William Havens was an American physicist.
Havens was born in 1920 in New York City. He received a B.S. from the City College of New York, and an M.S. and Ph.D. from Columbia University.
Beginning in 1941, Havens worked on the Manhattan Project at Columbia University. Together with James Rainwater, Havens developed the Nevis cyclotron, which allowed them to further research nuclear structure.
Havens spent his entire career as a professor at Columbia University, where he also served as director of nuclear science and engineering and as director of the Energy Research Center. Havens was also active in promoting the peaceful uses of atomic energy. He served as the United States representative to the United Nations Committee on Atomic Energy and as a delegate to the “Atoms for Peace” conferences in Geneva in 1955 and 1958.
Havens died on June 29, 2004 in New York City.