Robert C. Armstrong

Robert C. Armstrong directs the MIT Energy Initiative, an institute-wide initiative at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology linking science, technology, and policy to transform the world’s energy systems. A member of the MIT faculty since 1973, Armstrong served as head of the Department of Chemical Engineering from 1996 to 2007. His research interests include energy, the rheology of complex materials, and polymer fluid mechanics.

In 2008, Armstrong was elected into the National Academy of Engineering for conducting outstanding research on non-Newtonian fluid mechanics, co-authoring landmark textbooks, and providing leadership in chemical engineering education.

Armstrong received the Warren K. Lewis Award in 2006 and the Professional Progress Award in 1992, both from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and the 2006 Bingham Medal from the Society of Rheology, which is devoted to the study of the science of deformation and flow of matter. Armstrong was a member of MIT’s Future of Natural Gas and Future of Solar Energy study groups, and is co-chairing the Future of Storage study currently underway. He co-edited Game Changers: Energy on the Move with former Secretary of State George P. Shultz.