Prof. Spontak to Receive the 2025 Acta Materialia Inc. Holloman Award for Materials and Society

Professor Richard Spontak has been selected to receive the 2025 Acta Materialia Inc. Holloman Award for Materials and Society! This award recognizes demonstrated leadership in promoting the understanding of the relations and the interactions between materials technology and societal needs or for contributions to materials technology that have had a major impact on society.

Prof. Spontak received his B.S. from Pennsylvania State University in 1983 and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1988. He later pursued post-doctoral research at the University of Cambridge and the Institute for Energy Technology (Norway) before joining the Corporate Research Division of The Procter & Gamble Company in 1990. After his arrival at NC State in 1992, he became a joint faculty member in the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and the Materials Science and Engineering Department, in which he supervises the Macromolecular Materials and Morphology Group.

Prof. Spontak’s research activities have emphasized the design and development of advanced polymers, such as functionalized thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs), which are self-, recyclable and suitable for use in diverse technologies as rapid, broad-spectrum, high-efficiency antimicrobial surfaces, bipolar electrolyzer membranes for green hydrogen production, flexible and self-adhering organic photovoltaics, and electronic and ionic electroactive media. He also is heavily involved in the development of polymer membranes intended for carbon capture. With his international colleagues, he discovered that chemically-functionalized TPEs and surface-modified high-permeability polymers could be used to selectively remove CO₂ from mixed-gas streams. Prof. Spontak’s other research interests include developing advanced materials from (nano)cellulosics, bioplastics, and nonwovens, as well as material processes to mitigate nano/microplastic generation and advanced characterization techniques such as transmission electron microtomography.

Prof. Spontak is incredibly decorated for both his research and teaching efforts. He has received the University of North Carolina Board of Governors’ Award for Excellence in Teaching, the NC State Alexander Quarles Holladay Medal for Excellence, the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company Award for Excellence in Teaching, Research and Extension, the Institution of Chemical Engineers Underwood Medal and Global Award, the Society of Polymer Science (Japan) International Award, and most recently the IOM3 Medal for Excellence, just to name a few. He is a fellow of several prestigious societies and a member of the Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences, and he holds an honorary doctorate from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

Congratulations Prof. Spontak on another outstanding achievement!