Peter Lawrence Mente, 52, of Raleigh, NC, died January 20, 2014, at his childhood home in Concord, MA surrounded by his family. Born in Waltham, MA on July 31, 1961, he was the son of E. Joanne (Welch) Mente and the late Lawrence J. Mente. Peter graduated from Concord-Carlisle High School in 1979 and earned his B.A. in biological science from the University of Chicago in 1983. From Northwestern University he received an M.S. in biomedical engineering in 1987 and a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering in 1995. He held postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Minnesota's Department of Orthopaedic Surgery in 1995 and at the University of Vermont's Department of Orthopeadics and Rehabilitation from 1995 to 1997. He was a visiting assistant professor at Clemson University's Department of Bioengineering from 1998 to 1999. Peter was an associate professor in North Carolina State University's Department of Biomedical Engineering. He came to the university in 1999 as an assistant professor in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering and, in 2003, became a founding faculty member of the university's joint Department of Biomedical Engineering with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he also held an adjunct appointment. His influence as an educator was recognized with an Outstanding Teaching Award in 2007 and an Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Professor Award in 2008. Peter's research area was rehabilitative engineering. He published several papers in the area of cells and tissue loading and early degenerative changes in cartilage following impact injury. In addition to his mother, he leaves his brothers and sisters: Andrew and his wife Christa of Hamilton, MA; Kathryn (Kate) of San Francisco, CA; Philip and his wife Amy Helburn of Jamaica Plain, MA; Suzanne of Sunderland, MA; Sarah of Brooklyn, NY; and Julie of Brooklyn, NY. He was an uncle to nephews Nathan, Jeffrey and Daniel Mente of Hamilton, MA and Nicholas Mente of Jamaica Plain, MA. He is also survived by his aunts and uncles: Sister Margaret Welch, SND, of Ipswich, MA; Ann (Welch) and David Purcell of Auburndale, MA; Jane (Welch) and Richard Leard of Waltham, MA; and Joan Polsinelli, of Chicago, IL. Peter also leaves many close friends and colleagues from his academic and teaching career. Visitation: Visiting hours will be held on Friday, January 24, at the Dee Funeral Home from 4 to 8 p.m. Service: Funeral will be held on Saturday, January 25 at 9 a.m. from the Dee Funeral Home, 27 Bedford Street, Concord Center, followed by a funeral Mass in Holy Family Parish, Monument Square, Concord at 10 am.