William Lama was raised in Rochester, New York, and received a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Rochester. He taught physics in college and was a principal scientist at Xerox Research Labs. He has been granted 35 US patents and has published 36 journal articles. For the last 14 years of his career, he was a Xerox manager, finishing as a manager of electronics and software in El Segundo, California. Retired since 2002, he has served as a Trustee of the Palos Verdes Library District and as a board member of several associations.