Carolyn L Beck is a Professor in the Department of Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign . She holds affiliations with multiple departments, including Electrical and Computer Engineering (since 2014) and Mechanical Science and Engineering (since 1999). Beck is also a Research Professor at the Coordinated Science Laboratory (since 2019) and has served as Associate Head for Undergraduate Programs since 2020. Education : Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from California Institute of Technology M.S. in Electrical & Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University B.S. in Electrical & Computer Engineering with a Physics minor from California State Polytechnic University Research Interests focus on control and optimization , epidemic processes over networks , network inference , and dynamic network data clustering . Her work spans mathematical systems theory to real-world applications in bioengineering and smart grid optimization . Article Trends show a progression from system identification and network inference to complex epidemic modeling over time-varying networks and grid optimization. Recent works emphasize finite-sample analysis , distributed subgradient methods , and multi-layer contagion dynamics , reflecting her expertise in control theory and network science . Scientific Awards : IEEE Fellow (2023) Arthur Davis Faculty Scholar Award (2016) ONR Young Investigator Award (2001-2004) NSF CAREER Award (1998-2003) ORAU Junior Faculty Award (1997) Alcoa Foundation Award (1997) Advising and Grants include mentoring former PhD students like Puneet Sharma (AIMBE Fellow) and Philip Pare' (Purdue ECE) . Her research has been funded by the NSF , ONR , and IEEE , with a $500,000 grant for wind turbine efficiency. Labs and Teams : Beck is affiliated with the Coordinated Science Laboratory and collaborates with interdisciplinary teams in bioengineering , network control , and grid optimization . She also contributes to IEEE as a Guest Editor and Associate Editor .









