The papers of Dr. William Taylor Ham, Jr., contain both personal and professional materials, but are primarily composed of items relating to his work as a biophysist and as a professor at the Medical College of Virginia (MCV). The collection includes accounts, correspondence, lecture and conference materials, notebooks, his journal articles, research reports, unpublished works, and papers relating to his tenure as a professor and chair of the Department of Biophysics at MCV.

Series 1: Personal Papers, 1933-1995. The collection contains the personal papers of Ham including accounts and receipts, correspondence, curriculum vitae and biographies of Ham and his colleagues, educational materials (including his school notebooks, thesis, and transcripts), family genealogy, the papers of his wife Jean Stratton (Anderson) Ham (pertaining mostly to her process of immigration and naturalization), estate papers of his mother Lucy G. Ham, photographs, short stories composed by Ham, United States Marine Corps material, and other personal papers.

Series 2: Professional Papers, 1937-1996. Consists of papers relating to Ham's professional career. This series is divided into four subseries.

Subseries 2.1: Correspondence and Subject Files. Contains general correspondence relating to Ham's professional life. This series also contains files kept by Ham on specific colleagues and subjects, which include correspondence and related materials. Files of particular note are the and the which highlight Ham's participation in research on the effects of nuclear warfare and which includes his presentation before Congress on the hazards of laser radiation.

Subseries 2.2: Notebooks. This subseries contains notebooks, 1948-1988, which include notes on experiments and research projects, meetings, professional literature, lectures, and some personal reflections. Items of note include a separate volume detailing Ham's work on a grant to study the effects of radiation on rabbit retinas for the Atomic Energy Commission from 1958 to 1963. His notebook dated 1954-1957, contains notes and reflections on his trip to Japan in 1956. Ham traveled to Japan at the behest of the National Research Council and the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission to study the feasibility of gathering specific data on radiation exposure received by those who survived the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Subseries 2.3: Conferences, Lectures, and Workshops. This subseries is comprised of materials relating to conferences, lectures, symposiums, and workshop in which Ham participated. Of particular interest are the several drafts of his often-delivered lecture and his talks on nuclear weapons and civil defense that he presented to civic groups and schools.

Subseries 2.4: Articles, Reports, and Unpublished Works. Contains drafts of scientific papers and reprints of journal publications authored or co-authored by Ham. They pertain mainly to the effects of light and radiation on the eye and flash burns or retinal damage due to nuclear weapons. This series contains Ham's unpublished book manuscript entitled,

Series 3: MCV Papers, 1948-1994. This series consists of papers relating to Ham's tenure at the Medical College of Virginia. It includes correspondence, course files, materials relating to the Department of Biophysics, and other items associated with his career at MCV. Of interest is the history of the Department of Biophysics written by Ham entitled, , and his course files which contain notebooks with lecture notes and other materials relating to his teaching. This series includes background information compiled by VCU in 1994 to refute allegations that the University conducted unethical radiation studies during the 1950s, in which Ham participated.