Vishal Agarwal

Vishal Agarwal is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur). His research focuses on developing molecular-level understanding of complex systems in catalysis, biomass conversion, and nucleation processes.

Dr. Agarwal received his PhD from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2012, followed by postdoctoral research at the University of California Santa Barbara from 2012-2016. He also holds an M.Tech from IIT Bombay (2006) and a B.Tech from Panjab University (2003).

His research interests span Catalysis, Biofuels, Nucleation, Gas-Surface and Liquid-Surface Interactions, Molecular Simulation, Ab initio Molecular Dynamics, Density Functional Theory, Rare-Event Simulations, and Reaction Rate Theory. Dr. Agarwal's work primarily employs computational methods to investigate atomic-level processes that govern molecular transformations in various chemical systems.

Analysis of his publication record shows a strong focus on computational chemistry applied to catalysis and materials science, particularly in the areas of zeolite chemistry, cellulose pyrolysis, and oxygen vacancy formation in metal oxides. His work bridges theoretical computational methods with practical applications in energy and materials.

• Research on cellulose decomposition highlighted in BioBased Digest and North American Clean Energy
• RG Madhudhane M. Tech. Best Masters Research Thesis Award, IITB, 2006
• 1st Prize in Technical Paper Presentation, Eureka-2002, PU, 2002

Dr. Agarwal has mentored several graduate students and has been involved in significant research projects related to computational chemistry and materials design. His laboratory at IIT Kanpur focuses on developing and applying advanced computational methods to understand complex chemical processes at the molecular level.

The research group maintains active collaborations with institutions worldwide and has made notable contributions to the understanding of catalytic processes, biomass conversion mechanisms, and nucleation phenomena.