Prof. Pingen Chen

Associate Professor
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Email: pchen23@utk.edu
Phone: 865-974-4962
Faculty page: UTK Faculty Profile

Prof. Pingen Chen is currently an Associate Professor with the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, since 2025. Prof. Chen also served as an Assistant Professor and Associate Professor with the Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering at Tennessee Tech University from 2016–2025. Prof. Chen was the founding director of the Battery, Energy, and Smart Transportation (BEST) Laboratory and former director of the Automotive Powertrain and Emissions Control Laboratory (APECL).

Before that, he was a controls and diagnostics senior engineer at the Cummins Technical Center in Columbus, IN, for two years. He received the B.E. degree in Automotive Engineering from Jilin University, Changchun, China, in 2008; the M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from West Virginia University, Morgantown, in 2010; and the Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from The Ohio State University, Columbus, in 2014.

Dr. Chen is the author or co-author of more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, including 28 journal articles, 71 conference papers, and 1 patent. His research activities (as PI or Co-PI) have received more than $28 million in funding from sources including the U.S. Department of Energy, Tennessee Department of Transportation, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Tennessee Tech University, Cummins Inc., Denso, Nissan, and others.

His research interests include:
1) 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 (first-life applications, recycling, and reuse); internal combustion engines; aftertreatment systems; and alternative/renewable fuels;
2) deployment of advanced vehicle technologies to serve broad communities and stakeholders.