Robyn Williams
Template:Short description Template:About Template:For Template:EngvarB Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox person Robyn Williams Template:Post-nominals (born 30 January 1944) is a British/Australian science journalist and broadcaster who has hosted The Science Show on ABC Radio National (RN) since 1975, and created Ockham's Razor in 1984.
Early life and educationEdit
Williams was born on 30 January 1944<ref name=swinburne>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=encyc/> in Wales<ref name="Johnson 2022"/> or High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England.<ref name=encyc/>Template:Efn His father, Gwyn, a Welshman, has been variously reported as a union executive and journalist,<ref name=encyc/> or a coalminer who also studied engineering.<ref name="Johnson 2022">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> His mother, Ray (nee Davis), was Jewish, from London's East End, and worked as a translator.<ref name=encyc/>
Williams attended various schools in London, including the Bec School in Tooting Bec, as well as spending a few years at a German language school in Vienna, Austria.<ref name=encyc/>
Williams first spent time in Australia in 1964 and worked as a temporary clerk at the Decimal Currency Board of Australia, among other jobs. He moved back to London with his Australian wife to study science.<ref name=encyc/> He graduated from the University of London with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree. During this period he was active in university acting and was hired as an extra in BBC series The Goodies, Monty Python's Flying Circus and Doctor Who.<ref name="Johnson 2022"/><ref name=encyc/>
Professional lifeEdit
He joined the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Science Unit in 1972 where, after several years in background production and interviewing for the Insight program, he hosted Innovations in early 1974,<ref>"Prof Lovejoy lives", The Sydney Morning Herald, 30 September 1974: 14.</ref> Investigations (2-hour format) from 6 November 1974. <ref>"Anyone can talk science", The Sydney Morning Herald, 28 October 1974: 11.</ref> In 1975 he began hosting The Science Show, a one-hour science-based radio interview show. At one time it was the most popular radio show on Radio 2 (Radio National's former name), and it is one of the longest-running radio shows in Australia and the world.<ref name="Johnson 2022"/>
Ockham's Razor followed in 1984, with Williams introducing a leading scientist or personality who then expounds from a prepared text on a topic of their choice, with a view to making a subject simple and accessible to the public, hence the title relating to the famous statement on parsimony by William of Ockham. In Conversation commenced in 1997, with Williams interviewing the personality.<ref name="Johnson 2022"/>
Other media workEdit
- Narrating Nature of Australia, a series for ABC TV
- Appearing in World Safari with David Attenborough
- Instigating the establishment of the Eureka Awards for Excellence in Science Communication and Innovation by the ABC and Australian Museum
Trade union activismEdit
In 1977, Williams gave an impassioned speech to the ABC Staff Association against ABC management's quiescence in the face of budget cuts and political interference. He said that a UK proposal that the government appoint one third of BBC board members had been publicly opposed by BBC management but that the ABC chairman acted as if he headed an organisation rivalling the BBC. Following his speech the meeting voted unanimously that it had no confidence in the ABC chair, John Norgard.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Other rolesEdit
- Adjunct professor at the University of Queensland<ref name="Johnson 2022"/>
- Visiting professor at the University of New South Wales<ref name="Johnson 2022"/>
- Deputy Chair, Australian Science Media Centre, since 2012<ref name=ao2020/>
- President, Australian Science Communicators, 1998–2001<ref name=ao2020/>
- President, Australia and New Zealand Advancement of Science, 1992<ref name=ao2020/>
- Chair, Australian Commission for the Future, 1990–1994<ref name=ao2020/>
- President of the Australian Museum Trust, 1986–1994<ref name=ao2020/><ref name=encyc/>
- Chairman of the Commission For The Future<ref name=anu/>
- President of Australian Science Communicators<ref name=anu/>
- President of the Australian & New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science (ANZAAS) Congress in Brisbane<ref name=encyc/>
- Co-Chairman of the Biology Department at the University of Texas, El Paso
- Member of the council of Voiceless, the animal protection institute, 2009–?<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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Honours, awards and recognitionEdit
Australian honoursEdit
- 1988: Honorary Member of the Order of Australia (AM), 26 January, "For service to science, particularly in the fields of media and education"<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- 2001: Centenary Medal, 1 January, "For outstanding service in science communication"<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- 2020: Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia (AO), 26 January, "For distinguished service to science as a journalist, radio presenter and author, and to education"<ref name=ao2020>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Academic honoursEdit
Template:As of Williams has honorary doctorates from seven universities:<ref name="Johnson 2022"/>
- Australian National University (law)<ref name=anu>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Deakin University (science,<ref name=anu/> 1988<ref name=encyc/>)
- University of New South Wales
- University of Queensland
- University of South Australia
- University of Sydney (science,<ref name=anu/> 1988<ref name=encyc/>)
- Macquarie University (science,<ref name=anu/> 1988<ref name=encyc/>)
He was a Reuters Fellow at the University of Oxford in 1994<ref name=encyc/> (where he wrote his autobiography), and a visiting fellow at Balliol College in 1995–6.<ref name=rnprofile>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Other recognitionEdit
- Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science,<ref name=swinburne/> the first journalist so honoured,<ref name=anu/> in 1993<ref name=encyc/>
- Proclaimed a Living National Treasures (1987)<ref name=anu/>
- Australian Rostrum Speaker of the Year (1993)
- Australian Humanist of the Year (1993); awarded by the Council of Australian Humanist Societies
- Radio Prize from the Human Rights Commission
- United Nations Association of Australia Media Peace Prize
- Michael Daley Award for Science Journalism<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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- Centre for Australian Cultural Studies National Award 1996 (Individual)
PublicationsEdit
As well as many articles and introductions to books,<ref name=encyc/> Williams has written at least 10 books,<ref name="Johnson 2022"/> including:
- The Uncertainty Principle (1991, nonfiction)<ref name=encyc/>
- And Now For Something Completely Different (1995), autobiography, written when he was a Reuters Fellow at Oxford.<ref name=rnprofile/> The title refers to a popular radio interview he did with John Cleese on the topic of psychiatry.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- This Is the Science Show (1995, nonfiction)<ref name=encyc/>
- Normal Service Won't Be Resumed: The Future of Public Broadcasting (1996, nonfiction)<ref name=encyc/>
- Future Perfect (2007, nonfiction),<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref> about "the future of just about everything"<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- 2007 (published 2001) is a dystopian novel describing a rebellion of animals.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Turmoil: Letters from the Brink (2018, nonfiction)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Personal lifeEdit
Williams met Pamela Traylor when in Australia for the first time, and they married on 10 June 1966 before both moving back to the UK, where he studied science. They had two children.<ref name=encyc/>
He is a good friend of fellow ABC presenter, Norman Swan, a qualified medical doctor, who intervened to help save his life when he suffered a cardiac arrest in 1988.<ref name="Johnson 2022"/>
Template:As of Williams is in a long-term relationship with Jonica Newby,<ref name="Johnson 2022"/> a former presenter on ABC Television's Catalyst science journalism program. Williams underwent chemotherapy for colorectal cancer in 2014 and 2015; at one point he was hospitalised for five weeks but continued to make The Science Show from his hospital bed.<ref name="catalyst">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>