Rate My Professor Pedro Arce

Pedro Arce, Ph.D., FRSC, serves as Professor and University Distinguished Faculty Fellow in the Chemical Engineering Department at Tennessee Technological University. He obtained his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University in 1990, M.S. from the same institution in 1987, and his Chemical Engineering degree from Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Santa Fe, Argentina, in 1977. Following postgraduate training with the National Council of Research in Argentina from 1978 to 1983, Dr. Arce held faculty positions at FAMU-FSU College of Engineering before joining Tennessee Tech more than 20 years ago. There, he has advanced engineering education through the development of the Renaissance Foundry Model, which promotes collaborative, creative, and innovation-driven learning environments centered on constructionistic approaches and student-faculty partnerships.

Dr. Arce's research specializations include engineering education, particularly the Renaissance Foundry Model for fostering critical thinking and innovation; nanostructured materials for healthcare applications such as hydrogels for diagnostics and drug delivery, mathematics-assisted-medicine approaches for biophysical systems like microcirculatory pathologies and cancer treatment, and environmental catalysis addressing the food-energy-water nexus through advanced oxidation processes, photocatalysis, and electrokinetics. He has authored over 150 publications, with selected works including “Formation of Hydroxyl Radicals, Hydrogen Peroxide, and Aqueous Electrons by Pulsed Streamer Corona Discharge in Aqueous Solution” (Journal of Hazardous Materials, 1995), “A New and Simpler Approach for the Solution of Electrostatic Potential Differential Equation” (Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 2005), and “Morphology of Nanocomposite and Template Gels and its Role in the Separation of Biomolecules: A Review” (Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2010). His contributions have earned him prestigious honors such as Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (2022), American Society for Engineering Education Life Honorary Membership (2023), Tennessee Tech Scholar-Mentor Award (2022), Donald Caplenor Award for Excellence in Research (2015), University Distinguished Faculty Fellow (2010), and five Thomas C. Evans Awards from ASEE for outstanding engineering education papers. Dr. Arce has mentored 191 research and educational projects involving diverse students, many securing positions at leading organizations like Johnson Controls and Merck. He serves on the publication board of the Journal of Chemical Engineering Education and has delivered plenary lectures at national and international conferences.