Australian-born Ruth Williams is a Distinguished Professor at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Her current research involves developing mathematical models of congestion in networks subject to random ‘traffic’ fluctuations, including transport, computing, communications, manufacturing, and biological systems.

Ruth Williams studied mathematics at the University of Melbourne, where she earned her Bachelor of Science (Honours) and Master of Science degrees. Her early research concerned mathematical models of evolving tactical situations, an aspect of game theory, with applications in defence, engineering, and economics. She completed her PhD in Mathematics at Stanford University, studying reflected Brownian motion to develop mathematical models that can be applied to a range of systems including traffic queuing. After postdoctoral research at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences in New York, she became an Assistant Professor at UCSD, where she is now a Distinguished Professor of the Graduate Division, and of Mathematics Emerita.

Professor Williams is an IMS Fellow and an elected member of many prestigious academies including the US National Academy of Sciences. In 2018, she became a Corresponding Member of the Australian Academy of Science. She has also been a strong international advocate of the Australian Mathematical Research Institute, MATRIX, a partnership between the University of Melbourne, Monash University, the Australian National University, and the University of Queensland. In 2016, she was joint winner of the John von Neumann Theory Prize from the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS); she received the Award for the Advancement of Women in Operations Research and the Management Sciences in 2017.

The University of Melbourne’s highest honour was conferred on Professor Williams at the Faculty of Science graduation ceremony on 11 December, 2023. Professor Duncan Maskell, University of Melbourne Vice-Chancellor, congratulated Professor Williams and the five other eminent scholars who received honorary doctorates, saying, “These remarkable people have made enormous contributions to research and public life in their respective fields. Their bold thinking, innovation and creativity has helped reshape our understanding of the world around us. We celebrate their achievements, and we are proud to honour them this way.”

Dean of the Faculty of Science, Professor Moira O’Bryan, also extended her congratulations to Professor Williams, saying she has made “awe-inspiring contributions to mathematical theory and helped alleviate many real-world problems, including Internet congestion, choked factory lines, customer service queues, crowded freeways, and even gene regulation.” She added, “She is an important role model for girls and women, organising networking, academic and social events.”