Karen L Butler-Purry

Karen Butler-Purry is a professor of electrical and computer engineering.

She received her B.S. (summa cum laude) in Electrical Engineering in 1985 from Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She was awarded her M.S. degree in 1987 from the University of Texas at Austin and her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering in 1994 from Howard University in Washington, D.C. During her more than 20 years at Texas A&M University, Karen has served at all faculty levels, beginning with an initial appointment as visiting assistant professor of electrical engineering in 1994.

Her research interests are in the areas of computer and intelligent systems application to power distribution systems, distribution automation and management, fault diagnosis, estimation of remaining life of transformers, intelligent reconfiguration, system modeling and simulation for hybrid vehicles, and engineering education. She developed a successful research program securing over $4,000,000 in research funding as a principal investigator, and supervised and funded over 40 graduate and 65 undergraduate research students. She received the National Science Foundation Faculty Career Award (1995) and the Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award (1999). Also she secured over $10,000,000 in fellowship or education program funding and directed several of these programs that target recruitment, retention and advancement of pre-college, college, and graduate students in STEM fields.

She was Assistant Dean for Graduate Programs in the College of Engineering from 2001-2004 and Associate Department Head in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department from 2008-2010. In addition she has served in many capacities on committees for the college, university, and professional societies.

She has received numerous awards in including the 2005 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Mentor Award for efforts to mentor students from underrepresented groups and for leadership in promoting PhD careers for them in electrical engineering and computer sciences.

Dr. Butler-Purry is a member of the Power Engineering Society, the American Society for Engineering Education, and the Louisiana Engineering Society. She is a registered professional engineer in the states of Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi.