Rate My Professor Pingen Chen

Pingen Chen is a tenured Associate Professor with the Mechanical Engineering Department at Tennessee Technological University, contributing to the Engineering faculty. As the founding director of the Automotive Powertrain and Emissions Control Laboratory (APECL) since 2016, he leads research in automotive technologies. Chen received his B.E. degree in Automotive Engineering from Jilin University, Changchun, China, in 2008; M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, in 2010; and Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, in 2014. He joined Tennessee Tech as a tenure-track assistant professor in August 2016, following two years as a controls and diagnostics senior engineer at the Cummins Technical Center in Columbus, IN. He achieved tenure and promotion to associate professor in 2022.

His academic interests encompass the modeling, control, and optimization of hybrid and electric vehicle systems, automated and connected vehicles, energy-efficient urban and rural mobility systems, battery energy storage systems including recycling and reuse, internal combustion engines, aftertreatment systems, and alternative/renewable fuels. Chen also focuses on deploying advanced vehicle technologies to serve disadvantaged communities. He is the author or co-author of more than 95 peer-reviewed publications, comprising 26 journal articles, 68 conference papers, and 1 patent. Key publications include: "Experimental investigation of diesel and biodiesel post injections during active diesel particulate filter regenerations" (Fuel, 2014); "Control-oriented model for integrated diesel engine and aftertreatment systems thermal management" (Control Engineering Practice, 2014); "Electric vehicle velocity and energy consumption predictions using transformer and Markov-chain Monte Carlo" (IEEE Transactions on Transportation Electrification, 2022); "Air-fraction modeling for simultaneous diesel engine NOx and PM emissions control during active DPF regenerations" (Applied Energy, 2014); and "Economic optimal power management of second-life battery energy storage systems" (Journal of Energy Storage, 2025).

His contributions have earned him major awards, including the SAE Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award (2021), Distinguished Researcher Award from the ASME Tennessee Tech University Chapter (2019 and 2024), multiple Wings Up 100 awards from Tennessee Tech (2020-2024), and the Sustainable Transportation Award as one of the top two projects in Tennessee (2022). APECL has attracted funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, Tennessee Department of Transportation, Cummins Inc., DENSO, and Nissan North America, among others. The lab has mentored over a dozen Ph.D. and Master's students, with alumni securing positions at prestigious organizations such as Honda R&D Americas, Volvo Group, and Southwest Research Institute.