Ray, W. W. (William Winfield), 1909-

Born in Grabill, Indiana, on 31 January 1909, William Winfield Ray attended Haverford College from 1927 to 1929. He then went to Northwestern University in Illinois, where he received his B.S. in 1931 and his M.S. in 1933. He received his Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1938. Ray worked as an Instructor in Mycology at Cornell from 1937-1938. In 1938, he started as an Assistant Professor of Botany at Oklahoma State University, and in 1945 became an Associate Professor at OSU. Ray left Oklahoma in 1947 and began his career at the University of Nebraska as Professor of Botany. He became the Chair of the Department in 1948. Ray actively participated in various professional organizations, including the Mycological Society of America, the Botanical Society of America, and the Nebraska Academy of Sciences. He published over fifty articles and papers on plant pathology and mycology.

Professor of Botany first at Oklahoma State University then at the University of Nebraska. Chair of the Botany Department at UNL from 1948. Published over 50 articles and papers on plant pathology and mycology.