Two UConn College of Engineering faculty have been selected as Eversource Energy Professors in Environmental and Sustainability Education.
The Eversource Energy faculty committee selected professors Marina Astitha and Burcu Beykal for the two term professorships to be given this year.
The two professors were recently selected and recognized by UConn Engineering Dean JC Zhao and UConn Tech Park Director and Eversource Energy Endowed Chair in Environmental Engineering Emmanouil Anagnostou.
“Professors Astitha and Beykal exemplify the spirit of innovation and impact we strive for in environmental and sustainability education,” said Anagnostou. “Their work not only advances scientific discovery but also inspires future engineers and environmental leaders. We are proud to recognize their achievements with these well-deserved professorships.”
Beykal is a process systems engineer implementing artificial intelligence and machine learning into devising strategies to address water and critical mineral shortages around the world. She is an assistant professor in the department of chemical and biomolecular engineering. According to Anagnostou, her service to her department and field is exemplary.
She has 30 peer-reviewed publications, 18 of which were published at UConn, 11 invited talks, and has raised over $2.5 million in extramural funding from a diverse set of federal agencies.
Beykal also contributes to her field by mentoring students. They have published 16 papers, presented 36 conference proceedings and received 14 different awards. She teaches process dynamics and control; applied machine learning in chemical engineering; and optimization.
She also manages the chemical and biomolecular department social media accounts, helped organize a symposia around clean energy at UConn, and created an AI tool which aims to make scientific papers more accessible to non-scientists. She has engaged with local high schools in mentoring students, and is a regular contributor to the annual WiSFIRE conference to promote women and underrepresented individuals in math and computer focused disciplines.
Astitha is an associate professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. She is an expert on atmospheric and weather modeling. Astitha integrates physics-based and AI models and is a major contributor to the UConn Outage Prediction Model.
She has published over 40 peer-reviewed articles, books and book chapters in high-impact journals. This research has attracted substantial external funding of $14.3 million from industry and federal agencies, of which $4 million is her share.
Astitha’s work has been cited over 2,000 times and she has an h-index of 20.
Anagnostou said she is deeply committed to educational innovation and student success, developing and teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in Environmental Engineering, excelling in teaching and has been recognized multiple times with multiple awards.
Her students, postdoctoral fellows, Ph.D., master’s and undergraduate students have gone on to prestigious positions at the United States EPA, NREL, and NOAA.
Finally, her professional service includes leadership roles in organizing conference sessions (American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting), serving as a member of two AMS Technical Committees, and serving as an Associate Editor, reviewer and editorial board member for top journals.
