Ronald Allen Quinlan

Ronald Allen Quinlan serves as Associate Professor and Department Chair in the Department of Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Science at Christopher Newport University. His research bridges industrial materials science and food chemistry, with significant contributions to coatings technology and brewing science.

Dr. Quinlan's research interests center on Materials Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, and Food Chemistry, with specialized focus on intumescent coatings, phytochemical analysis in brewing, and electrochemical systems. His group investigates fundamental aspects of film curing kinetics, regional effects on hop and malt chemistry, and advanced energy storage materials.

His publication trends reveal a strategic evolution from foundational work in graphene-based capacitors (2010-2016) toward applied food chemistry and industrial coatings research (2018-present). Recent publications emphasize analytical methodologies for brewing science, including HPLC and HR-LCMS analysis of regional agricultural effects on beer components.

Scientific Awards:

• Christopher Newport University's nominee for SCHEV's Rising Star (2018)

Dr. Quinlan actively mentors undergraduate researchers, with numerous student co-authors on publications and conference presentations. His sponsored research includes significant grants from the National Science Foundation for LCMS instrumentation acquisition and industry partnerships with Tepromark Architectural Products focused on intumescent coating development. Current projects involve collaboration with Shimadzu on advanced mass spectrometry applications.

The Quinlan research group operates specialized laboratories for materials characterization and brewing component analysis, utilizing techniques including XPS, eQCM, HPLC, and GC-MS. His team maintains strong industry connections with brewing and materials science sectors while developing novel analytical approaches for undergraduate education.