William J. Willis

William J. Willis, 23, on Wednesday afternoon.
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Willis, who was from Kansas City, Kan., was a counterintelligence agent.Officials say he joined the Army in October 2004 and was assigned to Fort Wainwright in June 2005.

Next of kin have been notified.

William J. Willis, 23, on Wednesday afternoon.
...
Willis, who was from Kansas City, Kan., was a counterintelligence agent.Officials say he joined the Army in October 2004 and was assigned to Fort Wainwright in June 2005.

William J. Willis, 23, on Wednesday afternoon.
...
Willis, who was from Kansas City, Kan., was a counterintelligence agent.Officials say he joined the Army in October 2004 and was assigned to Fort Wainwright in June 2005.

Next of kin have been notified.

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In his eternal quest to demystify the nuanced wonders of physics for his students at Gar-Field Senior High School, Bill Willis, 65, has conducted a number of experiments that educate as well as entertain.

Once, he built a hovercraft from a leaf blower and cushion so he could demonstrate Newton's laws of motion.Another time, he lay on a bed of about 1,000 upright nails to show how weight distribution can affect pressure.And, on other occasions, he has swung a bowling ball hanging from the ceiling at his face to show how kinetic energy cannot surpass potential energy.

Buy This PhotoMeyer award winner Bill Willis likes to use dramatic experiments to motivate students.Meyer award winner Bill Willis likes to use dramatic experiments to motivate students. (By Margaret Thomas -- The Washington Post)
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It is that kind of enthusiasm and confidence that helped Willis, a retired Army veteran turned teacher, win the 2006 Agnes Meyer Outstanding Teacher Award from The Washington Post.He is one of three public school teachers in the Prince William area to win the prestigious award.
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"Physics is a little dry and when you can add humor, it increases the interest of students to love the subject," said Gar-Field assistant principal Barbara Cavalier, who helped nominate Willis.
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For Willis, whose career in the Army took him through combat in Vietnam and weapons-design research, teaching students was a natural extension of his days in the military.

Willis grew up as an Air Force brat, attending school in France, before coming back to the United States for college at Western Kentucky University.After graduating in 1967 with a degree in chemistry and math, he went to Germany and began serving as an officer in the Army.In 1969 and 1970, Willis spent a year as a field artillery staff officer based in the Saigon area of Vietnam.

Later, he received a graduate degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at El Paso, and then helped design Patriot missiles for the Army.When Ronald Reagan was in office, Willis worked at the Pentagon developing sensors for detecting the launch of hostile missiles as part of the Strategic Defense Initiative, otherwise known as Star Wars.
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In 1988, Willis retired from the military and applied for teaching jobs in Fairfax and Prince William.Administrators at Gar-Field offered him a job as a math teacher.He took it.

"I enjoyed working with troops, and I didn't like staff jobs," he said.

It was no ordinary day in Bill Willis' physics class.
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Dallek and other school officials unfurled a banner announcing that Willis was chosen as the Regional Teacher of the Year.
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"I'm speechless out of this honor," Willis said in his classroom Tuesday.
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There Walts, School Board Chairwoman Lucy Beauchamp, Neabsco District School Board representative Julie Lucas, Supervisor John Jenkins, D-Neabsco, state Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Linda Wallinger and other state and local officials waited to surprise Willis in his classroom.
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This wasn't even on the radar for me," Willis said.

In March, the school division nominated Willis for the award by naming him the county's teacher of the year.

Willis has taught in Prince William County schools for nearly 20 years.He spent most of them teaching physics at Gar-Field and took a two-year break a few years ago to teach middle school science.

Before coming to teaching, Willis served in the Army for 20 years.

"My students often take me out of curiosity," Willis said with a laugh."Kids, when they come back, expect me to have something really crazy from the summer to show them."

And he's not one to disappoint.

"I throw my lesson plans away each summer and start new.I have new ideas for labs every year," he said.

This year Willis will take on the new challenge of leading Gar-Field's first robotics team, he said.

He and the seven other regional teachers of the year will be honored at a reception in Richmond in October.Then state education officials will interview each of the teachers and select one as the state's teacher of the year.That winner will go on to compete for the national teacher of the year award.

"I'm just taking it one day at a time.That's what I always tell my students to do," Willis said.

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If this will help me get where I want in life, I'll do it," said 20-year-old William Willis, a Westside resident who joined the Army two weeks ago.