Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC 29208, USA

Prof. Susan D. Richardson is the Arthur Sease Williams Professor of Chemistry at the University of South Carolina. Her research focuses mostly on identifying new DBPs in drinking water, determining formation mechanisms, and integrating toxicological characterization with chemical characterization approaches. The overall goal of this research is to solve human health issues surrounding drinking water DBPs. She has also expanded her work to study and protect ecological health. In addition to DBPs, Prof. Richardson’s research focuses on emerging environmental contaminants, particularly those affecting drinking water systems. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and Mathematics at Georgia College & State University.
Additionally, she completed her Ph.D. in chemistry at Emory University, and received an Honorary Doctorate from Cape Breton University. Prior to joining the faculty at University of South Carolina, she worked at the National Exposure Research Laboratory of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for 25 years, first as a postdoctoral fellow and then a research chemist.
Prof. Richardson has been the recipient of numerous awards, including (among others): Fellow of the American Chemical Society (2016); Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (2019); the Herty Medal (2020). Her publications have been among the mostly highly cited papers, including the Top 3 Significantly Highly-Cited Reviews in Analytical Chemistry and the Top 20 Most Read
Article in Environmental Science & Technology.
Prof. Richardson served on a number of board positions with the American Society for Mass Spectrometry: Treasurer (2002-2004), Vice President for Programs (2018-2020), President (2020-2022), and now Past-President (2022-2024). She also serves as Associate Editor for Environmental Science & Technology.