Professor Whitt joined Columbia University’s IEOR Department in 2002, after spending 25 years in research at AT&T, first at Bell Labs and then at AT&T Labs, where he was a technology leader and an AT&T fellow. At Columbia, Professor Whitt teaches courses on stochastic processes and their applications. Professor Whitt’s research interests include stochastic processes, stochastic-process limits, queues, numerical transform inversion, telecommunication applications, and customer contact centers. He has over 250 research publications. In 1996 he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering.