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Dr. Andre L. Thompson (Fed)

Materials Research Engineer

Dr. Andre L. Thompson is a Materials Research Engineer working in the Flammability Reduction Group of the Fire Research Division (FRD) of the Engineering Laboratory (EL) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). He was previously awarded into the National Research Council (NRC) Postdoctoral Research Associateship Program at NIST in 2018. During his graduate studies at the University of Michigan, Dr. Thompson worked as a Graduate Fellowship for STEM Diversity (GFSD) summer fellow at NIST from 2014 to 2016.

As a GFSD fellow, formerly known as the National Physical Science Consortium (NPSC), Dr. Thompson’s research focused on encapsulating fire retardants into micelle gels used as coatings to reduce the flammability of cotton fabrics. He also tested the flammability properties of silicone fire retardant coatings on velvet cotton fabrics via bench-scale and large-scale fire tests.

As an NRC Postdoctoral Research Associate, Dr. Thompson studied ways to reduce the flammability and heat release rate (i.e., fire size) of resilient lightweight construction materials (e.g., wood, composite materials) and residential upholstered furniture in response to open flame and smoldering ignition sources, without the use of chemical fire retardants. 

Currently, Dr. Thompson studies the type, prevalence, and concentration of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) on firefighter gear (FFG), the source of PFAS, and the mechanism for PFAS release from the FFG.

Awards

National Research Council (NRC) Postdoctoral Research Associate (2018)

Graduate Fellowships for STEM Diversity (GFSD) (2014)

Graduate Engineering Minority (GEM) Fellowship (2013)

Publications

New Fire Protection Materials

Author(s)
Andre Thompson
Residential upholstered furniture (RUF) is the leading combustible in fatal fires in the United States. In the last few decades, fire-retardant (FRs) chemicals

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Firefighter Turnout Gear Textiles Exposed to Abrasion, Elevated Temperature, Laundering, or Weathering

Author(s)
Andrew Maizel, Andre Thompson, Meghanne Tighe, Samuel Escobar Veras, Alix Rodowa, Ryan Falkenstein-Smith, Bruce A. Benner Jr., Kathleen Hoffman, Michelle K. Donnelly, Olivia Hernandez, Nadine Wetzler, Trung Ngu, Jessica Reiner, Benjamin Place, John Kucklick, Kate Rimmer, Rick D. Davis
Textiles used in the construction of structural firefighter turnout gear jackets and pants have been found to contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in New Firefighter Turnout Gear Textiles

Author(s)
Andrew Maizel, Andre Thompson, Meghanne Tighe, Samuel Escobar Veras, Alix Rodowa, Ryan Falkenstein-Smith, Bruce A. Benner Jr., Kathleen Hoffman, Michelle K. Donnelly, Olivia Hernandez, Nadine Wetzler, Trung Ngu, Jessica Reiner, Benjamin Place, John Kucklick, Kate Rimmer, Rick D. Davis
Turnout gear is increasingly recognized as a potential source of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) exposure to firefighters. To determine the type

Report on High Energy Arcing Fault Experiments - Experimental Results from Low Voltage Switchgear Enclosures

Author(s)
Gabriel Taylor, Anthony D. Putorti Jr., Scott Bareham, Christopher U. Brown, Wai Cheong Tam, Edward Hnetkovsky, Andre Thompson, Michael Selepak, Philip Deardorff, Kenneth Hamburger, Nicholas Melly, Kenneth Miller
This report documents an experimental program designed to investigate High Energy Arcing Fault (HEAF) phenomena for low-voltage metal enclosed switchgear

Report on High Energy Arcing Fault Experiments - Experimental Results from Open Box Enclosures

Author(s)
Gabriel Taylor, Anthony D. Putorti Jr., Scott Bareham, Christopher U. Brown, Wai Cheong Tam, Edward Hnetkovsky, Andre Thompson, Michael Selepak, Philip Deardorff, Kenneth Hamburger, Nicholas Melly, Kenneth Miller, Kenneth Armijo, Paul Clem, Alvaro Cruz-Cabrera, Byron Demosthenous, Austin Glover, Chris LaFleur, Raymond Martinez, James Taylor, Rana Weaver, Caroline Winters
This report documents an experimental program to investigate High Energy Arcing Fault (HEAF) phenomena. The experiments provide data to better characterize the
Created December 10, 2018, Updated July 10, 2024