Rate My Professor Adam Kustka

Kustka's field of specialization is algal physiology and biogeochemistry, with research centered on phytoplankton from biomolecules to biomes, encompassing trace metal metabolism and carbon physiology. He teaches courses including 460:215 Environmental Disasters, 460:331 Oceanography, and Analytical Methods in Urban Environmental Pollution. His influential publications appear in high-impact journals such as Nature and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Key works include "Phosphorus limitation of nitrogen fixation by Trichodesmium in the central Atlantic Ocean" (Nature, 2001), "Amazon River enhances diazotrophy and carbon sequestration in the tropical North Atlantic Ocean" (PNAS, 2008), "Niche of harmful alga Aureococcus anophagefferens revealed through ecogenomics" (PNAS, 2011), and "Carbonate-sensitive phytotransferrin controls high-affinity iron uptake in diatoms" (Nature, 2018). Other notable papers are "A general kinetic model for iron acquisition by eukaryotic phytoplankton" (Limnology and Oceanography, 2005) and "The role of unchelated Fe in the iron nutrition of phytoplankton" (Limnology and Oceanography, 2008). In 2015, he received the Rutgers Board of Trustees Research Fellowship for Scholarly Excellence, recognizing exceptional promise in research following tenure. Kustka has obtained NSF funding, including a three-year NSF IOS grant as lead principal investigator with co-PIs Mark Hildebrand and Lewis Brown, and NSF grant 0839039 for collaborative research on diatoms. He contributes to university governance as a Rutgers University Senate faculty representative and serves on committees such as the Radiation Safety Committee and Research Grant Policy and Evaluation Committee.