Prof. Vijay Vittal received his master's degree in Electrical Engineering from IIT Kanpur in 1979, and subsequently went on to earn his PhD in Electrical Engineering as well from Iowa State University in 1982. He currently serves as the Regents Professor at Arizona State University. He is also Ira A. Fulton Chair Professor and ASU Foundation Professor in Electric Power Systems at Arizona State University. Prior to ASU, Prof. Vittal was an Anson Marston Distinguished Professor at the Iowa State University, Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. In addition, he has also served as a Murray and Ruth Harpole Professor and director of the university's Electric Power Research Center and site director of the National Science Foundation IUCRC Power System Engineering Research Center (PSERC). He has also served as the program director for power systems for the National Science Foundation Division of Electrical and Communication Systems in Washington, D.C., from 1993 to 1994. He was the Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Power Systems from 2005 to 2011. He served as the Director of PSERC from July 2005-October 2020.

Prof.Vittal was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Engineering in 2004.1n 2018, he received the IEEE Power and Energy Society Prabha. S. Kundur Power System Dynamics and Control Award and the Utility Variable-Generation Integration Group Achievement Award. In 2013, he was awarded the IEEE Herman Halperin Transmission and Distribution Technical Field Award. He also received the IEEE Power and Energy Society (PES) Outstanding Power Engineering Educator Award in 2000. He was elected an IEEE Fellow in 1997 and also was awarded the U.S.National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award in 1985.

Honoring his stellar contributions to the world of academia in the field of Electrical Engineering, IIT Kanpur confers upon Prof. Vijay Vittal the Distinguished Alumnus Award of 202l.