Dr. Dean Ripple

Dean Ripple joined NIST as a post-doctorate in 1991. After a successful career at NIST supporting improved methods and standards in thermometry, in 2010 he became Leader of the Bioprocess Measurements Group, which develops standards and sensing technologies in support of biotherapeutic manufacturing and health care. Dean has presented workshops on measurement issues to many industrial groups, ranging from petroleum producers to vaccination program coordinators. He has authored over 45 scientific papers on a variety of metrology topics. Dean is an active member of the NCSLI Healthcare Metrology subcommittee and the ASTM committee on the Manufacture of Pharmaceutical Products. In recognition of his contributions, he has received awards from the Department of Commerce, ASME, and ASTM. He has a Ph.D. in physics from Cornell University and an M.S. in biotechnology from Johns Hopkins University.

His present research focuses on the development of new standards for protein particulates. Active projects include: 

• the development of stable surrogates for protein particles with morphology and refractive index that closely match protein particles
• models for the optical detection of particles by imaging and non-imaging detectors
• developing methods for the rapid characterization of protein particle density and refractive index