From Truck Driver to Technologist: How Rich Peters Embodies the Spirit of the Berkshire Innovation Center

When we talk about the Berkshire Innovation Center’s motto—”Do More Together”—we often mean collaboration between institutions, companies, and educators.  The truth is, there are certain individuals that embody that spirit all on their own. 

One such person is Rich Peters—a former long-haul truck driver turned chief scientist, now retired but busier than ever. Today, he’s one of our most dedicated instructors, teaching in both the BIC Manufacturing Academy’s STAT Program and the MIT Tech AMP (Technologist Advanced Manufacturing Program). His journey from the Catskills to the cab of an 18-wheeler to the lab bench and now the classroom is, in many ways, the story of what the BIC is all about: curiosity, community, and the power of lifelong learning.

A Road Less Traveled

Rich grew up in the foothills of the Catskills, the youngest of four in a family where everyone worked with their hands. His mother drove a school bus, his father drove an oil truck, and “education wasn’t really emphasized,” he recalls. He left high school early, got a job moving tractor-trailers around a truck yard, and by twenty-one was driving his own rig cross-country.

Over four and a half years, he logged 650,000 miles hauling freight coast to coast. He loved the solitude of the open road and the sense of accomplishment that came with keeping his rig running and his business afloat. But somewhere between deliveries, a different kind of spark caught his attention.

“I had a little black-and-white TV in my sleeper cab,” he said recently on our My Story Vault podcast with Dr. Dennis Rebelo. “One night I caught Cosmos on PBS. Carl Sagan completely blew my mind.”

The series awakened something in him—a fascination with science, perspective, and possibility. Soon after, while delivering desks to Miami University of Ohio, he found himself wandering that red-brick campus and feeling, as he put it, “smarter just standing there.” It was the beginning of an unexpected transformation.

Starting Over

When engine trouble finally forced him off the road, Rich decided to rebuild something else—his education. He enrolled at Berkshire Community College, took an aptitude test, and discovered he was performing at a third-grade math level. Rather than discouraging him, it ignited his determination. He powered through self-paced math courses, earned straight A’s, transferred to Hudson Valley Community College, and eventually landed a scholarship to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), where he earned his engineering degree.

“I realized I was a lifelong learner,” he said. “I just didn’t know it yet.”

Engineering Nirvana

That drive carried him into a long career at SABIC, formerly GE Plastics, at the Polymer Process Development Center in Pittsfield. There he helped pioneer high-performance thermoplastics and composite materials used in aerospace and automotive industries—innovations that made products stronger, lighter, and more recyclable.

Rich called it his “engineering playground—really, engineering nirvana.” His work turned complex chemistry into practical, scalable solutions. And though he eventually rose to the rank of Chief Scientist, he never lost the humility of a man who once changed oil in truck stops across America.

He retired from SABIC a few years ago, but as he likes to admit, “I’m really bad at retirement.”

Back to the Lab—This Time as a Teacher

Fortunately for us, the BIC benefits from that particular shortcoming. When the BIC Manufacturing Academy launched its STAT Program (Systems Thinking or the Application of Technology), we recruited Rich as an instructor. He quickly became a cornerstone of the program—equal parts scientist, mentor, and storyteller—bridging the gap between classroom theory and shop-floor practice.

More recently, Rich has taken on another teaching role with our new MIT TechAM program, which trains “technologists”—those who bridge the critical space between engineers and technicians. It’s a role he was born to fill.

At a recent session, he was seen patiently walking participants through a lab module developed at MIT’s LEAP Group, then relating  it to something every machinist in the room would recognize. “Applied learning is everything,” he told them. “You can read about how something works, but until you touch it, build it, break it, and fix it, you don’t really know it.”

A Life of Service

Outside the classroom, Rich devotes much of his time to STRIDE Adaptive Sports, a nonprofit he helped found more than 40 years ago that teaches skiing to people with disabilities. Each winter at Jiminy Peak, you’ll find him bundled in a bright instructor’s jacket, guiding children and adults—some on sit-skis, some blind, some relearning movement after an injury—down the slopes with patience and joy.

“I’m selfish,” he likes to say. “I get more out of it than my students do.” His children grew up volunteering alongside him, learning what service looks like not as a slogan but as a habit of life.

The Lesson Beyond the Lab

Rich’s story reminds us that innovation is not confined to technology or research—it lives in people who choose to keep learning, to keep giving, to stay curious. When he steps into a classroom at the BIC, our students see someone who has literally rebuilt his own path, from the cab of a truck to the heart of a global materials lab.

They see that it’s never too late to learn.

For those of us lucky enough to work with him, Rich represents the best of the BIC community—brilliant but humble, endlessly curious, and always willing to lend his time and wisdom to others.

As I often tell our partners, the BIC’s greatest strength lies in our people—our collective wisdom. Rich Peters embodies that idea. He reminds us that doing more together starts with individuals who believe that learning never stops.

And if you want to hear more of Rich’s story—in his own words—tune in to his episode of the My Story Vault podcast, hosted by Dr. Dennis Rebelo and recorded at BIC Works @ MoCA. You’ll find the full conversation there, along with inspiring stories from other remarkable people shaping the BIC ecosystem.

Because behind every innovation in the Berkshires, there’s a human story worth telling—and My Story Vault is where we tell them.