Williams was born in Leeds, England, and holds B.A., M.A., Ph.D., and Sc.D. degrees from the University of Cambridge where he also won four Blues in rugby and athletics.
His research and teaching interests’ include:
Analytical/Transmission and scanning electron microscopy (X-ray microanalysis, electron energy-loss spectrometry and convergent-beam electron diffraction)
Together with C. Barry Carter he is the co-author of a 4-volume textbook entitled Transmission Electron Microscopy: A Textbook for Materials Science.[3] held in over 340 libraries,[4] as well as co-editor of two other books.[5][6] He is author or co-author of 207 peer-reviewed journals and articles as listed by Scopus, and the former editor of Acta Materialia and the Journal of Microscopy.
His wife, Margaret, is a native of the Netherlands and was raised in Australia. The couple has three sons.[citation needed]
^Williams, David B., and C. Barry Carter. Transmission Electron Microscopy: A Textbook for Materials Science. 2nd ed., New York: Springer, 2010, 1st ed. New York: Plenum Press, 1996. 9780306453243