Paul Williams
I'm passionate about technology, space, photography and music, and want to see the next generation find inspiration in them too.
I've found that the best way to live a fulfilling life is to find things that excite you, then either work hard to get good at them or support the people doing them - bringing others along and learning together. In my case, that is
- my work as a programmer and manager at Bloomberg;
- pursuing my musical dreams by making an album with young people;
- creating a STEM scholarship;
- raising money for education initiatives by taking part in physical challenges;
- trying to get better at the art of photography.
My work
Image from Bloomberg
The Bloomberg Terminal - I am a programmer, technical manager and engineering leader at Bloomberg in London, where we have over 1600 software developers. The teams I look after design, build and maintain major subsystems of the Bloomberg Terminal.
- My bio, talks and articles;
- An interview;
- The most recent talk my colleague Jason Williams and I gave at the Performance.now() conference in Amsterdam in November 2024.
Projects
My first album, Cloud Surfing, a collaboration with some young people, was released in October 2023. It is on Apple Music and Spotify, and you can buy the CD.
The story of how Cloud Surfing came about, and a bit about my home music studio.
In-Flight Entertainment - a hardback book of photographs I have taken at 38,000 feet. It has sold out, but you can view it online. All proceeds went to Big Change.
- A timelapse with music and a timelapse playlist of aurora seen in flight.
- A feature by ITV News and another by Huffington Post.
- One photo shortlisted for the Royal Observatory Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2014 (10th picture on the page). You can still buy the book from Waterstones or Amazon.
An online photo store, raising funds for Big Change.
Charities I support
Photo by Adam Slama
Big Change
Big Change, a registered charity, backs projects re-thinking our education system, and partly funds them through a series of endurance events. I passionately believe in what they are doing, and have so far raised .
#50at60 - my 2025 challenge
I took on a year-long challenge to give and raise for the UK education and STEM charities I support. I ran a 10K every month and cycled the gruelling Etape Loch Ness 100K and the London to Brighton ride. Your support was incredible - thank you so much to everyone who donated. The final total was ! Full details of the challenge are here.
Galactic Unite
I have been supporting Virgin Galactic's education outreach programme, Galactic Unite, which inspires young people to study Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM). I co-founded the Galactic Unite Scholarship at the University of Leicester, and in 2023 took 6 of the scholarship students to Spaceport America.
Stemettes Futures is the charity arm of Stemettes, an award-winning social enterprise working across the UK, Ireland and beyond to inspire and support young women into Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths careers. I've seen them guide young women into Computer Science, entrepreneurship and founding their own startups. You can support them here.
I support Mission 44's work to build a fairer, more inclusive future for young people around the world, particularly in finding pathways into STEM subjects and careers.
To support Mission 44, have a look here.
The Benedetti Foundation delivers transformative experiences through mass music events and provides equal access to music participation and appreciation for all. Led by virtuoso violinist Nicola Benedetti and a tutor team comprising exceptional educators and performers from across the globe, the foundation unites those who believe music is integral to life's education. Impressed by their work, I recently became a patron.
charity: water is a nonprofit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing countries. 785 million people live without clean water. That's nearly 1 in 10 people worldwide, or, twice the population of the United States without access to life's most basic human need. For those in the UK, find the UK site here.
The Children's Trust look after kids with acquired brain injury, helping them recover and rehabilitate so that they can live as normal a life as possible.
I cycled the Ride London 100 for the Children's Trust in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022.
The King's Trust (formerly the Prince's Trust) does amazing work with young people, preparing them for work.
What it was like to run my first and only London Marathon in 2015.
