He was born September 28, 1920 in New York City to John William and Elsie Dorothy Koch. He grew up in Flushing, NY, skipped two years of elementary school and graduated high school at 16. He then went to Queens College where he received a BS in Physics in 1941 as a member of the first graduating class. He continued his education at the University of Illinois where he received an MS in Physics (1942) and a Ph.D. in Physics (1944).
While working towards his Ph.D., the future Dr. Koch had a contract in February 1944 with Enrico Fermi to work on research supporting the Manhattan Project. He also flew in an unpressurized bomber to London, England in March 1944 where he worked on instructing members of the bomb squad on defusing conventional German V2 bombs using High Energy X-rays.
While in graduate school, Bill Koch met and married Margaret "Becky" Giles on February 3, 1945. Dr. Koch continued his research with a Post-Doc Assistant Professorship at Illinois from 1944 to 1949. Bill and Becky began having children in 1948, with the birth of their son, John.
Then every 18 months subsequently they had another child. Kathy was born in 1950, Don in 1951 and the twins Rob and Rus were born in 1953.
By this time, Bill and Becky had moved to Silver Spring, MD. Dr. Koch was the Chief of the High Energy Radiation Section of the Radiation Physics Division of the National Bureau of Standards from 1949 to 1962. Dr. Koch was then promoted to Chief of the Radiation Physics Division until 1966. At that time, Dr. Koch took the job of Director, American Institute of Physics in New York City and the family moved to Scarsdale, NY. At the American Institute of Physics, Dr. Koch was heavily involved in moving Physics publications into the computer and digital eras.
Dr. Koch has been a resident of Wind Crest Senior Living Community since 2007. In his retirement, he enjoyed giving scientific lectures to the residents and general public.
In addition to his parents, Dr. Koch was preceded in death by his wife, Becky Koch, sister, Betty Kofoed, his daughter-in-law, Deborah Koch.
He is survived by all of his children: John (Mimi), Shavertown, PA; Kathy (Doug), Centennial, CO; Don, Orlando, FL; Rus (Patty), Columbus, OH; and Rob (Lee), Ft. Myers, FL. Dr. Koch has 11 grandchildren, most of whom are married with their own children which make up his 17 great-grandchildren.
In 2001, Dr. Koch wrote his autobiography which was put on the web by his son, John. Becky actually began this autobiography when she created a "Roots" book of photos and interviews given to each child. Many photos and much genealogical work is available at http://course.wilkes.edu/hwkoch
