Dr. Richard S. Williams, Jr., Science Director, Geoscience Information Services (GIS), and Mary Ellen Williams, Education Director, GIS.

Part of their professional responsibilities throughout the civil service careers of Dr. Williams and Ms. Williams included: the development of educational products in the geosciences, improvements in science education in all grades, and working to improve the public understanding of science through outreach and publications in various media. Dr. Williams worked on various geosciences education programs and projects in the U.S. Geological Survey, American Geological Institute, American Geophysical Union, and the National Geographic Society, including participation in two JASON Foundation for Education projects: JASON VI – Hawai’i and JASON VIII - Iceland and Yellowstone National Park (technical review of text used by teachers for the two JASON projects). For the JASON VIII project in Iceland, Dr. Williams assisted in the Internet broadcast from the summit of Eldfell volcano, Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland with a group of Icelandic high-school students. He served as a state science fair judge in Virginia and a local judge in Falmouth, MA, for more than two decades. Dr. Williams is a member of the Board of the Leifur Eiríksson Foundation, which funds fellowships for Icelandic and American university students to study in each other's countries; the Foundation is managed by the University of Virginia and the Government of Iceland.

Ms. Williams was a Spanish teacher at the University Laboratory School (High School) of the University of Michigan. She was an outreach coordinator for the Coastal and Marine Geology Program of the U.S. Geological Survey's Woods Hole Science Center and on the governing board of the Woods Hole Science and Technology Education Program (WHSTEP). Ms. Williams served on an advisory council for the Principal, Mullen-Hall School, and the Superintendent, Falmouth Public Schools.

Selected educational products authored, co-authored, or technically reviewed by Dr. Williams are:

National Geographic Society, 1998, GeoKit Dynamic Earth: Washington, DC, National Geographic Edventures, NGT, Inc. [includes Teacher's Guide (152 p.), 3 National Geographic videos (Our Dynamic Earth, Born of Fire, When the Earth Quakes), 2 National Geographic Maps (World Political/World Physical and Earth's Fractured Surface), 4 National Geographic magazines, class pack of National Geographic magazine articles, 4 color overhead transparencies, student handout/worksheet masters, Dynamic Earth trivia cards, and correlations to national standards in geography, mathematics, and science. [technical review of text]

Annenberg/CPB Multimedia Collection, 1996, The power of place. World regional geography: A 26-part telecourse and public television series: Corporation for Public Broadcasting; The Annenberg CPB Project; John Wiley and Sons, Inc., and Cambridge (MA) Studios, Inc. [one of several scientific and academic advisors from the United States]

U.S. Geological Survey, 1992, Planetary maps: Reston, VA, U.S. Geological Survey, National Mapping Division, 2 p. [For his authorship of this educational product, Dr. Williams was the recipient of a 1995 Federal Design Achievement Award from the National Endowment for the Arts]

Williams, R.S., Jr., contributing author, 1991, Earth science education for the 21^st century. A planning guide: Alexandria, VA, National Center for Earth Science Education, American Geological Institute, 34 p.