Before joining Wake Forest, George Patteson “Jack” Williams Jr. served in the U.S. Navy aboard the USS Lamprey during World War II. He later earned a B.S. from the University of Richmond and a Ph.D. from UNC-Chapel Hill. Jack joined Wake Forest in 1958 as an assistant professor of physics and became a full professor in 1965. A condensed matter physicist, he chaired the department from 1974 to 1990.

He led the effort that secured funding from the Olin Foundation for a new physics building, and Olin Physical Laboratory was completed in December 1989. Jack also helped secure university approval for the department’s doctoral program in 1986. Together, the doctoral program and Olin Physical Laboratory expanded the department’s graduate education and research capacity. He retired in 1999 after four decades of service to students, faculty, and the university. His colleagues remembered him as a friend and leader whose persistence strengthened the department.