Gordon Williams

Dr. Gordon Williams has been a leader in the geoscience community and a key player in The Association of Petroleum Engineers and Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta (APEGGA) regulatory functions. He was born and raised in a farming community in southwestern Manitoba, obtaining his B.Sc. from Brandon College (University of Manitoba) in 1955 and his PhD in geology in 1960 from the University of Alberta.

Over the course of his career, Dr. Williams has been active in the advancement of the profession and its future professionals. He taught geology and served as Chair of the Geology Department at the University of Alberta. Dr. Williams also taught at the University of Queensland in Australia, served as Dean of Science and Technology at Mount Royal College, and operated his own consulting company.

Dr. Williams has been employed by oil companies in Western Canada and has worked on oil and gas, oil sands, oil shale and coal projects in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, the Northwest Territories and Saskatchewan. Dr. Williams was a sessional instructor in Petroleum Land Management in the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary.

Dr. Williams has been an active APEGGA volunteer for more than 30 years. He played a pivotal role in establishing the Canadian Council of Professional Geoscientists, is an Honorary Member and Past-President of the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists and a Distinguished Fellow of the Geological Association of Canada. Dr. Williams has been recognized by receiving the L.C. Charlesworth Professional Service Award, the first-ever Canadian Professional Geoscientist Award, the J. Willis Ambrose Medal and the President’s Award.

Gordon received the Distinguished Alumni award for Career Achievement in 2021.