De Anza College

Emeritus, History

Emeritus Professor

About

James C. Williams is Emeritus Professor of History at De Anza College, Cupertino, California, and Editor of ICON: The Journal of the International Committee for the History of Technology.  He received his Ph.D. in the History of Technology and Public Historical Studies from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1985. 
    He has published numerous articles in the history of technology and public history, and his book Energy and the Making of Modern California (Akron, Ohio: University of Akron Press, 1997) won an American Society for State and Local History book award as “the definitive comprehensive history of the role that a wide variety of energy resources played in making California.” 
    As a practicing public historian, he managed the California History Center Foundation for several years, served as a consultant to corporations and local governments in issues dealing with the history of technology, environmental and toxic waste, and cultural resources management and historic preservation. 
    He is President of the International Committee for the History of Technology (ICOHTEC) and was co-founder of Envirotech.  He also was Treasure of the Society for the History of Technology for two terms, served on the board of the National Council on Public History, and was a founding member of the California Council for the Promotion of History, and served on its board and as its president and executive secretary for several years. 
    He is an avid sailor and jazz piano player and writes popular articles on sailing.

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