Rajan Batta
PhD
Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Recognition
SUNY Distinguished Professor
Research Topics
Operations research, production systems
Biography
Dr. Rajan Batta is a SUNY Distinguished Professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University at Buffalo. The SUNY Distinguished Professorship is the highest academic rank available in the SUNY system, conferred by a vote of the SUNY Board of Trustees. He has a Bachelor of Technology degree in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in operations research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Batta has made a major impact in the area of urban operations research, a branch of Operations Research (OR) concerned with logistical and planning applications impacting services such as emergency response, disaster logistics and national security.
He has received numerous prestigious awards including the Dr. David F. Baker Distinguished Research Award, the highest research award given by the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE). A Fellow of IIE, Batta is noted for his extensive scholarship in location and queuing theory, districting and routing, and as a national leader in the area of urban policing and public safety. He has been PI or co-PI on over $13 million of externally funded research and has served as department editor or editorial board member of four OR journals. He currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of Socio-Economic Planning Sciences.
Mentoring faculty members and doctoral students at UB has been and continues to be of significant interest to me. Several of my doctoral students are now faculty members at prestigious academic institutions worldwide and I have continued to mentor them professionally. Leveraging on this experience, I assist the dean with all aspects of faculty affairs, including promotion and tenure, hiring, mentoring, and awards/recognition."
Education
- Doctor of Philosophy in Operations Research (1984)
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts - Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering (1980)
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, India
Professional Society Fellow Designations
- Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences, 2022
Citation: For advanced theoretical research and use-inspired models for addressing location, layout, security, and HAZMAT transport problems; and for sustained outstanding academic education and leadership. - Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers, 2006
This designation recognizes outstanding leaders of the profession who have made significant, nationally recognized contributions to industrial and systems engineering.