Dr. Richard J. Spontak, a Distinguished Professor at NC State, received his B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in chemical engineering from Penn State and UC Berkeley, respectively. He pursued post-doctoral research at Cambridge University and later joined P&G before accepting a faculty position at NC State. He has published over 300 peer-reviewed journal papers and delivered nearly 450 invited lectures around the world. His research focuses on nanostructured polymers and multifunctional soft materials.

In recognition of his research at NC State, he was awarded the Holladay Medal for Excellence (the highest NC State faculty award), the R.J. Reynolds Award (the highest engineering faculty award), and the Alumni Association Outstanding Research Award. In addition, he has received the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) International Award, the American Chemical Society (ACS) Tess Award in Coatings (PMSE) and the Chemistry of Thermoplastic Elastomers Award (Rubber), the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) Colwyn Medal and Medal for Excellence, the Institute of Chemical Engineers Underwood Medal, the Society of Polymer Science (Japan) International Award, the Acta Materialia Hollomon Award, the German Society for Electron Microscopy Ernst Ruska Prize, and the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Honor Society Walston Chubb Award. An elected fellow of the American Physical Society, the IOM3, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the ACS (PMSE), and the SPE,

Dr. Spontak was named the Lars Onsager Professor at, and received an honorary doctorate from, the Norwegian University of Science & Technology, and is a member of the Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences.