Rate My Professor Jesse Riebsomer

Jesse L. Riebsomer was a prominent chemist who earned his B.A. degree from DePauw University in 1927. He began his academic career as a professor of chemistry at DePauw University, where he was recognized for academic excellence as a Rector Scholar and later served as acting head of the chemistry department in the late 1930s. Transitioning to the University of New Mexico, Riebsomer advanced to the position of Professor of Chemistry and Chairman of the Department, roles documented in University Board of Regents minutes from 1949 through 1955. In this capacity, he provided leadership and mentorship, chairing doctoral and master's committees for numerous students in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology. Examples include theses on the synthesis of triazole derivatives (John M. Collier), imidazolines, diazepines, and triazepines, the chemical behavior of iodine at tracer concentrations, liquid scintillators, decomposition of barium nitrate by gamma rays, separation of antimony-125, kinetics of benzyl iodide exchange, and analytical study of berberine, among others spanning the early 1950s.

Riebsomer's research contributions centered on organic synthesis and reaction mechanisms, particularly involving heterocyclic compounds such as imidazolines and piperazinediones. Notable publications include 'Chemistry of 2-Imidazolines' (Chemical Reviews, 1954, with R. J. Ferm), 'Ultraviolet Absorption Spectra Studies of 2-Imidazolines' (Journal of Organic Chemistry, 1953, with R. J. Ferm and E. L. Martin), 'The Exchange Reaction between Substituted Benzyl Iodides and Iodide Ion' (Journal of the American Chemical Society, 1954, with E. Lee Purlee and Milton Kahn), 'The Synthesis of 2,3-Piperazinediones from 1,2-Diamines' (Journal of Organic Chemistry, circa 1951), and 'The Kinetics of the Hydrolysis of Some 2-Imidazolines' (Journal of Heterocyclic Chemistry, 1964, associated). He also authored the monograph 'Chemistry as a Profession' (Bellman Publishing Company, 1959). Additionally, he was elected Chairman of the New Mexico Section of the American Chemical Society for 1955. His enduring legacy at UNM is honored by the naming of the Riebsomer Addition to the Chemistry Building, the J.L. Riebsomer Memorial Prize, and the J.L. Riebsomer Memorial Scholarship Endowment in the Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology. Riebsomer retired prior to his death in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in February 1967 at age 61.