William Gilstrap

William Gilstrap serves as a Senior Technical Instructor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he oversees the laboratory facilities at the Center for Materials Research in Archaeology and Ethnology (CMRAE). He co-teaches courses such as 3.984/3.989 (Materials in Ancient Societies) and 3.098 (Ancient Engineering: Ceramic Materials), focusing on the analysis of preindustrial materials and their societal impacts. His research reconstructs ancient ceramic technologies to explore craft production’s role in early complex societies.

Education: Gilstrap holds an MS in Archaeomaterials and a PhD in Archaeology from the University of Sheffield, UK. Prior to MIT, he was a postdoctoral research fellow in the Archaeometry Group at the University of Missouri Research Reactor, specializing in compositional analysis via neutron activation and X-ray fluorescence.

Research Interests: Gilstrap’s work bridges archaeology and materials science, emphasizing archaeological materials characterization, ceramics, metals, and ancient technological reconstructions. His methodologies include advanced analytical techniques to understand both 'how' and 'why' materials were produced historically.

Labs/Teams: He is affiliated with MIT’s CMRAE and previously contributed to the University of Missouri’s Archaeometry Group. His advising and grant activities are not detailed in the provided text.