ABOUT
Professor Speyer earned his B.S, M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Ceramic Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana/Champaign. He joined the MSE faculty in 1992 after serving on the faculty at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University for six years.
He has published over 140 refereed papers and holds over twenty patents. He has advised 23 Ph.D. and 16 M.S. graduate students. His areas of interest over a forty-five-year span of research are varied: glass fusion and devitrification, fiber-reinforced glass-ceramic composites, powder processing and sintering of high-performance ceramics, rate-controlled sintering, single-crystal growth of piezeoelectric ceramics, gas radiant burners, processing of ultra-high temperature aerospace composites, lightweight ceramic armor, ceramic-based lasers, and net-shape steel production from ceramic powder compacts. Dr. Speyer’s research has been funded by NAVAIR, Army Natick and Aberdeen, AFOSR, DARPA, ARPA-E, U.S. Congress, Gas Research Institute, and private industry.
Dr. Speyer was previously the President of Innovative Thermal Systems, a manufacturer of thermoanalytical scientific instruments. He is presently the President and CEO of Verco Materials, llc, which manufactures conformable personal armor and roll-up ballistic shields for both handgun and rifle protection of law enforcement officers.
Dr. Speyer is the author of Thermal Analysis of Materials, written in the 1990’s, and has recently completed the textbook Applied Chemical Thermodynamics. He presently teaches courses in Chemical Thermodynamics, Thermal and Transport Properties of Materials, and Ceramic Processing, Properties, and Applications.
Teaching Interests
Professor Speyer’s teaching interests include core and advanced courses in materials science and engineering, with an emphasis on high-performance ceramics, thermodynamics, thermophysical, and transport properties of materials. His instruction emphasizes the utilization of programming languages to solve materials problems and a synergy of fundamental theory, associated experimental measurements, and practical applications.
PUBLICATIONS & PATENTS
- R. F. Speyer, Applied Chemical Thermodynamics, 1st Ed., Midtown Scientific Publishing, Atlanta, GA, 2026.
- J. Eun and R. F. Speyer, “Method for Manufacturing Transparent Ceramic Materials,” U. S. Patent Application Publication US 2023/0127014 A1, Notice of Allowance, March 2026.
- R. F. Speyer, J. Shupe, G. Todd, C. Schneider, “Compact Rifle Protection Ballistic Shield,” U.S. Patent, US 12,535,300 B2, January 2026.
- G. Todd, R. F. Speyer, J. A. Shupe, and C. B. Schneider, “Compact Handgun Protection Ballistic Shield,” U. S. Patent, US 12,359,895B2, July 2025.
- R. F. Speyer, C. Schneider, J. Shupe, “Ceramic Tile Design Improvement for Conformal Personal Armor,” U. S. Patent Application 19/392,778, November 2025.
- S. Shackleford, J. Shupe, G. Todd, and R. F. Speyer, “Ceramic Tile Design Improvement for Conformal Personal Armor,” U. S. Patent US 12,000,680 B2, June 2024.
- R. F. Speyer and J. Shupe, “Armor Component and Method of Making the Armor Component,” U.S. Patent 11,047,651 B1, June 2021, US 2021/0341266 A1, November 2021, and US 11,585,641 B2, February 2023.
- J. Eun and R. F. Speyer, “Vapor-phase Assisted Sintering of Lutetium Oxide,” Journal of the European Ceramic Society, 42 [16] 7570-7578 (2022).
- R. F. Speyer, S. Shackleford, “Ballistic Tile,” U.S. Patent US 11,473,877 B2, October 2022.
- C. S. Wiley and R. F. Speyer, “Boron Carbide Based Materials and Process for the Fabrication thereof,” U.S. Patent US 10,927,044 B2, February 2021, US 2021/0147300 A1, May 2021.
EDUCATION & AWARDS
- B.S. (1980)
- M.S. (1981)
- Ph.D. (1986), Ceramic Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
American Ceramic Society Outstanding Educator Award, 2021.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Professor Speyer has published over 140 refereed papers and holds over twenty patents. He has advised 23 Ph.D. and 16 M.S. graduate students. His areas of interest over a forty-five-year span of research are varied: glass fusion and devitrification, fiber-reinforced glass-ceramic composites, powder processing and sintering of high-performance ceramics, rate-controlled sintering, single-crystal growth of piezeoelectric ceramics, gas radiant burners, processing of ultra-high temperature aerospace composites, lightweight ceramic armor, ceramic-based lasers, and net-shape steel production from ceramic powder compacts. Dr. Speyer’s research has been funded by NAVAIR, Army Natick and Aberdeen, AFOSR, DARPA, ARPA-E, U.S. Congress, Gas Research Institute, and private industry.