Institute Chair Professor

Institute Chair Professor was instituted by IIT Kanpur to continuously promote academic excellence within the Institute by recognizing the outstanding contributions of senior faculty members, while also attracting distinguished individuals from industry and policymaking to enrich the academic and intellectual ecosystem




Current Occupant


Prof. V.K.Singh

Sep 2024- Sep 2029

Prof. V.K.Singh from the Department of Chemistry, research interests include the Synthetic Organic Chemistry area, specifically asymmetric synthesis.

He has been honoured with some of the highest recognitions in science and technology, including the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize (2004) and the Padma Shri (2014). He is also a Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy (FNA) and The World Academy of Sciences (FTWAS).He completed his Ph.D. in 1986 from M.S. University ,Baroda,India.



Prof. Ashutosh Sharma

1st January 2022 till the date of superannuation

Prof. Ashutosh Sharma from the Department of Chemical Engineering, his research interest includes Nanofabrication and patterning; Colloids & interfaces; Functional and nano-materials; Self-organized patterns and instabilities in thin films; electrospun materials; Wetting, adhesion and friction at soft interfaces; Biomaterials & biosurfaces; Multiscale MEMS/NEMS & Microfluidic Systems; Carbon micro/nanostructures and composites in environment, health and energy.

He has received several prestigious honours, including the Padma Shri (2025), the Infosys Prize in Engineering and Computer Science (2010), and the Syed Husain Zaheer Medal from the Indian National Science Academy (2011). He is also a Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) and currently serves as Associate Editor of ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (since 2014).He holds a Ph.D. in Engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo (1987), an M.S. from Penn State University (1984), and a B.Tech from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (1982).