Esra Buyuktahtakin, an assistant professor of industrial and manufacturing engineering at Wichita State University, has been awarded a $500,000 Career Award from the National Science Foundation.

It is the highest honor granted to junior faculty.

NSF’s Faculty Early Career Development Program awards grants to support junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through their research, high-quality education and the integration of education and research.

Buyuktahtakin received the five-year award for her project "Career: Dynamic Invasive Species Control Optimization Via Integrated Education and Research (DISCOVER)." The goal of the research is to provide models that inform public policy decisions regarding management of resources to protect ecological systems from invasive species. The research involves mathematical modeling, optimization, game theory and uncertainty management.

“Dr. Buyuktahtakin is a top-flight educator and researcher,” said Royce Bowden, dean of WSU’s College of Engineering. “Her important research will impact the education of our students and aid public policymakers in important ways. We are honored to have her on our faculty.”

Krishna Krishnan, chairman of WSU’s Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering Department, said he’s proud of the work being produced by Buyuktahtakin and the other young engineering faculty at Wichita State.

“Dr. Buyuktahtakin’s work on invasive species is critical not only to Kansas, but also globally in maintaining healthy environments for future generations,” he said. 

Continuing research

This is the second award in the past three years for IME and the third overall for the College of Engineering.

In 2014, Pingfeng Wang, assistant professor in industrial engineering and manufacturing, won a $400,000 award for his investigation, “Designing Engineering Systems for Resilience and Sustainability by Considering Post-design Retrofits.”

The research applies to how to prevent failure of engineering systems and products, such as airplanes and wind turbines, through repairs and upgrades that ensure sustainability.

Also in 2014, Animesh Chakravarthy, assistant professor in aerospace and electrical engineering and computer science, received a $400,000 Career award for his investigation, “Generalizations in Obstacle Avoidance Theory.”

The research is intended to allow ground and underwater autonomous vehicles (drones) to navigate in swarms without colliding with one another.