Robert "Bob" Martin Kelly

April 12, 1953 – March 16, 2026

Bob Kelly passed away peacefully after fighting a nearly seven-year battle with cancer. Over the course of his life, Bob held many roles—husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, researcher, teacher, advisor, coach, mentor, and friend—and he embraced each of them with dedication, grit, and his own brand of “Dad” humor.

Born in Rockville Centre, NY, Bob grew up in Ardsley, NY as the oldest of three boys. He attended the University of Virginia (UVA) where he majored in chemical engineering, played rugby, and had the honor of living on the Range as a graduate student. At UVA he met, Maureen, who would become his wife, his rock, personal nurse, and life-long best friend.

After earning his master’s degree in chemical engineering from UVA, Bob spent two years at DuPont’s Marshall Laboratory in Philadelphia before moving to Raleigh, NC to pursue his doctorate in chemical engineering at North Carolina State University.

Bob spent a decade as a faculty member in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University before returning to his old stomping grounds at NC State in 1992 as a professor of chemical engineering. In 1998, Bob was named the Alcoa Professor of Chemical Engineering. Over the course of his distinguished career, he received numerous honors, including the Alexander Quarles Holladay Medal for Excellence in 2021, the highest faculty honor bestowed by NC State and its Board of Trustees.

Bob’s research focused on the biology and biotechnology of microorganisms that thrive in extreme thermal environments, such as undersea volcanoes and continental hot springs. His work took him around the world—from volcanoes in Hawaii and Italy to the hot springs of Yellowstone National Park.

At NC State, Bob founded and directed the Biotechnology (BIT) Program for 25 years. Each year the program educates undergraduate and graduate students from 10 colleges in laboratory techniques and molecular biology. Under his leadership, the BIT Program grew into a model campus-wide educational and research network.

Beyond research and teaching, Bob loved advising and mentoring students and young faculty members, and countless people benefited from his encouragement and guidance. Over the course of his career, he trained approximately 100 master’s, Ph.D. and postdoctoral students in fields spanning the life sciences and engineering. Even during his battle with cancer, Bob continued mentoring caregivers around him. He encouraged nurses to pursue graduate school, offered to help file a patent to improve feeding tubes, and had career suggestions for the physicians on his care team.

Bob and Maureen were married for more than 48 years. They started their family in Baltimore and eventually settled in Cary, NC in 1992. Bob was proud of his three children and three grandchildren. Despite maintaining a demanding teaching and research career, Bob never missed one of his children’s activities and coached their soccer, baseball, and softball teams. Over the years, he coached hundreds of young athletes in Cary and Raleigh. Even after his own children grew out of youth sports, he continued giving his time to coaching local teams.

In recent years, nothing brought him more joy than his role as “G” to his grandchildren. They delighted in sitting on his lap to do “research” on any subject of interest. With his family, Bob enjoyed over a decade of summer holidays at Holden Beach where he spent more time at the local hardware store than on the sand.

Bob was an avid sports fan throughout his life, cheering for the Virginia Cavaliers, NC State Wolfpack, Carolina Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, Baltimore Orioles, and his beloved New York Mets. He was a self-taught guitar player, a dedicated caretaker of his yard, and an Italian food aficionado. Bob loved filling a crockpot with homemade meatballs and challenging guests to beat the standing meatball-eating records.

Bob is survived by his wife, Maureen Kelly; his children Elizabeth Kelly, Caitlin Kelly Gaylord (Ryan), and Michael Kelly (Erica); his grandchildren Jack, Madden, and Bennett; his brothers James Kelly and Thomas Kelly; and numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents, Robert M. Kelly and Audrey A. Kelly.

The family extends their gratitude to the community of caregivers who supported Bob over the course of his illness, most notably UNC physicians Dr. Blumberg, Dr. Patel, and Dr. Shen.

In lieu of flowers, if you wish to honor Bob’s life and legacy, the family asks for consideration of two organizations:

- The Bob Kelly Biotechnology Endowment established in memory of Bob that will aid the Biotechnology (BIT) Program that he started at NC State. https://go.ncsu.edu/imobobkelly

- American Cancer Society. https://donate.cancer.org/

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 1:00 pm on March 25, 2026 at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church in Cary, North Carolina with a reception to follow nearby.