Dr. Dawn E. Riegner, PhD Chemistry & Life Science Center for Molecular Science dawn.riegner [at] westpoint.edu About Education Research & Publications Dr. Riegner has been teaching in the Department of Chemistry and Life Science since 1994. She earned a B.S. in chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1988, and as an undergraduate, she was involved in analytical chemistry research and taught general chemistry labs as a teaching assistant during her senior year. She received a DuPont Summer Resident Research Fellowship and graduated with Honors in Chemistry. At the University of Texas in Austin, Dr. Riegner focused on the development of mass spectrometry and various new types of ionization and detection. While at UT, she received a Monsanto Graduate Fellowship, the H.R. Henze Teaching Excellence Award, and a Professional Development Award. Upon completion of her Ph.D. in Chemistry in 1993, she conducted post-doctoral research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she designed and built ionization sources for research using ion trap mass spectrometry detection. As a faculty member in the Chemistry Program, Dr. Riegner is continuously involved in curriculum development, assessment of the Chemistry Major student outcomes, and maintaining American Chemical Society Certification of the Chemistry Program. Dr. Riegner is a member of and the faculty advisor for Gamma Sigma Epsilon, the National Chemistry Honor Society. She is also a member of the American Chemical Society (ACS) and she and her research cadets annually present their work at the local and national ACS meetings. At the academy level, she serves as the Department representative to the Civilian Faculty Advisory Committee and is a member of the Dean’s Credentials and Promotions Committee. She serves as a Department Academic Counselor and as a mentor for the incoming junior faculty during the faculty development Workshops. Ph.D., Chemistry - University of Texas-AustinB.S., Chemistry - University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Current Research Dr. Riegner’s research efforts have focused on protecting soldiers by evaluating potential chemical detection technologies, developing new materials for sensing, and characterizing these materials for improved detection. Her research teams work to detect both chemical warfare agents and explosives using a variety of spectroscopic techniques and incorporation of nanoparticles. Additionally, her expertise in chemical analyses makes it possible for her research teams to make significant contributions to a variety of collaborative research endeavors. Examples of these endeavors are studying melt glass for nuclear forensic applications, design and analysis of chemical simulants for munitions filler in high energy laser studies, thermodynamic studies of medieval gunpowder recipes, and explosive vapor detection using quantum dots. Selected Publications Dalton Ennis, Dylan Golden, Mackenzie C. Curtin, Alma Cooper, Cynthia Sun, Kathleen Riegner, Caleb C. Johnson, Julia L. Nolletti, Kingsley B. Wallace, Jose A. Chacon, Haven Bethune, Tessy S. Ritchie, Vincent Schnee, Daniel R. DeNeve, and Dawn E. Riegner, “Quantum Dot-Doped Electrospun Polymer Fibers for Explosive Vapor Sensors”, ACS Applied Nano Materials 6 (11), 2023, 9315-9321.Dr. Dawn E. Riegner, Dr. Tessy S. Ritchie, Dr. Vincent P. Schnee, MAJ Daniel R. DeNeve, Cadets: Alma O. Cooper, Mackenzie C. Curtin, Dalton J. Ennis, Dylan H. Golden, and Caleb C. Johnson, “Every Soldier is a Sensor: Explosive Vapor Detection on the Battlefield”, Army Chemical Review 2022 Annual Issue, 12-17.R.P. Kreiser, A.K. Wright, L.R. Sasser, D.J. Rinauro, J.M. Gabriel, C.M. Hsu, J.A. Hurtado, T.L. McKenzie, S. Errico, J.A. Albright, L. Richardson, V.A. Jaffett, D.E. Riegner, L.T. Nguyen, K. LeForte, M. Zasloff, J.E. Hollows, F. Chiti, M. Vendruscolo, and R. Limbocker, “A Brain-Permeable Aminosterol Regulates Cell Membranes to Mitigate the Toxicity of Diverse Pore-Forming Agents”, ACS Chemical Neuroscience 13 (8), (2022),1219-1231.Tessy S. Ritchie, Kathleen E. Riegner, Robert J. Seals, Clifford J. Rogers, and Dawn E. Riegner, “Evolution of Medieval Gunpowder: Thermodynamic and Combustion Analysis”, ACS Omega 6 (35), (2021), 22848-22856.Matthew J. Armstrong, Joshua P. White, Jesse W. Hudgins, Geoffrey R. Bull, Corey M. James, Dawn E. Riegner, April D. Miller, Andrew Biaglow, “Developing Chemical Engineering Acumen, by Brewing Kicking Mule Beer”, Chemical Engineering Education, 53 (2019), 101-111.D. Mauldin, L. O'Neill, I. De Mallie, F. Arnold, L. A. Florence, J. Hartke, D. O. Kashinski, J. E. Johnson, J. Lamb, R. Huffman, D. E. Riegner, T. Kreidler, G. Tamm and N. F. Fell, “Effects of Rotation and Inert Thermal Sinks on Laser Heating of Cold, Rolled-Steel Cylinders: Preliminary Experimental Results”, J. Directed Energy, 6 (2017), 198-208.M. A. Butkus and D. E. Riegner, “Lead Stabilization by Polonite and Phosphate Amended Polonite: Modeling”, J. of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 4 (2016), 3562-3569.M. A. Butkus, D. E. Riegner, and CDT J. Olind, “Immobilization of Lead by Phosphate Amended Polonite”, Chemosphere, 151, (2016), 310-317.J. D. Moretti, CDT S. M. Harbol, D. E. Riegner, N. Carlucci, J. J. Sabatini, and J. C. Poret, “Single-Point-of-Failure Mitigation: Prove-Out of a Green Light-emitting Illuminant Composition in the Handheld Signal Cluster and 40-mm Parachute Configurations”, Journal of Energetic Materials, 32 (2014), 293-299.M. Kalainoff, R. Lachance, D. Riegner, and A. Biaglow, “A Computer Algebra Approach to Solving Chemical Equilibria in General Chemistry”, Primus, 22 (2012), 284-302.