Prof. Richard J Spontak
North Carolina State University
USA
Dr. Richard J. Spontak is a Distinguished Professor of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering and Professor of Materials Science & Engineering at NC State University. He received his B.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Penn State University in 1983 and UC Berkeley in 1988, respectively. He then pursued post-doctoral research at the University of Cambridge (U.K.) and the Institute for Energy Technology (Norway) before joining the Procter & Gamble Company in 1990. In 1992, he accepted a faculty position at NC State University, where he supervises the Macromolecular Materials & Morphology Group. He has published over 300 peer-reviewed journal papers and over 35 scholarly works as book chapters and invited monographs, and his work has been featured on 31 journal covers and cited over 16,000 times according to Google Scholar. His primary research interests relate to the phase behavior and morphology/property development of nanostructured polymers, polymer nanocomposites and coatings, electron microscopy, and stimuli-responsive soft materials. In recognition of his research endeavors at NC State University, he is the recipient of the university-level Alexander Q. Holladay Medal for Excellence, the R.J. Reynolds Award for Excellence in Teaching, Research & Extension, the Alcoa Foundation Distinguished Engineering Research Award, and the Alumni Outstanding Research Award. In addition, he has received the IChemE Underwood Medal and Global Research Project Award, the ACS (PMSE Division) Roy W. Tess Award in Coatings and the Cooperative Research Award in Polymer Science & Engineering, the SPSJ International Award, the German Society for Electron Microscopy Ernst Ruska Prize, the ACS (Rubber Division) Chemistry of Thermoplastic Elastomers Award, the IOM3 Colwyn Medal, the SPE International Award, the 2022 Waterloo Filtration Institute Idea of the Year Award, and the 2021 IAAM Researcher of the Year Award. An elected fellow of the American Physical Society, IOM3, the Royal Society of Chemistry, and the ACS (PMSE Division), he was named the Lars Onsager Professor at the Norwegian University of Science & Technology, and is a member of the Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences and the NC State University Research Leadership, Global Engagement and Outstanding Teaching Academies.
