William Cooper served in the US Army before completing his BS and MS degrees at OSU. He went on to Purdue University as an Instructor and earned his PhD in 1951. He worked at the General Electric Company, Knolls Atomic Power Lab from 1952-63, then joined Teledyne Materials Research (formerly Lessells & Associates) in 1963, eventually becoming Senior Vice President and Technical Director. He specialized in pressure vessel design and nuclear power systems construction and operation.
He is a Fellow of the ASME and a Purdue University Distinguished Engineering Alumnus. His ASME activities included service on the Nuclear Power Codes and Standards Committee (past chair) and the Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code Committee. He served on the American National Standard Institute's Nuclear Standards Management Board. Dr. Cooper was elected to membership of the National Academy of Engineering in 1983.