The article is devoted to the scientific biography of Natalia Petrovna Salugina, Candidate of Historical Sciences, a renowned expert in the field of ancient pottery production, in connection with her 60^th birth anniversary. In the choice of her principal research theme N. P. Salugina was influenced by A. A. Bobrinsky. She has authored 4 monographs and over 30 articles devoted to the analysis of pottery assemblages in the Volga-Ural region referring to the Bronze Age, the Early Iron Age, and the Early Middle Ages. Currently, N. P. Salugina heads the unique Samara experimental expedition for the study of ancient pottery, where, in concert with I. N. Vasilyeva, she has conducted scientific and methodological training of young researchers for over twenty years.