Mukherjee receives Society for Risk Analysis Distinguished Young Risk Analyst Award

BUFFALO, N.Y. – University at Buffalo researcher Sayanti Mukherjee has been named the recipient of the 2025 Chauncey Starr Distinguished Young Risk Analyst Award by the Society for Risk Analysis (SRA). 

SRA is a multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, scholarly, international society established in 1980 that provides an open forum for all those interested in risk analysis.

It presents the Chauncey Starr Distinguished Young Risk Analyst Award to one of its members age 40 or younger for outstanding achievement in science or public policy relating to risk analysis, while demonstrating exceptional promise for continued contributions to the field.

Mukherjee, PhD, an assistant professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, part of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, was one of 10 members recognized at SRA’s annual award ceremony, held on Dec. 9 in Washington, D.C. Recipients were selected by a committee of past SRA presidents and approved by the SRA Council.

“I am truly humbled and honored to have received the Chauncey Starr Distinguished Young Risk Analyst Award. This recognition holds special meaning for me because it celebrates the spirit of rigorous, creative, and socially engaged risk research that has shaped my work,” said Mukherjee.

She added: “I am deeply grateful to all my mentors, collaborators, students, and colleagues who have challenged my thinking, expanded my horizons, and made this journey intellectually rich and personally fulfilling.”

Mukherjee’s research advances the field of risk science by integrating operations research and artificial intelligence to develop data-driven, risk-informed decision models to strengthen the resilience of critical infrastructure systems in the face of natural hazards and climate-driven disruptions, with applications spanning disaster risk management, electric power and energy systems, and climate change impact assessment.

The overarching mission of her research, she said, is to improve how complex, multi-hazard risks to infrastructure and communities are systematically assessed, characterized, communicated, and governed. By bridging theoretical advances in risk analysis with practical implementation, her work supports equitable, adaptive and robust infrastructure planning and policy decisions under deep uncertainty.

She has authored over 60 peer-reviewed journal and conference articles, and her research has been highlighted by primary news sources across the country, including CBS News and The Los Angeles Times.

In addition to her role in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Mukherjee is an affiliate faculty member of UB’s Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, and she serves as an adjunct assistant professor in UB’s Department of Electrical Engineering.

Mukherjee’s other achievements include: the 2025 Department of Energy American-made Science Synthesis Prize winner; the 2025 UB’s Pillars of Leadership Exemplary Mentorship Award for mid-level Faculty; the 2021 Outstanding Young Investigator Award from the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineering (IISE) Energy Systems Division; and the 2019 Best Paper Award Winner from the Risk Analysis Journal.