This Potomac native doesn’t have the coolest job in the world because he’s not on the planet – WTOP News

A native of Potomac, Maryland, this local job is not in the DC area because he is sometimes working 250 miles away.

Christopher Williams is one of seven astronauts and cosmonauts currently aboard the International Space Station.

“I’ve been in space for almost three months now, which is hard to believe, but it’s been, it’s been an amazing experience,” Williams told WTOP, keeping his feet under a small booth on the space station floor so he wouldn’t fall asleep during the interview.

He said it will take a few weeks to adjust to life in space but said his years of training are paying off.

“It’s something I’ve trained for a long time and it feels good to do it, and to feel like you’re doing it at the highest level and giving our work up here,” Williams said.

Williams has an extensive educational background that fits inside the space station. He studied physics as an undergraduate at Stanford University and earned his doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He later completed residency training at the Harvard Medical Physics program.

Williams described himself and others at the micro gravity lab as the hands, eyes and ears of thousands of researchers from around the world who are participating in many experiments using low gravity conditions.

Courtesy NASA

Courtesy NASA

Courtesy NASA

Courtesy NASA

Courtesy NASA

Courtesy NASA

“I’ve been helping to do some work on an experiment where we’re looking at the physics of different volatile liquids at different temperatures, and helping to set up that experiment, and that’s going to help us inform how we can store different fuels for future space travel,” he said.

Williams also put his medical knowledge to the test recently in a biological experiment, where they looked at ultraviolet light and how it affects the formation of biofilms, which helps scientists learn better about water purification.

In addition to completing the experiment, Williams said that he would personally conduct a broader scientific study on the effects of atmospheric conditions on the human body.

“We are looking at things like how microgravity affects the human body. How our bones are affected by gravity, which can help us not only understand the future of space travel, but help us understand things like aging on Earth and people with limited mobility, how their bones can react,” he said.

Williams grew up in Potomac, Maryland, and credits the DC area with fostering his love of science and dreams of becoming an astronaut.

He attended a magnet program at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Maryland.

“The science education I received there was completely unparalleled.

He told WTOP that he took advantage of the “huge resources” in the DC area. He got an internship at the Navy Research lab in DC, where he worked with an astrophysicist.

“Not many places have these kinds of opportunities for high school students to work as scientists,” Williams said.

“No one in our family was a scientist, and seeing that as a high school student. What does a scientist do?

He also said that growing up in different places with people from all over the world prepared him to work in the Space Station with international workers.

“I’m standing in the Japanese module. I’m looking at the European module. This station is a partnership with the Russian Space Agency. So you’re working with people from all over the world, and just the diversity of the Washington area, I think, really helped to prepare to work with people from different backgrounds, and to be able to thrive in such an environment,” Williams said.

Working in this area also encouraged him to change career paths and enter the medical field. In between college and graduate school, he volunteered at the Rockville Volunteer Fire Department, where he earned his certification as an EMT.

“I really liked the fact that at the end of the day, you helped someone directly and quickly. So I had a bump in my head that medicine was something I was interested in,” Williams said.

He would go on to work as a physicist in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, where he helped develop new methods of image guidance for cancer treatment.

Now in the space station, he tries everything he has ever encountered as a “Swiss Army knife” from 7:30 am to 7:30 pm.

“Really one of the things that I think is the most fun about being an astronaut is that you’re a jack of all trades. I was working on fixing or maintaining a water recovery system this morning, I’ll be doing science in the glove box tomorrow, and that just keeps it interesting, because it’s not the same every day,” Williams said.

When he is not working, he is working out to maintain his muscle mass and sleeping in his room.

Williams said, “It’s about the size of a telephone room.

A “mother-like” sleeping bag hangs on the wall of the room.

“Because of the weightlessness, floating on a wall is like lying on a bed,” Williams said. “It’s actually been one of the best nights sleep of my life.”

He also ventured into the world of photography while on the space station taking shots of the Earth’s orbit and the big stars.

“You can really see the world … and it’s one of those things where looking out the window, it’s hard to capture the scale and beauty of our planet,” Williams said.

He photographed the Aurora Borealis as well as major cities and their lights.

“I’ve already taken two great pictures of DC. I took one right after the big snow storm we had and it’s cool because you can see the whole area is empty and clean but the street lines of the city become clear,” Williams said.

Williams is scheduled to return to Earth this summer.

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