Paz-Pujalt was born August 9, 1954, in Arequipa, Peru. He is of Galician and Welsh descent on his fathers side and Catalan and Basque on his mothers. He graduated from San Andrés (Colegio), an Anglo Peruvian college preparatory school in Lima, Peru. He graduated with honors and received the Miller Prize for accomplishments in English.  Paz-Pujalt did his undergraduate work at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and completed his Ph.D. in physical chemistry at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. His doctoral adviser was George Keulks. He was also mentored by the distinguished professor W. Keith Hall.  During this time he studied surface science under Gert Ertl, winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Additionally, Paz-Pujalt has received numerous executive level diplomas from MIT and Wharton.