Dr. Watson completed his PhD in Astrophysics and Cosmology and a brief postdoctoral appointment at The Ohio State University in 2006. He joined the faculty at Millikin University as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy in the fall of 2006. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2012, became Chair of the Physics and Astronomy Department in 2013, and was promoted to full Professor in 2018. He served as Chair of the Physics and Astronomy Department from 2013-2023, after which the Physics and Chemistry departments merged to create the School of Chemistry and Physics. Since Dr. Watson’s arrival at Millikin, 100% of graduates from the Millikin Physics/Pre-Engineering Program who have applied to graduate school have been accepted, and 100% of all Millikin Physics/Pre-Engineering graduates are now either in graduate school or employed.
Dr. Watson specializes in astrophysics and cosmology and has published work in several areas, including the multi-wavelength (optical, IR, X-ray) evolution of galaxies, AGN and the Star Formation Rates, dark matter, dark energy, and gravitational lensing. Most recently, he has focused exclusively on the study of dark matter. His dark matter research with Millikin students has produced dozens of presentations at regional and national meetings. His dark matter projects with professional physicist colleagues and, in one case, a Millikin student (Nick Polley; 2012 graduate) have resulted in three publications with over 100 citations each. As a result of these publications and more recent work, Dr. Watson has been invited to lecture at six international astrophysics/cosmology meetings: one in Meudon, France (2012), four in Paris, France (2013-2016) and one in Daejeon, South Korea (2014). In addition, he has presented two lectures at international cosmology meetings in Italy: at Miramare in 2023 and on Elba Island in 2025.
Dr. Watson has also conducted a number of research projects with Millikin students in fields outside of astrophysics/cosmology, leading to publications and presentations in biology, chemistry, entrepreneurship, mathematics, and material science. In recognition of his contributions to interdisciplinary STEM research, Dr. Watson was named the second John A. Leighty Distinguished Professor of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in 2016 (a two-year appointment). In 2016 and 2017, he was also named a Coleman Foundation Fellow for his entrepreneurial work.