Stephanie S. Watson (Fed)

Dr. Stephanie S. Watson is a Research Chemist in the Infrastructure Materials Group (IMG) in the Materials and Structural Systems Division (MSSD) of the Engineering Laboratory (EL) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Dr. Watson is a Surface Analytical Chemist. Her current research focus is on the characterization and performance of cement and concrete materials. She presently leads a project on Assessing Pyrrhotite (iron sulfide mineral) in Concrete to address damage to concrete structures in residential and commercial construction in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Iron sulfides in concrete aggregate are not desirable as their relative instability results in decomposition with associated staining, expansion, and pop-outs near concrete surfaces or cracking of the structure, and there are no standardized test methods to assess pyrrhotite occurrence and abundance in aggregate or in concrete. Dr Watson and the project team is developing a standard test method and a set of calibration reference materials to quantify pyrrhotite in concrete; documenting the pyrrhotite/aggregate/concrete reactions and rates so that the most deleterious reactions can be efficiently reduced or eliminated; and evaluating proposed mitigation strategies to manage the deleterious effect of the presence of the pyrrhotite mineral as a component of the aggregate in concrete.

Dr. Watson’s initial NIST research was on the surface characterization of metal oxide powders used in pigmentary and nanoparticle applications (coatings, polymer systems, and photocatalysts). These properties were used to study the photocatalytic and thermal reactivity of these oxides in different media. Physicochemical measurements to determine the composition, structure, and morphology (surface area, gas chemisorption, zeta potential, XRD, XRF, and microscopy) were combined with advanced techniques of surface chemistry (electron emission spectroscopies [XPS and AES] and vibrational and magnetic resonance spectroscopies [FTIR, Raman, EPR, and NMR]. This research originally fell under the Service Life Prediction program and was expanded to cover topics in nanotechnology and sustainability to improve durability and mechanical properties of polymer composites. She co-manages the analytical laboratory in IMG that includes the operation of an EPR instrument for free-radical studies during in-situ UV irradiation on oxides and related composite materials.

She continued her research on polymeric materials on two prominent projects. In a project with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the condition test methods used on electrical cables found in aging US nuclear power plants that required re-licensing was assessed. This project included an accelerated aging experiment with simultaneous gamma radiation, temperature and relative humidity and examined several condition test methods that measured electrical, mechanical, and chemical properties. Dr Watson also led a project on automotive paint trace evidence in the Forensics Program at NIST. The goal of this project was to improve the uncertainty of current characterization methods used in the forensic community and add a weathering factor to improve the individual identification of evidence.

Prior to joining NIST in 2002, Dr Watson was a Senior Scientist at Millennium Chemicals, Inc. (now INEOS), in Baltimore, MD. She received a B.A. in Chemistry from The College of Wooster in Wooster, OH and a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh with a focus on surface characterization and reactivity of heterogeneous catalysts. There she honed her skills on Raman spectroscopy, FT-IR spectroscopy, and ion scattering spectroscopy, and XPS. She then worked at the U.S. Department of Energy at Federal Energy Technology Center in Pittsburgh, where she studied methods to utilize CO2 emitted from coal-fired power plants using micro-algae. Before working for Millennium, she completed a post-doctoral appointment at Kent State University in Kent, OH, where she tested instrument performance and applications of a Kratos AXIS Ultra XPS with an emphasis on small-area analysis and imaging of polymers and composites.

Dr. Watson is chair for the IEEE D07 working group, Recommended Practice for Applicability of Methods for the Evaluation of Low and Medium Voltage Installed Cable Systems in Nuclear Facilities. She is a member of the American Chemical Society, a councilor in the Maryland Chapter, and has served on several ACS society committees.