Healthspan: Living Longer, Better

Biography on Dave Williams

Dr. Dave Williams is an astronaut, aquanaut, pilot, emergency physician, scientist, and CEO. He has flown to space twice, once on the space shuttle Columbia and once on Endeavour, logging over thirteen million kilometres in space and over seventeen hours of spacewalks. He holds the Canadian spacewalking record and was the first Canadian to have lived and worked in space, and on Aquarius, the world’s only undersea research habitat. He is the recipient of seven honorary degrees, the Order of Canada, the Order of Ontario and is an Ambassador and Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society. He is a proud graduate of Beaconsfield High School and McGill University.

Dr. Williams was selected as an astronaut by the Canadian Space Agency in 1992 and the following year became the manager of the missions and space medicine group in the Canadian astronaut office. After his first spaceflight, he was chosen to be the Director of the Space & Life Sciences Directorate at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, while concurrently serving as the Deputy Associate Administrator of the Office of Spaceflight at NASA Headquarters. Since retiring from the space program, he has served as the Director of the McMaster University Centre for Surgical Robotics and the CEO at Southlake Regional Health Centre.

Dr. Williams has written eight books including his best-selling memoire “Defying Limits, Lessons from the Edge of the Universe”, a highly acclaimed leadership book entitled “Leadership Moments From NASA, Achieving the Impossible”, and “Why Am I Taller, What Happens to an Astronaut’s Body in Space”, which was released in November 2022. His most recent book, “Space on Earth, How Thinking Like an Astronaut Can Help Save the Planet”, was released in the spring of 2023. Through his experiences as a physician, astronaut, senior executive, and CEO, Dr. Williams has become a highly respected speaker and consultant in leadership, teamwork, risk management, organizational agility, and resilience. He is currently CEO of Leap Biosystems, a member of the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame, and is on the board of several organizations, including the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum. He enjoys wildlife photography and is a member of the Canon Canada CPS professional services group.