Dan Watson's research is currently focussed on planetary-system and stellar formation. His observations are mostly carried out at infrared and submillimeter wavelengths, at which the atmosphere is opaque; hence the predominance of space, airborne and high-altitude observatories in his work. He has also recently been guilty of modelling of disks, protostars, and their outflows, though he usually collaborates with others who are better at theory and modelling than he is. He maintains his interest in the development of long-wavelength infrared detector arrays, high-resolution spectrographs, and high-contrast imaging.

 

Animation by Robert Hurt, SSC

Dan's publications and citations, via his Google Scholar profile.  
  Dan's talk at TEDX Rochester 2018. The theme of the meeting was Space.
ESA Herschel Space Observatory: Dan is a co-investigator, and leader of the spectroscopy component, of the Herschel Orion Protostar Survey, an open-time key program on Herschel for which Tom Megeath (U. Toledo) is PI. He also leads or participates in several other open-time programs on Herschel. 
The IRS: Dan is a co-investigator on the Spitzer Space Telescope's Infrared Spectrograph (IRS), for which the late Jim Houck (Cornell U.) was PI.
Spitzer Space Telescope: Dan leads IRS_Disks, a team of astronomers mostly from the Spitzer instrument and project teams, who have conducted an infrared spectroscopic survey of some 3000 protostars, protoplanetary-disk systems, and debris-disk systems, mostly lying within 500 parsecs of the Sun.
Watch the launch of the Spitzer Space Telescope (then called SIRTF), 25 August 2003, aboard Delta #300.