Dr. Robert Speyer

Biography

Robert Speyer is a Professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He earned his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Ceramic Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Joining the MSE faculty in 1992, he previously served on the faculty of the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University for six years. Speyer has published over 140 refereed papers and holds twenty patents. He has successfully advised 23 Ph.D. and 16 M.S. graduate students. Over his forty-five-year research career, his interests have spanned various areas, including glass fusion and devitrification, fiber-reinforced glass-ceramic composites, processing high-performance ceramics, and development of high-temperature aerospace materials. His research has been funded by organizations such as NAVAIR, DARPA, and U.S. Congress, demonstrating a significant impact in both academic and applied research settings. Speyer has also served as President of Innovative Thermal Systems and currently holds the position of President and CEO of Verco Materials, a company that manufactures personal armor. He teaches courses on Chemical Thermodynamics and Thermal Transport Properties of Materials, among others.

Research Interests