Batta Named Acting Dean of UB Engineering

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Rajan Batta, associate dean for graduate studies in the University at Buffalo School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), has been named acting dean of the school by Harvey G. Stenger Jr., interim provost and vice president for academic affairs.

The appointment of Batta, professor of industrial and systems engineering, is effective April 25.

He succeeds Stenger, who was named interim provost on April 11 after serving as dean of UB Engineering for nearly five years.

"Rajan has been a leader in SEAS for many years -- as chair of the industrial and systems engineering department and more recently as associate dean," Stenger said. "I am quite confident that he will maintain the momentum of the school and look for ways to accelerate its advancement."

A UB faculty member since 1984, Batta served as chair of the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering for nine years. Following his term as chair, he was director of graduate studies in the department for two years. He was named associate dean for graduate studies in 2006.

Batta uses industrial engineering techniques, such as operations research, to develop and analyze mathematical models of systems critical to society. His research areas range from transportation planning and analysis of urban crime patterns to military logistics, telecommunications and homeland defense.

He has a sustained record of funding from federal agencies, such as the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Justice; local government, including the City of Buffalo; and private industry, including Boeing, United Airlines and Lockheed-Martin.

He has authored or co-authored nearly 100 publications in the top journals in his field, and serves on the editorial boards of Computers and Operations Research, the International Journal of Operational Research, the Journal of Enterprise Transformation and Socio-Economic Planning Sciences. He is a department editor for IIE Transactions.

Batta is the recipient of numerous awards, among them the David F. Baker Distinguished Research Award from the Institute of Industrial Engineers, the institute's highest research award; the SUNY Research Foundation Award for Research and Scholarship, the Research Foundation's highest award; a SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching; the Best Paper Award from the journal Military Operations Research; and a Sustained Achievement Award from UB.

He was elected a fellow of the Institute of Industrial Engineers in 2006.

Batta graduated from the India Institute of Technology in New Delhi and earned a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.