c). because it is being used in place of a person's name.
Explanation:
As per the rules of 'Capitalization,' the words used in the position of an individual's name must have their first letter in upper case. <u>Since 'Professor' in the given sentence is employed in the place of the professor's name, its first letter i.e. 'P' would be capitalized</u>. The authority doesn't have a play here as the letter would be capitalized irrespective of what the person is. The word 'Professor' is neither an abbreviation nor it is a general term to refer to someone. It would not be capitalized only when the name is used along with the rank. For example, 'Pardon me, professor Joseph...' Thus, <u>option c</u> is the correct
