Dafydd "David" Rhys Williams (born May 16, 1954) is a Canadian physician, public speaker, CEO, author and retired CSA astronaut. Williams was a mission specialist on two Space Shuttle missions. His first spaceflight, STS-90 in 1998, was a 16-day mission aboard Space Shuttle Columbia dedicated to neuroscience research. His second flight, STS-118 in August 2007, was flown by Space Shuttle Endeavour to the International Space Station. During that mission he performed three spacewalks, becoming the third Canadian to perform a spacewalk and setting a Canadian record for total number of spacewalks. These spacewalks combined for a total duration of 17 hours and 47 minutes.

On May 18, 2011, Williams became the new president and CEO of Southlake Regional Health Centre, the regional hospital in Newmarket, Ontario, to lead the facility into becoming a full-fledged teaching and research centre. He continued in this role until October 2017 when he left Southlake to work as a healthcare and aerospace consultant.

Astronaut career

Williams was selected by the Canadian Space Agency in June 1992. He completed basic training, and in May 1993 was appointed manager of the Missions and Space Medicine Group within the astronaut program. His collateral duty assignments have included supervising the implementation of operational space medicine activities within the astronaut program and the coordination of the Canadian Astronaut Program Space Unit Life Simulation (CAPSULS) Project. In February 1994 he participated in a 7-day space mission simulation. During this CAPSULS Project he was the Principal Investigator of a study to evaluate the initial training and retention of resuscitation skills by non-medical astronauts. He was also assigned as one of the crew members and acted as the crew medical officer. He announced his retirement as an astronaut on February 29, 2008, effective from March 1, 2008.

NASA experience

thumbnail|right|The NEEMO 9 Crew: Left to right (rear): Dr. [[Timothy J. Broderick|Tim Broderick, Williams; front: Nicole Stott, Ron Garan.]]

In January 1995, Williams was selected to join the 1995 international class of NASA mission specialist astronaut candidates. He reported to the Johnson Space Center in March 1995 and completed training and evaluation in May 1996. On completing basic training, he was assigned to work technical issues for the payloads/habitability branch of the astronaut office.

From July 1998 to November 2002, Williams served as Director of the Space and Life Sciences directorate with responsibility for research in both physical and biomedical space sciences at the Johnson Space Center (JSC). With this appointment, he became the first non-American to hold a senior management position within NASA. During this mission, he was thrilled to shake hands underwater with Canadian underwater explorer Joe MacInnis. Williams was originally scheduled to command NEEMO 7 in October 20, but was replaced by back-up crewmember and fellow CSA astronaut Robert Thirsk due to Williams undergoing review of a temporary medical issue. In April 2006, Williams commanded the NEEMO 9 mission. During this eighteen-day mission, the six-person crew developed lunar surface exploration procedures and telemedical technology applications.

thumbnail|left|Williams undergoing a [[Pulmonary function testing|pulmonary function test during the Neurolab mission]]

STS-90

Williams was on a mission specialist 3 on STS-90 Neurolab (April 17 to May 3, 1998). During the 16-day Spacelab flight, the seven-person crew aboard Space Shuttle Columbia served as both experiment subjects and operators for 26 individual life science experiments focusing on the effects of microgravity on the brain and nervous system. The STS-90 flight orbited the Earth 256 times, covered 6.3 million miles, and logged Williams over 381 hours in space.

STS-118

Williams was assigned to the crew of STS-118 (August 8 to 21, 2007), an assembly mission to the International Space Station. He completed three spacewalks during this mission, and set two new records during his final EVA on Saturday, August 18: he is the Canadian with the most spacewalks (3) and Williams ended Saturday's EVA with a total duration of 17 hours, 47 minutes of extravehicular time. He was the second Canadian to lead an EVA and is one of four Canadian astronauts who have performed EVAs. <!--NASA PAO Reported it wrong: Chris Hadfield was Lead EVA on STS-110, as First Canadian. See Canadian Space Agency reference cited. -->

Awards and honours

Williams is a member of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, the Ontario Medical Association, the College of Family Physicians of Canada, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians, the Aerospace Medical Association, the Canadian Society for Aerospace Medicine, and the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute. Past affiliations include the Society for Neuroscience, the New York Academy of Science, and the Montreal Physiological Society. He received Queen Elizabeth II, Diamond Jubilee Medal, later that year and the following year Williams was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2013 for his work in space exploration. He received the Order of Ontario in 2015 and the Award of Excellence from the College of Family Physicians of Canada later that year.

Dr. David R. Williams Public School was selected as the name for a new elementary school in Oakville, Ontario, where Williams lived, in 2020. Honorary Doctorate of Science, McGill University (2007), Honorary Doctorate of Science, University of Wales (2007), Honorary Doctorate of Science, Queen's University 2009, Honorary Doctorate of Laws, Dalhousie University (2016), Honorary Doctorate of Science, Swansea University (2018), Honorary Doctorate of Science, Carleton University (2022).

Books

Personal life

Williams was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, They have two children.

References

  • Official website