USFCA’s ESM program is proud to announce that Dr. James (“Jim”) H. Williams has received tenure and has been promoted to full Professor. He joined the MS in Energy Systems Management program in 2017, our inaugural year of instruction.
As a founding faculty member in the program, Jim has been critical in establishing our program’s outstanding curriculum and building our reputation for graduating highly prepared energy professionals.
Students take classes with Jim in all or almost all of their semesters in the program, and they fondly note how important his classes have been in their development. Outside of his teaching and mentoring responsibilities, Dr. Williams is also a prodigious energy researcher whose work has attracted international attention and praise. Joshua Spooner from the Class of 2022 and Saad Khan from the Class of 2023 had the following to say about their experience with Dr. Williams:
“My first experience with Dr. Jim Williams was during the Quantitative Methods class in the inaugural semester of ESM 2023’s cohort.
What seemed like a cascade of intimidating and complex subject matter initially quickly gave way to opening up a world where critical thinking about abstract problems was held as paramount to solving some of humanity’s most pressing current energy and environmental issues. This inchoate exercise was the perfect lead-in to courses I am now taking in the second semester. Students are applying their newly polished out-of-the-box thinking skills to understand the fundamentals of current and future energy technologies.
Additionally, the material learned in Dr. Williams’ courses complements other specialized energy-related subjects. It sets the stage for understanding these diverse topics’ distinct structures and intermingling mechanisms. His carefully curated courses blend the technical and societal causes and effects of energy and its role in the natural and built environment to give students a holistic understanding of the subject’s significance.
Dr. Williams is an approachable, prescient, and insightful instructor who spares no expense in arming future energy professionals with a wealth of information and guidance to help them navigate their graduate experience. Through him, I have learned how to be curious, resilient, and dynamic as I tread my path on this journey, and I look forward to many more stimulating classroom discussions and projects with him!”
Saad Khan
USFCA ESM Graduate Student ‘23
“I knew immediately after sitting in on Jim’s course in 2019 that Energy Systems Management was an excellent program.
I’ve been Jim’s student for nearly two years and his teaching assistant for a year. During this time, Jim has shown that he is not just a brilliant mind but also a caring mentor who promotes his students’ health and wellness.
Jim has enthusiastically supported my journey, directly helping me secure my first job in the energy industry.
I aspire to have Jim’s comprehensive understanding of energy and his eagerness to pass on this knowledge. Like many others, my life has changed for the better with Jim as my professor.”
Joshua Spooner
USFCA ESM Graduate Student ‘22