Natalia B. Shustova

Natalia B. Shustova is a McCausland Full Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of South Carolina, affiliated with the McCausland College of Arts and Sciences. She holds a Hans Fischer Fellowship from the Institute for Advanced Study (TUM-IAS) and has held roles including Assistant Professor (2013) and Associate Professor (2017). Her research focuses on photophysics of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), covalent-organic frameworks (COFs), and energy transfer mechanisms in materials for sustainable energy, sensing, and biomimetic systems.

Education:

• B.S. and M.S. in Materials Science, Moscow State University (2002–2004)
• Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry (Moscow State University, 2005) and Inorganic Chemistry (Colorado State University, 2010)
• Postdoctoral research at MIT

Research Interests: Development of graphitic hybrid materials, stimuli-responsive systems, and actinide-containing frameworks. Key areas include light harvesting, energy transfer in self-assemblies, and materials for solar energy conversion and environmental applications.

Awards & Honors:

• NSF CAREER Award (2016)
• Cottrell Scholar Award (2017)
• Camille Dreyfus Teaching-Scholar Award (2019)
• Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award (2024)

Grants & Labs: Leads research funded by NSF, Sloan Foundation, and other agencies. Her lab focuses on synthesizing and characterizing porous materials (MOFs/COFs) using advanced techniques like X-ray crystallography and spectroscopy. Collaborates on projects like actinide chemistry and photocatalytic CO₂ reduction.

Professional Roles: Associate editor of Materials Chemistry Frontiers since 2016. Active in mentorship, recognized with the Distinguished Undergraduate Research Mentor Award (2019).