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. Ashutosh Sharma
(1st January 2022 till the date of superannuation)
Prof. Ashutosh Sharma from the Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Kanpur, has research interest in 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). 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).
Prof. V.K.Singh
(Sep. 2024 - Sep. 2029)
Prof. V. K. Singh from the Department of Chemistry IIT Kanpur, has research interests in 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 and The World Academy of Sciences. He completed his Ph.D. in 1986 from M. S. University, Baroda, India.