A good work ethic is very important to professor Joseph Biernacki. He says that it is what sets him apart and allows him to be a positive influence on both his students and our environment.

The chemical engineering professor has made his home at Tennessee Tech since 1997.

He earned his undergraduate degree from Case Western Reserve University and his doctorate in engineering from Cleveland State University. Biernacki chose to come to Tech because he felt that it would allow him to combine teaching, research and service to become a more complete academic.

“I love the independence of this career, the students at all levels, and the opportunities this career has afforded me: to meet and work with some of the finest people in the world in my field,” Biernacki said.

When he is not teaching or preparing for his design sequence course, Biernacki is researching how to design new cement-based materials to be more durable, less expensive, and to use fewer materials. He hopes to minimalize environmental impacts with new additive manufacturing technology. He recently received a collaborative National Science Foundation grant with colleagues from Vanderbilt and Purdue University for his research.