Dr. Cicciarelli grew up in northwest Florida, in a small town outside of Pensacola. He attended the University of Florida and received a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering in 2001. Later that year, he began graduate school at M.I.T. His thesis research focused on photoresponsive surfactants, which are specially-designed molecules which change their shape when light conditions change and thereby cause changes in solution properties such as surface tension and viscosity. Sometime during his undergraduate studies, he decided that he wanted to eventually pursue an academic career. While in graduate school, he had opportunities to assist in teaching courses and found that he really enjoyed teaching and interacting with students. These positive experiences reinforced his desire to teach and led him to seek out faculty positions at colleges and universities with a strong emphasis on education. Louisiana Tech impressed him with its commitment to teaching, and so after completing his Ph.D. in the spring of 2007, he moved to Ruston to join its faculty. Dr. Cicciarelli is a Lecturer in both the Chemical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering Programs. He has taught several classes in the thermal sciences area (thermodynamics, heat transfer, etc.) as well as chemical engineering undergraduate lecture and laboratory courses and a graduate level course in transport phenomena. He has enjoyed his experience at Tech thus far and appreciates the opportunity to work with engineering students from different backgrounds. Despite nationwide studies that indicate that students are getting lazier and that colleges and universities are lowering standards to accommodate them, Dr. Cicciarelli remains committed to maintaining rigorous academic standards to ensure that his students are well-prepared for future employment and that their diploma has value.
