Balasubramanian, Butler, Christofa, and Dutta Promoted to Full Professor

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The Provost has approved the promotion of four faculty members from the College of Engineering to full professor: Hari Balasubramanian, Caitlyn Butler, Eleni Christofa, and Joyita Dutta.

Hari Balasubramanian, mechanical and industrial engineering, focuses on applying operations research to healthcare delivery, including the use of mathematical modeling to improve patient flow and reduce delays in outpatient, inpatient, and emergency room settings. He is a core member of the Elaine Marieb Center for Nursing and Engineering Innovation. He has received a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award and a College of Engineering Outstanding Teaching Award, and he has collaborated with Massachusetts General Hospital, Baystate Medical Center, the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and the Mayo Clinic. 

Caitlyn Butler, civil and environmental engineering, studies biofilms and microbial ecology of engineered water systems. She is the recipient of an NSF CAREER Award, a UMass Amherst Distinguished Teaching Award, a UMass ADVANCE Faculty Mentor Award, a Barbara H. and Joseph I. Goldstein Outstanding Junior Faculty Award, an Outstanding Teaching in Environmental Engineering and Science Award from the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors, and a Lilly Fellowship for Teaching Excellence. She is a graduate of both the HERS Leadership Institute and ELATES (Executive Leadership for Academic Technology, Engineering, and Science). She is also the College of Engineering's newly appointed Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Affairs.

Eleni Christofa, civil and environmental engineering, conducts research on traffic operations and safety, with a focus on the development of sustainable management strategies and infrastructure treatment that improve personal mobility, air quality, and safety in urban transportation systems. Her recognitions include a College of Engineering Outstanding Teaching Award, a Barbara H. and Joseph I Goldstein Outstanding Junior Faculty Award, a Student-Centered Teaching & Learning Fellowship from UMass Amherst, and an Outstanding Young Member Award from the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. She is also a graduate of the HERS Leadership Institute.

Joyita Dutta, biomedical engineering, directs the Biomedical Imaging and Data Science Lab (BIDSLab). Her research focuses on developing signal processing and artificial intelligence based solutions to biomedical inverse problems. Several of her ongoing projects center on the development of AI-based tools in the context of Alzheimer's disease. She is the recipient of the Bruce Hasegawa Young Investigator Medical Imaging Science Award from the Nuclear & Plasma Sciences Society, the Tracy Lynn Faber Memorial Award from the Society of Nuclear Medicine & Molecular Imaging, a MassAITC Pilot Award, and multiple awards from the National Institutes of Health.