Richard Kotek Reflects Fondly on a Career Path That Took Him from Poland to North Carolina

By Raymond Jones

If you want to catch up with Richard Kotek after his June 30 retirement, you’d better check to make sure of his whereabouts. 

He relishes any and all opportunities to visit relatives there, since he and his wife left Poland back in the early 1980s, when the country was still under Soviet domination. In fact, Poland was under martial law at the time he left, and even simple phone calls in and out of the country were restricted by the government.

“My job here was incredibly rewarding. And one thing I really loved, besides the students, was that I could always find someone to talk with about nearly any topic in the world.” 

Kotek is retiring officially on June 30, after serving most recently as an associate professor in the Wilson College of Textiles’ Department of Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science.

Initial academic appointment was at Duke

His first stop after emigrating to the United States, however, was not NC State. It was at Duke University, where he spent four years working as a synthetic chemist. As a member of the research group of Professor William R. Krigbaum, a well-known polymer scientist, he worked a schedule that involved long hours and little free time. 

The job was rewarding, however, and his time at Duke became more enjoyable when his wife Elizabeth and 4-year-old daughter Magdalena made their way to Durham from Poland. Later, while still living in Durham, the Koteks welcomed their second child, son Kristof.

His transition to the academic environment at Duke was a smooth one, largely because of the excellent education he received at Lodz University of Technology. 

Lodz was a high-ranking university

He says people familiar with Poland’s universities would not necessarily rank Lodz as “the M.I.T. of Poland.” That distinction would probably go to the Warsaw University of Technology, which has been around much longer. 

He says Lodz would be a close second, however, due in part to the excellent reputation of its man-made fibers institute, known officially as the Department of Textile Raw Materials and Metrology. There, under Professor Bogumil Laszkiewicz, he received his doctorate and a solid grounding in all the fields of study that would later sustain his career. 

Moved to private industry after Duke

After four years at Duke, Kotek transitioned to private industry. He took a job with the BASF corporation, a German-based multinational that is one of the largest chemical producers in the world.

He worked on the research and development team in one of BASF’s South Carolina facilities, focusing heavily on the physical characteristics of carpet fibers, always in search of greater durability. 

Having a strong interest in sustainability, however, he also studied ways to break down those same durable fibers. He and his colleagues wanted to ensure that BASF’s carpets and other products could be recycled more easily after they were no longer usable by consumers. 

He relished the academic lifestyle

He says the transition back to academia after a decade at BASF was no easy task, given his heavy class load and lab schedule during the first year.

He relished the academic lifestyle, however, and wanted to do whatever was necessary to succeed. He loved having personal contact with students, striving not only to share his technical expertise but also to facilitate their overall intellectual development. 

A valued mentor to generations of students

More than 30 master’s and Ph.D. candidates completed their dissertations under Kotek’s guidance. He enjoyed the mix of international and American students, many of whom, he says, probably remember a pet phrase that he used when his student researchers ran into difficulties: “If there’s a problem, just go solve it!” 

During his tenure he also published a sizable collection of professional articles and book chapters.

Asked if he had any inkling at the start of his career at NC State that he would eventually spend 24 years there he says, “I didn’t think about it at the time. I was working too hard!” 

One big help during transition, however, was having a mentor, John A. Cuculo. Cuculo was a polymer expert who spent some three decades at NC State after nearly two decades at DuPont. 

His office a treasure trove of memorabilia

One small treasure Kotek found recently while sorting through his office memorabilia was an English grammar book, published in 1974, that he used as a student in Poland. He says he knew even then that learning English would be a key to his future career aspirations. 

Being something of a packrat, Kotek also re-discovered 24 years’ worth of student exams. It’s another load of memories he’s reluctant to give up, as he considers whether there’s room for anything like that at home. More than 15 patent award plaques will also be looking for a new home.

Concept of home will be hard to define

After retirement, however, the concept of “home” may be a bit difficult to define. He and Elizabeth maintain an apartment in Warsaw, which will facilitate many more visits to see his two brothers and her sister in Poland.

In the meantime, he is leaving the Wilson College with no regrets. 

“My job here was incredibly rewarding,” he says. “And one thing I really loved, besides the students, was that I could always find someone to talk with about nearly any topic in the world.”