Carolyn L. Beck

Carolyn L. Beck is a Professor and Associate Head for Undergraduate Programs in the Department of Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering at the University of Illinois. She holds affiliate roles in the Coordinated Science Laboratory, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Mechanical Science and Engineering. Her research focuses on control systems, network dynamics, and epidemic modeling, with applications to bioengineering and energy systems. She has held visiting positions at Stanford University and the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden.

Education: Ph.D. Electrical Engineering (Caltech), M.S. Electrical & Computer Engineering (Carnegie Mellon), B.S. Electrical & Computer Engineering (Cal Poly Pomona). Professional roles include President of the IEEE Control Systems Society (2025-2026), IEEE Fellow (2023), and multiple editorial roles in top journals like IEEE Transactions on Control of Network Systems.

Research interests span epidemic processes over networks, distributed optimization, and model reduction. Recent work emphasizes multi-virus dynamics, distributed grid optimization, and wind turbine control. Awards include the NSF CAREER Award and ONR Young Investigator recognition.

Teaching highlights include excellence ratings for courses like SE 524 (Data-Based Modeling) and ECE 528 (Nonlinear Systems Analysis). She advises students such as Puneet Sharma (AIMBE Fellow). Service roles include leadership in the University’s Senate Committee on Student Discipline and curriculum development in ISE departments.