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Beykal, Burcu

Eversource Energy Assistant Professor in Environmental & Sustainability Education

Postdoc, Data Analytics/Optimization, Texas A&M University (2021)
Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University (2020)
M.S., Chemical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University (2014)
B.S., Chemical & Biological Engineering, Koc University (2013)

Current Research

  • Process Systems Engineering
  • Machine Learning/AI
  • Data-driven Optimization
  • Supply Chain Optimization
  • Critical Minerals Extraction
  • Energy Systems Design
  • Data-driven Modeling of Environmental & Biological Systems
  • TEA/LCA

Professional Activities

Member: American Institute of Chemical Engineers
Member: Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences
Member: The Electrochemical Society

Awards & Honors

2026 Graduate Career Mentor of the Year, University of Connecticut
2023 ACS Petroleum Research Fund Doctoral New Investigator Award
2020 AIChE CAST Directors’ Award
2020 Outstanding Graduate Student Award, Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University
2019 MIT Rising Stars in Chemical Engineering

Student Awards

  • Amir Shahbazi, 2026 The Hartford Insurance Group Sustainability Fellowship
  • Evan Piotrowski, 2026 NASA Connecticut Space Grant Consortium Scholarship
  • Hasan Nikkhah, 2026 Summer Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship, Graduate School, University of Connecticut
  • Evan Piotrowski, 2026 Environmental & Social Sustainability Grant, Institute of the Environment and Energy, University of Connecticut
  • Hasan Nikkhah, 2025 GE Emergency Graduate Fellowship, College of Engineering, University of Connecticut
  • Zahir Aghayev, 2025 Research Excellence Award, Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, University of Connecticut
  • Hasan Nikkhah, 1st Place Poster Award, 2024 Foundations of Computer Aided Process Design (FOCAPD) Conference
  • Hasan Nikkhah, 2024 Research Excellence Award, Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, University of Connecticut
  • Amir Shahbazi, 2024 Graduate Teaching Assistant Award, Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, University of Connecticut
  • Benjamin G. Cohen, 3rd Place Presentation Award, 2024 University of Connecticut Center for Clean Energy Engineering Graduate Research Summit on Sustainability
  • Hasan Nikkhah, Honorable Mention, 2024 University of Connecticut Center for Clean Energy Engineering Graduate Research Summit on Sustainability 
  • Hasan Nikkhah & Dev Barochia, 2023 Eversource Energy Clean Energy & Sustainability Innovation Program Finalists
  • Hasan Nikkhah, 2023 Teaching Fellow, Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, University of Connecticut
  • Hasan Nikkhah, 2023 Graduate Teaching Assistant Award, Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, University of Connecticut
  • Benjamin G. Cohen, 1st Place Poster Award, 9th Annual School of Engineering Poster Competition, University of Connecticut
  • Zahir Aghayev, 2022 Predoctoral Travel Award, Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, University of Connecticut
  • Zahir Aghayev, 2022 Graduate Teaching Assistant Award, Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, University of Connecticut
  • Benjamin G. Cohen, 3rd Place Poster Award, University of Connecticut Center for Clean Energy Engineering Symposium
  • Benjamin G. Cohen, 2022 Graduate Teaching Assistant Award, Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, University of Connecticut 
  • Hasan Nikkhah, 2022 Graduate Teaching Assistant Award, Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, University of Connecticut 

Selected Publications

  1. Z Aghayev, D Voulanas, E Gildin, B Beykal. ORACLE: Online Reinforcement-driven Adaptive Constraint Learning Engine for Nonlinear Optimization, AIChE Journal, 2026, e70498.
  2. A Shahbazi, H Nikkhah, Z Aghayev, B Beykal. Hyperparameter Optimization of Non-linear Machine Learning Models Using Bi-level Data-Driven Optimization, Computers & Chemical Engineering, 2026, 211, 109671.
  3. H Nikkhah, Z Aghayev, A Shahbazi, VM Charitopoulos, S Avraamidou, B Beykal. Bi-level data-driven enterprise-wide optimization with mixed-integer nonlinear scheduling problems, Digital Chemical Engineering, 2025, 100218.
  4. Z Aghayev, D Voulanas, E Gildin, B Beykal. Surrogate-Assisted Optimization of Highly Constrained Oil Recovery Processes Using Classification-Based Constraint Modeling, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2025, 64, 15, 7751–7766.
  5. H Nikkhah, A Di Maria, G Granata, B Beykal. Sustainable process design for lithium recovery from geothermal brines using chemical precipitation, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 2025, 212, 107980.
  6. H Nikkhah, D Ipekci, W Xiang, Z Stoll, P Xu, B Li, JR McCutcheon, B Beykal. Challenges and opportunities of recovering lithium from seawater, produced water, geothermal brines, and salt lakes using conventional and emerging technologies, Chemical Engineering Journal, 2024, 498, 155349.
  7. BG Cohen, B Beykal, GM Bollas. Physics-informed genetic programming for discovery of partial differential equations from scarce and noisy data, Journal of Computational Physics, 2024, 514, 113261.
  8. H Nikkhah, B Beykal. Process Design and Technoeconomic Analysis for Zero Liquid Discharge Desalination via LiBr Absorption Chiller Integrated HDH-MEE-MVR System, Desalination, 2023, 116643.
Woman with dark shoulder-length hair and glasses wearing a navy blazer and light blue shirt, photographed against a plain gray background.
Email beykal@uconn.edu
Phone (860) 486-2756
Mailing Address 191 Auditorium Road, Unit 3222, Storrs, CT 06269-3222
Office Location PWEB 282
Link https://beykal.engr.uconn.edu/