Mechanical Engineering professor to do COVID-19 vaccine outreach research

Mechanical Engineering Professor Dr. Raju Gottumukkala will lead a team of researchers to help Louisiana with analytics related to COVID-19 vaccination outreach and planning after receiving a $21.9 million grant from the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals.

The project will help the state tackle the pandemic through improving vaccination rates. Researchers are also from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s Computer Science and the Communications departments and the Informatics Research Institute.

Dr. Ramesh Kolluru, vice president for research, innovation, and economic development at the university, is the PI for the project. Dr. Henry Chu, executive director of Informatics Research Institute; Dr. Gottumukkala, and Do K Kim, the Richard D’Aquin BORS F Endowed Professor in the Communications Department, are the project's co-investigators.