Jennifer Pascal

Jennifer Pascal serves as Associate Professor in Residence and Associate Department Head in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Connecticut. Previously, she held positions as Assistant Professor at Tennessee Technological University (2013-2016) and NIH ASERT Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of New Mexico (2011-2013).

Her educational background includes:

• PhD in Chemical Engineering, Tennessee Technological University, 2011

Dr. Pascal's research centers on innovative engineering pedagogy with dual emphases on ethics education and arts-engineering integration. She pioneers game-based learning approaches using narrative-driven scenarios and choose-your-own-adventure frameworks to teach ethical decision-making. Her work examines collective versus individual decision processes, toxic workplace culture navigation, and sustainability integration in chemical engineering education through antiracist and collaborative methodologies. She develops alternative assessment strategies focused on real-time ethical reasoning evaluation.

Her publication trend reveals a concentrated shift toward game-based ethical interventions since 2021, with increasing sophistication in narrative design and assessment frameworks. Recent works explore first-year student conceptualizations of ethics, pandemic-responsive teaching communities, and competency-based grading systems that prioritize meaningful feedback over traditional evaluation.

Her scientific achievements include:

• TTU Department Outstanding Teaching Award (voted by students), 2014
• Society for Mathematical Biology Travel Grant Award, 2013
• Department of Chemical Engineering Outstanding PhD Student of the Year, 2010
• AIChE Separations Division National Graduate Student Award, 2010
• Diversity Graduate Fellowship (TTU), 2007-2011

As an active member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and American Society for Engineering Education, she contributes to virtual communities of practice and curriculum development initiatives. Her advising philosophy emphasizes professional skill development through structured student support systems, while her grant activities focus on pedagogical innovation in engineering ethics education and sustainable curriculum design. Current projects examine the intersection of fine arts and engineering through collaborative course development.