Ayman Karim

Ayman Karim is a Professor and incoming Chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering at Virginia Tech, effective August 1, 2025. He holds a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Cairo University (2000), an M.S. (2003), and Ph.D. (2007) in Chemical Engineering from the University of New Mexico. Following postdoctoral work at the University of Delaware, he served as a Senior Scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (2008–2014) before joining Virginia Tech's faculty in 2014.

His research focuses on designing heterogeneous catalysts for energy and environmental applications, emphasizing controlled synthesis of isolated metal atoms and subnanometer clusters, reaction kinetics, and advanced in-situ/in-operando characterization. Current projects, funded by the NSF, DOE, and Army Research Office, aim to establish design rules for selective bond activation in catalytic systems.

Recognized for his contributions, Karim has received multiple awards, including the Sporn Award for undergraduate teaching excellence (2024). He co-leads the Synchrotron Catalysis Consortium (SCC) and serves on the editorial board of Journal of Energy Chemistry. With over 70 peer-reviewed publications (h-index 41), he has also delivered 40+ invited lectures and holds one patent.