Derrick Williams
July 31, 2015
#picturebig#
Derrick Williams has been a science correspondent at DW for nearly a decade, appearing regularly on our English-language “Journal” to explain the background of breaking news stories in fields from nuclear physics to genetic engineering.
“At university I was a post-grad teaching assistant in zoology and ecology,” says Williams, “and even more than research, I always enjoyed explaining complex scientific topics in simple ways to people who were interested but didn’t have any background.”
After finishing an undergraduate program in literature in the US, Derrick moved to Europe and went on to complete graduate studies in zoology, ecology and paleontology at the Free University of Berlin. While still writing his thesis, he began working at Deutsche Welle as a freelance voiceover artist in 1999, and quickly moved to the science desk here. One of the regular producers on “Tomorrow Today”, he has also been involved with the program behind the camera hundreds of times.
Derrick also works as the Co-Editor of European Biotechnology News magazine, and is the Communications Manager for the European Biotechnology Network. Over the years, he has worked extensively with many of Germany’s major research institutions and initiatives – among them the Helmholtz Association Research Centers, the Max Planck Society and the World Health Summit – on a wide variety of English-language media projects, films and publications. The father of two is also a passionate cook and baseball coach.