Stephen A. Cauffman

Stephen A. Cauffman is the deputy chief of and a research engineer in the Materials and Structural Systems Division (MSSD) of the Engineering Laboratory (EL) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). In his current capacity, Mr. Cauffman serves as the co-leader of the Disaster Resilient Structures and Community Goal within BFRL and manager of the Measurement Science for Structural Performance Under Multi-Hazards Program. Mr. Cauffman is currently coordinating BFRL's oversight of the design and construction of the National Structural Fire Resistance Laboratory, which will provide a unique capability to measure the performance of real-scale building structures under realistic fire-loads. Mr. Cauffman was a member of the team that studied the collapse of the Dallas Cowboys Practice Facility.

Prior to this, Mr. Cauffman was the leader of the Structures Group. The major research thrusts of the Structures Group were mitigation of progressive collapse, structural fire safety, and next-generation standards for wind loads. Mr. Cauffman was the program manager for the Federal Building and Fire Safety Investigation of the World Trade Center Disaster, providing programmatic support to the technical team. He developed a model for an interagency program to address the mitigation of blast risk in bridges, buildings, and tunnels, an effort that NIST and the Technical Support Working Group are developing. His work at NIST includes coordination of the Interagency Committee on Seismic Safety in Construction (ICSSC) as its Technical Secretariat. Mr. Cauffman also served as Technical Secretariat for the U.S.–side panel of the U.S.–Japan Joint Panel on Wind and Seismic Effects (UJNR). He was the technical point of contact for the Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing Cooperative Research Program. Mr. Cauffman also has provided support to the Advanced Technology Program in outreach to the construction materials industry.

Prior to joining NIST, Mr. Cauffman was a Senior Program Manager with the Civil Engineering Research Foundation (CERF). In that capacity, he was responsible for conducting studies related to advanced technology for the construction industry. Mr. Cauffman also served as Secretariat to the High-Performance CONstruction MATerials and Systems (CONMAT) Council, an industry/government group dedicated to promoting research, development, and deployment of advanced construction materials. Working with CONMAT and NIST, Mr. Cauffman developed an industry plan for participation in the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) and conducted workshops to educate industry on ATP.

Mr. Cauffman's experience also includes 11 1/2 years with the Atlantic Research Corporation. He was a Program Manager with the Solid Propulsion Division, leading efforts to develop main and divert propulsion systems for a small interceptor missile and gas generator-based fire suppression systems. Mr. Cauffman also was a Program Manager in the Advanced Materials Division, where he was responsible for programs to develop composite aerospace and marine structures. His experience at the Atlantic Research Corporation also included thermo-mechanical and thermo-physical testing and characterization of advanced carbon-carbon, metal-matrix, ceramic-matrix, and polymer-matrix composites.