Dr. Robert M. (Pete) Counce
Professor
Ph.D., Tennessee: Green engineering, process design, separations and sustainable energy.
Brief Bio
Teaching: Professor Counce’s usual teaching load at UT is ChE 480 (Equipment Design and Economic Methods) in the Fall Semester and in the Spring Semester, teaching ChE 581 (Green Engineering) and direct and advise in ChE 488 (Honors; Design Internship in Green Engineering). He has taught most of the ChE courses at UT (no process control). He developed ChE 581 that has been offered for graduate credit since the late 1980s. This course seeks to provide engineers with a basis for responsible decision making for the future and has at times been offered world wide through the National Technical University (NTU) of Boulder, Colorado..
Professor Counce was elected to Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers in 2000, awarded the Charles Edward Ferrris Faculty Award (2008), and the Leon and Nancy Cole Superior Teaching Award (2000) (Both awards are from UT College of Engineering). He served as advisor of student teams winning 1st place (2001) and 2nd place (2002) and 1st place in AIChE Green Engineering Student Poster Contest at Fall National Meetings (Reno, Nevada, Indianapolis, Indiana and San Francisco California. He served as Lecturer for Fundamentals of Industrial Gas Absorption in the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Continuing Education Series for 1985 – 1996. He was Visiting Professor, Sabine River Works of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company during 1984.
Perhaps his major educational accomplishment is the development of an industrially-supported capstone design course, ChE 488; this approach to process design was first attempted in 1989 and has developed over several years through the concerted efforts of myself and Professor Emeritus John M. Holmes. Sustaining sponsors for this activity have included DuPont, Tennessee Eastman Company and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In this design activity each student team has an authentic and unique project. Each team is supported by an industrial advisor and an academic advisor, who largely serve as “coaches.” Capstone design course has proved to be a win-win-win situation, education students through experience, exposing faculty to authentic industrial needs and constraints and providing useful solutions to industrial needs. Over 260 chemical engineering students have participated in that experience here at UT. This capstone design activity is described in several publications, including International Journal of Engineering Education, “University Partnerships with Industry and Government,” published in 2008 and 2 Chemical Engineering Education articles, “A Quality-Driven Process Design Internship,” published in 1997 and “DuPont Design Internship in Pollution Prevention,” published in 1994.
Research: Professor Counce is an industrial separation specialist; he is professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Tennessee and a Research Engineer at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He has authored or co-authored over 100 technical papers and reports
He is especially active in applying green engineering approaches to design and modification of industrial processes. His research typically involves advancing fundamental knowledge while focusing on providing solutions to industrial needs. He has been involved in radio-chemical separations through out his career. He consistently chairs sessions at professional meetings on topics of capstone education, industrial gas absorption and stripping, and pollution prevention. He is involved in a wide variety of activities in the green engineering area and in industrial separations, including development of environmentally-friendly industrial washing and degreasing technology and recovery and recycle of various process materials.
Service: Professor Counce serves on the Editorial Advisory Board, Advances in Environmental Research, Allison L Gill (Ed.). He is the reviewer for a number of journals, including AIChE Journal, Industrial Engineering Chemistry, Research, Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, Environmental Progress, Chemical Engineering Communications, Advances in Environmental Research.
Professor Counce has counseled and mentored undergraduate and graduate students for over 30 years. He has guided approximately 40 students to their MS or PhD degrees.
Research Areas
» Green Engineering
» Industrial-Scale Mass Transfer Operations
» Radio-Chemical Engineering
Selected Awards and Honors
2008 Charles Edward Ferris Faculty Award (UT College of Engineering)
2001/2002/2003 Advisor of student teams winning 1st place, 2nd place, and 1st place in AIChE Green Engineering Student Poster Contest at Fall National Meetings (Reno, Nevada, Indianapolis, Indiana and San Francisco California)
2000 Leon and Nancy Cole Superior Teaching Award (UT College of Engineering)
Professional Activities
Fellow, American Institute of Chemical Engineering
Editorial Advisory Board, Advances in Environmental Research
Selected Publications
S. A. Morton, III, D. J. Keffer, R. M. Counce, “Effect of Low Concentration Salt on Organic Contact Angle in Ionic Surfactant Solutions: Insight from Theory and Experiment,” J. of Separation Sci. & Tech, 43 (2), pp 310-330 (2008)
R. M. Counce, L. C. Markel, P. R. Bienkowski, S. P. Singh, J. D. Randolph, R. T. Jubin, B. E. Lewis, B. E. Murphree, R. A. Reimer, R. A. Heckrotte, B. W. Alderson, "University Partnerships with Industry and Government," International J. of Engr. Education, 24(3) (2008).
R.T. Jubin, B. Spencer and R.M. Counce, "Review of Off-Gas Technology Relevant to Spent Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing," paper presented at Global 2007: Advanced Nuclear Fuel Cycles and Systems, Boise Idaho, Sept 9-13, 2007
W. O. Rains and R. M. Counce, “Liquidus Curves of LiNO3 (aq) Calculated from the Modified Adsorption Isotherm Model for Aqueous Electrolytes,” J. of Separation Sci. & Tech. 42(2), 253-259 (2007).
J. M. Santiago, K. J. Keffer and R. M. Counce, "Surfactant and Electric Field Strength Effects on Surface Tensions at Liquid/Liquid Solid Interface," Langmuir, 22(12) 5358-5365 (2006)
N. Davis, S. A. Morton, R. M. Counce, D. W. DePaoli, and M.Z. Hu, "Effect of Ionic Strength on Oil Removal from Stainless Steel in the Presence of Ionic Surfactant," J. of Separation Sci. & Tech. 41(15), 3313-3328 (2006).
B.Bagchi, J.Rawlston, R. M. Counce, J.M. Holmes and P. R. Bienkowski, "Green Production of Hydrogen from Excess Biosolids Originating from Municipal Waste Water Treatment," J. of Separation Sci. & Tech. 41(10/11), 2613-2628 (2006).
R. M. Counce and S.A. Morton III, "Utilizing Green Engineering Concepts in Industrial Process Synthesis," Chapter in Sustainability Science and Engineering, Defining Principles (Editor: M. A. Abraham), Elsevier (2006)
Contact Dr. Counce
509 Dougherty Engineering Bldg.
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
University of Tennessee
Knoxville, TN 37996-2200
Tel: (865) 974-5318
Email: counce @utk.edu