Joseph Tranquillo

Joseph Tranquillo serves as Associate Provost for Transformative Teaching & Learning and Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Bucknell University, with additional roles as international visiting faculty at Universidad Catolica de Chile. He previously directed the Teaching & Learning Center and co-directed the Institute for Leadership in Technology & Management while co-founding the Bucknell Innovation Group and KEEN Winter Interdisciplinary Design Experience.

His educational background includes a B.S. from Trinity College (1997) and Ph.D. from Duke University (2004), supplemented by visiting scholar positions at the University of Utah's Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute and Stanford Technology Ventures Program.

Tranquillo's research spans Engineering Education (evidence-based teaching practices and learning environments), Computational Electrophysiology (cardiac electrical activity modeling), Engineering Design Methodology, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and the integration of Engineering and the Arts. His work emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches to complex systems and pedagogical innovation.

Recent publications reveal a strategic shift from computational cardiac modeling toward educational innovation, with contemporary work focusing on algorithmic thinking pedagogy, product archaeology frameworks, and evidence-based bioengineering education practices. Earlier research established foundational contributions to cardiac electrophysiology modeling and transgenic validation.

His distinguished honors include:

• National Academy of Engineering Frontiers of Engineering Education Awardee
• ASEE Biomedical Engineering National Teaching Award
• ASEE Theo Pilkington Outstanding Educator Award
• American Society for Engineering Education Fellow
• American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering Fellow
• NSF Pathways to Innovation Faculty Fellow
• IEEE Senior Member status

Tranquillo has secured major funding from NASA, NIH, NSF, Kern Family Foundation, VentureWell Foundation, Degenstein Foundation, and the US Department of Defense. All research is conducted exclusively with undergraduate students, resulting in media features on Discovery Channel, TEDx, and CNN Health. He has delivered teaching workshops across Finland, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, and the UK.

He leads the Bucknell Innovation Group and KEEN Winter Interdisciplinary Design Experience while maintaining active roles in ASEE leadership and international engineering education collaborations through the Indo-US Collaboration for Engineering Education board.