Researcher, teacher, and educator: 60 years of Vladimir Robertovich Williams’ work at the Polytechnic Museum

The article describes the life and work of V.R. Williams, a scientist known in the 1930s–1950s both for his research in the field of organic substance technology, fuels and lubricants in particular. He was also known as an educator who taught several generations of process engineers and as the organizer of a number of higher technical education institutions. During 60 years that Williams worked at the Polytechnic Museum he successfully combined research with educational museum activities. It is shown how he implemented his innovative ideas into museum practice when creating specialized expositions, and how contributed to transforming museum formats into an integral part of the polytechnic education system. The lesser-known episodes from the history of biofuel research in the USSR in the 1930s, namely the development of technology for agricultural waste briquetting (straw, flax shives, etc.), are described.