Rate My Professor David Gust

Devens Gust is Regents Professor Emeritus in the School of Molecular Sciences at Arizona State University, formerly the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, where he has built a distinguished career in organic chemistry over more than four decades. He earned a B.S. in chemistry from Stanford University in 1967 and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Princeton University in 1974 under the supervision of Professor Kurt Mislow, focusing on organic stereochemistry. Following his doctoral studies, Gust completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the California Institute of Technology from 1974 to 1975 with Professor J.D. Roberts, specializing in NMR spectroscopy. In 1975, he joined Arizona State University as an assistant professor, advancing to associate professor in 1980, full professor in 1985, Foundation Professor in 2004, Regents Professor from 2011 to 2014, and Regents Professor Emeritus since 2014.

Gust's research centers on artificial photosynthesis, organic photochemistry, solar energy conversion, molecular optoelectronics, renewable hydrogen production, and materials chemistry, employing porphyrins, phthalocyanines, carotenoids, fullerenes, and other molecules to mimic natural photosynthetic reaction centers and develop systems for solar fuel production. He has published over 350 research articles in prestigious journals such as Science, Nature, and the Journal of the American Chemical Society, and holds 17 patents. His leadership includes serving as chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry from 1998 to 2002, director of the Center for the Study of Early Events in Photosynthesis from 1991 to 1994, and director of the U.S. Department of Energy-funded Energy Frontier Research Center for Bio-Inspired Solar Fuel Production from 2009 to 2015. Gust has received major honors, including the 2014 Hans Fischer Lifetime Achievement Award in Porphyrin Chemistry, fellowship in the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2007, fellowship in the Institute of Physics (U.K.) in 2003, and the 2005 Award in Photochemistry from the Inter-American Photochemical Society. He has contributed to the field through editorial roles on boards of the Journal of Porphyrins and Phthalocyanines and Nanotechnology, and as organizer and chair of international conferences on photochemistry. His work has profoundly influenced advancements in bio-inspired solar energy technologies, evidenced by numerous invited keynotes, named lectures, and visiting professorships worldwide.