William van Wijngaarden began his research as an undergraduate at the University of Windsor studying the electron impact excitation of SO₂. He graduated in 1982 with a B.Sc. in computer science and a separate Honors B.Sc. in physics. He completed his graduate work in physics at Princeton University, where he worked on various experiments, including optical pumping of alkali vapors, polarization of noble gas nuclei and quantum beat spectroscopy.  His thesis project focused on the development of a new method to measure oscillator strengths or absolute transition probabilities.  Princeton awarded him an M.Sc. in 1984 and a Ph.D. in 1986.  

After spending a year as a research associate at Yale University, Dr. van Wijngaarden joined the faculty at York University in 1988.  His group developed a novel way to use acousto/electro-optic modulators to precisely measure frequency shifts.  This has been exploited to measure hyperfine splittings, stark shifts and polarizabilities.  Dr. van Wijngaarden's research interests include a variety of topics in pure and applied physics, such as laser isotope separation, laser cooling, atom trapping, environmental monitoring of pollutants, electromagnetically induced transparency for use in optical switching and recently, a determination of the relative nuclear charge radius of ^6,7Li to an accuracy of 0.020 millifermi!  Dr. van Wijngaarden's group was the first  in Canada to achieve Bose Einstein Condensation.  Work is progressing to study so called optical lattices of condensates.  An array of microtraps to be fabricated using lithography is also being designed which has intriguing implications for quantum information processing. 

Dr. van Wijngaarden served as Secretary/Treasurer of the Division of Atomic and Molecular Physics of the Canadian Association of Physicists from 1994 to 2000.  In 1999, Dr. van Wijngaarden led a successful application for a federal Network of Centres of Excellence in photonics called The Canadian Institute for Photonic Innovations.  He was also elected Secretary (1999-2002) and Chair (2002-2005) of the Commission on Atomic Physics of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP).  He currently is Chair of the Nanosicence Working Group of IUPAP.  In 2001, he chaired the NSERC Steering Committee on General Physics, which recommended new initiatives for funding to the NSERC Reallocations Committee.  During 2002-2007, Dr. van Wijngaarden served on the Graduate Appraisal Committee which reviewed over 300 Graduate Programs for the Ontario Council of Universities.  Recently, he was chosen to be a member of the NSERC General Physics Grant Selection Committee.

Dr. van Wijngaarden is the recipient of several scholarships and awards, including the University of Windsor's Board of Governor's Medal, the 1967 NSERC Graduate Scholarship, the Joseph Henry Scholarship from Princeton University and a considerable number of sizable research grants.