Dr. Dawn E. Riegner, Ph.D.

Dr. Dawn Riegner directs the chemistry program in the Department of Chemical & Biological Science & Engineering and is involved with the Center for Molecular Science at the United States Military Academy. She has taught at West Point since 1994. 

She earned a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 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 (UT) at 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 doctorate in chemistry in 1993, she conducted postdoctoral 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 USMA faculty member, Dr. Riegner is continuously involved in curriculum development, assessment of chemistry major student outcomes and maintaining American Chemical Society certification of the program. She is a member of and the faculty adviser for Gamma Sigma Epsilon, the national chemistry honor society. She is also a member of the American Chemical Society (ACS) and, with her research cadets, annually presents work at 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 also serves as a department academic counselor and as a mentor for incoming junior faculty during faculty development workshops.