Spontak will receive national award, is elected to academy

Dr. Richard J. Spontak, alumni distinguished professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and materials science and engineering at North Carolina State University, has been selected to receive the 2015 Society of Plastic Engineers International Award, and he has been elected into the Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences (NTVA).

The International Award is the highest honor given by the Society of Plastics Engineers and recognizes lifetime achievements in the fields of polymer science or polymer/plastics engineering. Spontak will receive the award in March at the ANTEC National Meeting in Orlando, Fla.

The NTVA is an independent organization in Norway whose objectives are to promote research, education and development within the fields of technology and the natural sciences, stimulate international cooperation within these fields, promote the understanding of technology and natural sciences among the authorities and the public and work toward the benefit of the Norwegian society and industrial development in Norway. Spontak will travel to Norway in the spring to be officially inducted.

Spontak has co-authored more than 270 publications, presented more than 225 invited talks worldwide and won more than 30 honors and awards in recognition of his research and teaching. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society, the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining and the Royal Society of Chemistry, and he sits on over 20 editorial boards. His research areas include the design, development, characterization and application of soft materials, particularly multiphase and nanostructured polymers, for stimuli-responsive technologies, energy and environmental applications, and nanoengineered surface, interfacial and bulk properties.

He received a B.S. in chemical engineering from the Pennsylvania State University in 1983 and a Ph.D in chemical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley in 1988. He pursued post-doctoral studies at the University of Cambridge (England) and the Institute for Energy Technology (Norway) before accepting employment at Procter & Gamble. He joined the NC State faculty in 1992.