Richard Spontak, distinguished professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, is the 2026 recipient of the ACS POLY division Paul J. Flory Polymer Education Award. This award recognizes, encourages, and stimulates outstanding achievements by an individual in promoting undergraduate or graduate polymer education. It commemorates the legacy of the late Paul Flory, a Nobel Prize in Chemistry recipient. Prof. Spontak will be honored at the Spring 2026 ACS National Meeting.

Recently, Prof. Spontak has also been awarded the Sigma Xi 2025 Walston Chubb Award for Innovation to honor and promote creativity in science and engineering. He received this award for his groundbreaking discovery that the anionic block polymers he developed possess inherent antimicrobial properties and can continuously self-sterilize. This innovation addresses a critical global need for effective microbial inactivation methods that do not contribute to antimicrobial resistance, a challenge that has grown more urgent in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of drug-resistant pathogens. 

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!