T. Walley Williams III, PhD, MA, passed away August 7. He was 94.
Williams graduated from Kent Preparatory School in 1949 and continued his education at the University of Virginia, where he was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and earned a bachelor’s degree summa cum laude. He served in the Navy during the Korean War, and upon his honorable discharge earned a master’s degree in physics from Columbia University.
He was an engineer and an inventor for many years, including with Liberating Technologies (LTI), which led to his involvement with landmark inventions in O&P, including the Boston Elbow, now called the Boston Digital Arm System. The Boston Elbow was the first battery-powered prosthetic elbow to restore function to people with transhumeral amputations, capturing muscle signals from sensors on the skin surface to myoelectrically control the speed and direction of the limb.
Williams also helped design the “Cookie Crusher” circuit for children’s myoelectric hands, which was much simpler and easier for youngsters to learn and operate. One of Williams’ projects, the LTI Locking Shoulder Joint, won the 2006 Gold Engineering Award from Product Design and Development Magazine.
The American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists (the Academy) honored Williams with its Clinical Creativity Award in 1998, and in 2002 he was awarded honorary membership in the Academy.
He also published many articles in research journals, authored book chapters, and presented at numerous professional conferences, including the Myoelectric Controls Symposium and the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO). Williams’ involvement in O&P professional organizations included membership on the board of the US National Member Society of ISPO and active membership in the Academy’s Upper Limb Prosthetics Society.
