Joseph N. Weber, Ph. D.
Associate Professor
Joseph N. Weber received his B. S. in Chemistry from Carnegie Mellon University in 1968. He first worked as a mass spectroscopist, having collaborated on the installation and use of one of the early GC-MS systems with application to multi-component analysis of degradation products of complex organic materials. He then returned to school and received a M. S. in 1976 and a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of Chicago in 1981. Following his advanced degrees, Joe worked for 25 years at the Du Pont Company in various fiber and polymer functions. During this time he held a wide variety of positions in research and management, but his scientific research concentrated on the study of the degradation and stabilization mechanisms for polymeric materials, esp. polyamides. He helped pioneer the application of various x-ray spectroscopic techniques to the analysis of metal-based stabilizer systems in polyamides. In 2005 he joined the faculty of the Art Conservation Department focusing initially on the application of various spectroscopic techniques to the analysis of textiles and other artifacts. In addition, his research interests include modern materials, preservation of outdoor murals, and accelerated aging of materials.
