Dr. Ginger S. Watson obtained her PhD. in Instructional Design & Technology from the University of Iowa where she was recognized as a Link Foundation Fellow in Simulation and Training. She currently holds the title of Associate Professor at Old Dominion University where she is also appointed as research faculty to the Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center. As part of her duties as Associate Professor, Dr. Watson, teaches several courses in statistics, research-methods, instructional modeling & simulation and special technology-based training, assessment and research design.

In addition, as part of her Research Faculty appointment with the Virginia Modeling, Analysis, and Simulation Center Dr. Watson conducts research focusing on simulation and gaming environments, specifically investigating how context fidelity affects learning and skill acquisition for learners with differing experience using physiological measures such as electroencephalogram (EEG) and eye tracking to objectively and continuously assess attention, immersion, and cognitive processing.

Dr. Watson's previous research work experiences includes that of Chief Scientist for Evaluation, Assessment & Research for Raydon Corporation where she led scientific efforts to evaluate new and existing training technologies, advised in the design, development and evaluation of instructional systems, and conducted research on the transfer-of-training effectiveness of training technologies.  Previous to her appointment at Raydon Corporation Dr. Watson served for 8 years as Chief Application Scientist for the National Advanced Driving Simulation (NADS) at The University of Iowa. There, she was appointed Director of Human Factors and Experimental Support. During her time at NADS, Dr. Watson, consulted and advised on issues of simulator-based training, validation, simulator training sickness and assessment. She presented and published research findings as well as secured funding for further research.

Overall, Dr. Watson has over 21 years of active research on simulation. Other areas in which Dr. Watson possesses proficient knowledge include: human performance measurements, transportation human factors, instructional design, evaluation and research.   Her research efforts have led to over 40 publications and over 30 grants and contracts totaling approximately $15,000,0000.