Tom Williams
is the Assistant to the Principal Investigator on this project.
He was brought on in July of 2001 to aid in documentation,
help out in some of the more physical activities needed by
the project, and provide options for east coast availability
(and future extensions).
He lives
in Richmond, Virginia, with his wife Teresa and their sons
Scott and Steven.
Prior
to this project, Mr. Williams worked for 19 years in academic
computing, including 17 years (1984--2001) at Alderson-Broaddus
College (Philippi, WV) where he oversaw all (and initiated
most) advances in a small-college computing and communications
environment, including all incremental LAN and WAN improvements
from terminal servers (1987) to the implementation of a T3
Internet connection (April 2001).
Skills
obtained and practiced during that time include network design,
ditch digging, cable and fiber termination, vendor and bid
selection, and resolution of budgeting issues (including interdepartmental
budget negotiations). Around 1995, he also became responsible
for oversight and management of the college's telephone system,
including its growth from a 200 station employee system to
a 500 station system (now including all dormitories) with
all-digital trunking and ISDN voice/data capability. Other
technology areas in which his skills were regularly used included
teleconferencing (both audio and video), Cable and Satellite
TV, electronic music, classroom design, and sound reinforcement.
One of his writing projects, a user's guide for the VMS timesharing
system, was used as a class text by the college's CS faculty
for about 12 years.
Active
in rural development, Mr. Williams is one of the founders
of Barbour Community Network,
a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to the economic and educational
enrichment of Barbour County, WV through technology, particularly
computer and communications technology. Mr. Williams served
in various board offices, including President from 1999 until
his resignation in June 2001 to join the Wireless Field Tests
team.
