2012. Current employment: Instructional Designer, ASU-SESE ETX Center. https://sese.asu.edu/node/1580
M.S. Supervisory Committee Member (Effective Advisor), Melissa Bunte, Volcano-Tectonic Interactions on Io: The Zal, Hi’iaka, and Shamshu Regions, M.S. thesis, Arizona State University, May, 2008. Current employment: Professor of Astronomy, Mesa Community College: http://contacts.mesacc.edu/melissa.bunte
Ph.D. Supervisory Committee Member (Effective Co-advisor), Jacob E. Bleacher, Characterization of Shield Volcanoes on Earth and Mars from Slope Analyses and Lava Flow Mapping, Ph.D. dissertation, Arizona State University, December, 2006. Current employment: Chief Exploration Scientist, NASA Advanced Exploration Systems, HEOMD.
Research Professor, School of Earth & Space Exploration: Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ; July 2020-Present. U.S. Co-Investigator, ESA Mars Express Mission; Co-Investigator, NASA Psyche Mission.
Director, NASA Planetary Regional Image Facility (RPIF) at Arizona State University (ASU), renamed The Ronald Greeley Center of Planetary Studies, March 2012-Present.
Principal Investigator, The Planetary Aeolian Laboratory (located at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffet Field, California, administered by ASU), March 2012-Present.
Member of the Graduate Faculty (Geological Sciences), School of Earth & Space Exploration: Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ; May 2010-Present.
Associate Research Professor, School of Earth & Space Exploration: Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ; July 2012-June 2020. U.S. Co-Investigator, ESA Mars Express Mission; Co-Investigator, NASA's Dawn and Psyche Missions.
Faculty Research Associate, School of Earth & Space Exploration (formerly Department of Geological Sciences): Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ; August 2003-June 2012. U.S. Co-Investigator, ESA Mars Express Mission; Participating Scientist, NASA Dawn Mission to Vesta.
Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Geological Sciences: Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ; August 2001-May 2002.
Graduate School:
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Geological Sciences: Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ; August 1998-July 2003. Associate, Solid State Imaging Team, NASA Galileo Mission at Jupiter.
Graduate Council Research Fellow/Graduate Research Assistant/Graduate Teaching Assistant, Department of Geology: University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL; August 1994-August 1998.
Graduate Research/Teaching Associate, Department of Geology: Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ; August 1989-August 1994.
Summer Research Assistant, Sacramento Peak Solar Observatory: National Optical Astronomy Observatories, Sunspot, New Mexico; Summer 1987.
Please see my CV for updated listing!
Served on multiple NASA Proposal Review Panels and served as external reviewer for multiple NASA Review panels.
Planetary Geologic Mapping Community Representative and Steering Committee Member, NASA Mapping and Planetary Spatial Information Infrastructure Team (MAPSIT), March 2017-Present
Chair, Geologic Mapping Subcommittee (GEMS), NASA Mapping and Planetary Spatial Information Infrastructure Team (MAPSIT), June 2014-March 2017.
Steering Committee Member, NASA Outer Planets Assessment Group (OPAG), March 2008-July 2013
Chair, Pellas-Ryder Best Student Paper Award Committee, January 2011-March 2012
Chair, 2012 GSA Planetary Geology Division G.K. Gilbert Award Committee, November 2011-February 2012
Chair, Planetary Geology Division, Geological Society of America, November 2010-November 2011
Member, NASA Jovian System Observer Mission Study Science Definition Team (SDT), 2007.