William (Bill) Degraffenreid

Dr. Bill DeGraffenreid is part of a four-generation family of CSU graduates. He earned his BS in Physics from Cal Poly Pomona and his Ph.D. in Chemical Physics from the University of Maryland. His graduate work involved using optically brightened slow atom beams to study low-energy atomic collisions.

He spent two years as a National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), where he performed high-resolution laser spectroscopy experiments for testing atomic theory and wavelength standards.

He joined the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Sacramento State in 2002, where he has served in a variety of roles: instructor, faculty advisor, club advisor, Department Chair, Special Assistant to the President, Interim Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, and two stints as Chief Research Officer. His efforts have been recognized by winning awards for Outstanding Teaching, Outstanding University Service, and Outstanding Community Service. His partnership with NIST lasted for nearly a decade after joining Sac State and he was also involved with upgrading a cavity-ring-down spectrometer for atmospheric aerosol measurements with his collaborator at UC Davis, Christopher Cappa.

He has also served as Interim AVP for Faculty Affairs at CSU Channel Islands and CSU Stanislaus and was the President of Sigma Pi Sigma, the national physics honor society.

Outside of administrating and teaching, Bill loves to cook and garden. He's a passionate soccer fan (Go Sac Republic!) and is a recovering triathlete.