Richard Spontak, Distinguished Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, and Alumni Distinguished Graduate and Undergraduate Professor has retired after 34 years at NC State University.

He received his B.S. in chemical engineering from Pennsylvania State University in 1983 and his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley in 1988. Afterward, he completed postdoctoral research in materials science and metallurgy at the University of Cambridge and condensed matter physics at the Institute for Energy Technology before joining the corporate research division at Procter & Gamble in 1990.

In 1992, Spontak accepted a faculty position at NC State where he supervised the Macromolecular Materials and Morphology Group. “Rich was one of the department’s leading scholar-teachers for three and a half decades. He not only built an internationally recognized program in nanostructured polymers but was also one of our very best thermodynamics teachers,” said Sindee Simon, CBE Department Head and Distinguished Professor.

He published over 300 peer-reviewed articles and over 35 scholarly works as book chapters and invited monographs. His work has been featured on 31 journal covers and cited over 18,000 times according to Google Scholar.

Spontak was active in a range of research disciplines, but his primary interests included phase behavior and morphology/property development of nanostructured polymers, polymer nanocomposites and coatings, electron microscopy and stimuli-responsive soft materials. 

“Rich’s greatest impact was in undergraduate teaching,” said Peter Fedkiw, the former CBE Department Head (2008-2021) and current Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor. “He taught in the two-course thermodynamics sequence, a subject that many students find particularly challenging. Through the clarity of his lectures and the individual attention he provided during office hours, however, Rich helped students develop both confidence and mastery of the material.”

“I often saw him after class surrounded by students, effectively holding court as he delivered impromptu mini-lectures to guide them through difficult concepts,” Fedkiw adds. 

Throughout his career, Spontak was recognized with numerous awards for his research, teaching and mentorship. His tenure was recently highlighted by the following national and international awards: the 2026 ACS POLY Paul J. Flory Polymer Education Award, the 2025 Acta Materialia Holloman Award for Materials and Society, the 2024 IOM3 Medal for Excellence, the 2023 IChemE Underwood Medal, the 2022 ACS PMSE Roy W. Tess Award and the 2021 IAAM Researcher of the Year Award.

His contributions to his field were also acknowledged with several awards from NC State University, including the 2025 Outstanding Extension Award, the 2024 Jackson Rigney International Service Award and the 2022 Alexander Quarles Holladay Medal for Excellence–the highest honor bestowed upon NC State faculty. Additionally, Spontak was one of three College of Engineering faculty members to win the Board Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching (2007-08).

A research symposium and retirement reception was held in his honor on May 7, and Spontak officially retired on July 31. Through his research, teaching and mentorship, he has made lasting contributions to NC State, our students and his colleagues.