Judith A. Harrison is an American physical chemist and tribologist who is known for pioneering numerical methods that incorporate chemical reactions into modeling studies.
[5] She has held a variety of leadership, educational, and advisory roles in the AVS and STLE,[6][7][8] and is the Vice-Chair for the 2022 Gordon Research Conference on Tribology.
[10] She has published on topics that include Nanotribology,[11] Molecular dynamics,[11] AIREBO,[11] Nanomechanics,[11] Wear,[11] Nanoindentation,[12] Friction,[12] Diamond[12] and Mechanical properties.
[15][16] The potential was initially formulated for hydrocarbons in order to model diamond film deposition, but soon proved to be applicable to other scientific problems.
Utilizing this potential and with a focus on diamond surfaces, Harrison was the lead author reporting on a number of pioneering accomplishments with Brenner and co-workers at NRL while she was at the Naval Academy.