Dr. Augustus W. Fountain

Dr. Augustus Way Fountain III teaches chemistry and forensics at the University of South Carolina. Prior to teaching at USC, Dr. Fountain had 35 years of military and civilian service with the U.S. Army including as a member of the Scientific and Professional (ST) cadre of the Senior Executive Service where he served as the Senior Research Scientist for Chemistry and Acting Director of the Research and Technology Directorate at the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center, and the U.S. Army Deputy Chief Scientist at ASA(ALT). He is an internationally recognized expert in electro-optics as it pertains to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives (CBRNE) sensing. In 2010 Dr. Fountain deployed to Iraq as a civilian scientist, advising the CEXC labs on the forensic analysis of explosives residues. He served as an at-large representative of the United States to NATO advising them on CBRNE detection and chaired the NATO Sensors & Electronics Technology Panel. As a military officer, Dr. Fountain served with the 1st Ranger Battalion in Operation Just Cause, the 82nd Airborne Division during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and as a Professor of Chemistry at the United States Military Academy. In 2016, Dr. Fountain was honored with a Meritorious Senior Professional Presidential Rank Award, in 2014 he was elected as a Fellow of the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE), and in 2013 he was awarded the Department of the Army Research & Development Achievement Award for Technical Excellence. Dr. Fountain is an awardee of the 2024 Garnet Apple Award for Teaching Innovation at the University of South Carolina.