In small-town rural Minnesota, among endless cornfields and a single stoplight, a young Andrea Wagner Watts set her sights beyond what she could see. That creative growth mindset took her through Cornell, the innovation of three patented air barrier systems, and an honored leadership presence in the building enclosure industry. Today, as the Building Science Technical Insights Lead for Siplast, Andrea uses that same capacity to think above and beyond to continue to build the roofing industry. Through education, research, and testing Andrea shows how treating walls and roofs as a single, cohesive, high-performance shield can revolutionize envelope protection.
“I’m a learner,” says Andrea. “I love diving into new things, getting as deep as I can, and learning as much as I can. I’m a nerd. Full stop.” That insatiable curiosity, combined with a unique ability to translate dense technical data into actionable business strategy, has made her an indispensable asset. Whether she is chairing global committees or decoding hydrothermal modeling, her focus is always on the interfaces—the places where systems, and people, connect.
Early Inspirations and Foundations
Andrea’s mind has always been captivated by how things work and solving puzzles. While other children were interested in the looks of lego buildings, she was focused on their integrity. She spent hours with Legos and model rockets, eventually realizing that her talent resided in the mathematical side of art. “I considered studying architecture, but realized my art portfolio wasn’t extensive enough,” she says. “I realized, I am good at math, and civil engineering is like the math side of architecture."
At Cornell University, Andrea earned her Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 2006. It was also here that she began to see building science not just as a set of rules, but as a language that could bridge the gap between design intent and real-world performance. It simply needed someone fluent in the theoretical interpretation as translated to the practical application.
At Cornell, she balanced engineering with the fast-paced world of music, serving as the Production Chair for the Cornell Concert Commission. In the midst of this busy fun, she learned the art of coordination—ensuring that disparate technical elements worked in harmony to create a seamless experience. So although not intentional, even this passion pursuit lent itself to her ethos of her professional legacy: managing the interfaces where complex systems meet.
The Evolution of a Wall Expert
Andrea’s professional journey began in Technical Sales at Dow Corning Corporation, June 2006-September 2010. Fortunately, she was able to shift into a better-suited role within the company as Application Engineer / Technical Service from October 2009-September 2017. “Approximately half that role was technical support for highly technical, large customers, primarily large curtain wall contractors.” During this time, she also met her long-time mentor Larry Carbary, who was and still is, she states, “one of the godfathers of structural glazing.”
The formative advice Larry gave Andrea has shaped her business behavior ever since: “everyone in the company is in sales. No matter the role. We're all trying to make money for the business.”
With those words of wisdom, his legacy pushed Andrea to find her own niche. "There was a lot of talk within the company of ‘who is the next ‘Larry’? Who is going to fill his shoes? And I thought, 'he made his name with structural glazing and it’s now a mature industry. Where can I make my name?'”
Putting the big picture planning into motion, Andrea let others focus on Larry’s matured field, and she considered the market gap within the business in air barriers and the potential for entire building enclosures.Her work also led to her being named on three distinct patents for air and water barrier compositions. Her work was remarkable as a building science polymath. She devoted hundreds of hours to testing, theoretical research, and cross-materials applications. She once again jumped the system from providing a sole solution, to envisioning a holistic air barrier system that worked together seamlessly.
This wasn't just a sales strategy; it was a technical innovation. Her career shifted from Dow to DuPont as Commercial Application Technology Leader, Research Scientist from September 2017-January 2023. She wasn't just specifying materials; she was inventing ways for materials to work together that kept buildings air and water-tight. This period cemented her reputation as a ‘walls expert.’
The Multi-Linguist of Building Science
Andrea possesses the rare ability to sit with R&D scientists, architects, and sales teams, and ensure everyone is speaking the same language. Those skills came to the forefront with the move to join as Building Science Technical Insights Lead for Siplast | GAF, January 2023 – present.
“I straddle two worlds,” she explains. “I take the complex science behind topics like fungal resistance, polyiso, and ASTM standards, and I translate them into actionable information for our customers.”
Since joining the Siplast Building & Roofing Science team in January 2023, she has made efforts to unite the worlds of walls and roofing. She arrived with an expertise in walls, entering a traditionally roofing-centric culture, but she quickly discovered that the materials she knew intimately—like polyisocyanurate (polyiso) insulation—were the same chemistries used on the roof. She joined around the same time as the launch of Siplast WallControl and saw how she could seamlessly support the vision to protect the entire building enclosure with one manufacturing partner. It was an incredible opportunity to protect more people with Siplast.
Scientific Communication: The Competitive Edge
Andrea is one of the primary technical voices on the Building & Roofing Science team for Siplast’s PVC roofing and wall-control portfolio, being a resource to the designer and specifier communities. One exciting example is designing the strategy to educate external customers, sales folks, and internal customers about Siplast’s superiority in fungal resistance and anti-aging capabilities for our PVC membranes. While competitors’ materials might degrade under environmental stressors, Andrea has the data—and the storytelling ability—to prove Siplast’s resilience.
She’s also empowering internal sales teams to have a richer understanding of Siplast products' competitive testing outcomes and practical applications, so they can better inform architects and contractors about expanding the Siplast building envelope from the roof down into the walls. Plus, while teaching the sales force how to navigate notoriously difficult building interfaces—such as complex parapet details—she empowers them to look first and foremost internally for solutions, not send the customers off empty-handed to buy externally what they could receive at Siplast.
“Expertise is a tool for market expansion,” she says. “When we support our recommendations with science, we provide peace of mind.”
Global Leadership and Elite Authority
Andrea’s influence extends far beyond corporate walls. She is a globally recognized authority, currently serving as the Chair of the Air Barrier Association of America (ABAA) and the Chair of the ASTM E06 Air Barrier Systems Task Group. These aren't just titles; they are platforms she uses to elevate the entire profession. She is a prolific author and presenter, most recently presenting "Correlating Hydrothermal Modeling to Real-World Roof Design" at the 2025 Buildings XVI conference.
Her patents include:
US 9,523,022 B2—Air and Water Barrier
US 9,828,523—Air and Water Barrier
US 12,209,201 B2—Silicone-Based Barrier Compositions
Leap of Fate Philosophy
Andrea’s core driver is her identity as ‘doer.’
“If you’re approached with an opportunity you find interesting, don’t be afraid to say ‘yes’—even if you don’t know exactly how it’s going to work out,” she advises. “I’ve taken a few 'unclear leaps' in my career, including the move to Siplast, and every single one has opened a door I didn't even know existed.”
And even with her high-level responsibilities, Andrea remains grounded in the joy of the puzzle. In her downtime, she is an avid fan of Murdles—logic mystery puzzles that require the same deductive reasoning she applies to a building enclosure. Her commitment to service also manifests in her work with the Habitat for Humanity, where she ensures that sustainable, high-performance housing is accessible to all.
For Siplast, Andrea Wagner Watts exemplifies the power of integration and the magic of innovation. By breaking down the silos between walls and roofing, she ensures that every transition is tighter, every system is smarter, and every building is better built for the future.
