Chris Watts is at the place where technology and art intersect at St. Lawrence, literally. As director of the Newell Center for Arts Technology (NCAT), he's responsible for helping students learn about and integrate new technologies into their work in the arts.

A member of the faculty since 2005, Watts is also an assistant professor of music and teaches a variety of courses, including the popular Collaboration Across the Arts. He shepherded the planning and construction of NCAT, the University's state-of-the-art, interdisciplinary arts technology facility. Located in the Noble Center, NCAT meets the technological needs of the Art and Art History, music and performance and communication arts departments, as well as the Richard F. Brush Art Gallery, in teaching and learning, while also serving as a hub for collaborative, interdisciplinary efforts within the arts and across campus. The NCAT staff works with faculty members to coordinate the necessary facilities, equipment and training to explore the intersections among digital technologies and the arts.

A Web site and online newsletter chronicled construction of the center; the site (www.arts.stlawu.edu/ncat/home.htm) is being maintained by Watts as a place where faculty, students and visitors can learn about the opportunities new technologies offer in the arts.
Watts is a graduate of Furman University, with a master's degree from Louisiana State University and Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music. He has collaborated on a number of projects with his students, often co-presenting with them at conferences.

As if all that weren't enough, Watts runs an entire campus – a Second Life campus in the virtual world. St. Lawrence is a member of the New Media Consortium, a group of educational institutions exploring ways to use a wide variety of new technologies in pedagogy.