Vikas Khanna has been appointed chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering, effective Sept. 1, 2026.
Khanna has served as interim chair since July 1, 2025. During that time, he has met extensively with faculty, staff and students and engaged external partners to better understand the department’s strengths, needs and opportunities. Those conversations have informed his work to strengthen departmental operations and academic and faculty planning and to establish the CEE Honors and Awards Committee.
“Vikas has used his time as interim chair to listen carefully to faculty, staff, students and external partners, then turn what he heard into action,” said Michele V. Manuel, the U. S. Steel Dean of Engineering. “He understands the department, has strengthened its operations and planning, and has a clear sense of where CEE can grow in education, research and engagement.”
Khanna joined Pitt in 2010 and was promoted to professor in 2023. From 2017 to 2022, he served as CEE’s associate chair for graduate studies, leading graduate recruitment, admissions, orientation, academic requirements and program development. He has also chaired faculty searches and served on School and University committees. He earned his BE in chemical engineering from Punjab University and three graduate degrees from The Ohio State University: a master’s in applied statistics and a master’s and PhD in chemical engineering.
A scholar in sustainability science and engineering, Khanna uses systems analysis, life-cycle assessment, optimization and data-driven modeling to examine the environmental effects of emerging technologies and complex systems. His research addresses water and resource recovery, the circular economy, resilient infrastructure, and emerging energy and water technologies.
Khanna has published more than 75 peer-reviewed articles and served as principal investigator or co-principal investigator on nearly $10 million in externally supported collaborative research. Since 2017, he has served as an editor of Resources, Conservation and Recycling . He has held leadership roles within the American Institute of Chemical Engineers’ Sustainable Engineering Forum and participated in the National Academy of Engineering’s Frontiers of Engineering Education Symposium.
As chair, Khanna plans to build on the interdisciplinary nature of civil and environmental engineering. His priorities include integrating artificial intelligence more fully into the curricula and developing graduate pathways with public health and computing. He also plans to expand IRISE and its partnerships in resilient and intelligent infrastructure while strengthening research at the intersection of water, the environment and public health.
“Civil and environmental engineering shapes the systems people rely on every day,” Khanna said. “I look forward to working with our faculty, staff, students and partners to strengthen those systems through interdisciplinary education and research.”
The appointment follows a national search chaired by Sanjeev Shroff and conducted by a committee representing CEE faculty, staff and students, the Swanson School and the CEE Visiting Committee.
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