Spontak Wins Professorship

Dr. Richard Spontak, chemical engineer and materials scientist, has been selected as the 2012 recipient of a professorship at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

He will receive the Lars Onsager Medal and have the opportunity to spend three to six months studying at the university in Norway. Spontak is only the second chemical engineer chosen for the award, named for a Nobel-winning Norwegian-American chemist and physicist.

Before joining the NC State faculty in 1992, Spontak worked as a research scientist with Procter and Gamble. He has authored or co-authored more than 250 peer-reviewed publications, and his work has been featured on 18 international journal covers and in one book.

He is the recipient of an Alumni Outstanding Research Award and has been honored by the German Electron Microscopy Society, American Chemical Society and Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining. A member of the NC State Academy of Outstanding Teachers, Spontak received a 2008 University of North Carolina Board of Governors’ Award for Teaching Excellence. He holds bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University and a doctorate from the University of California at Berkeley, both in chemical engineering.