William King

Professor

“I’m interested in politics, people, social problems and music.”

William King is a research physicist with Rockwell International. “I work on beam weapons, solar energy conversion and lasers. I enjoy the luxury of being able to speculate about things,” he says, “without always having to prove them. And I like doing exotic calculations and configuring those types of systems.”

Bill says he’d like to spend just a few more years in the defense industry, “and then I’d love to begin teaching full-time.” Noting that aerospace is a little “soft” just now, he says with a laugh, “That transformation might come a little sooner.”

Bill has been teaching at SMC for more than 15 years. “I try to develop students’ skills and confidence by giving them good, interesting problems.” He says that a good foundation in math is critical in nearly every profession. “Math is ubiquitous. You simply cannot escape it. I suppose there was a day,” he says, “when you could get a Ph.D. without any math. But those days are long gone.” And Bill has found SMC people to share his conviction.

“SMC has a vast mathematics program,” he says. “And some of my favorite students are those in the SEEK program who are 40 or even 60 years old. I find that they’re especially motivated and willing to learn.” He says that musical anthropology and “discovering the origins of be-bop” have piqued his curiosity of late. “And I’d like to think that being involved with education, science, politics, and music means that I’m a well adjusted, social person.”

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