Introduction
Dr. Kumar Vikrant is an Assistant Professor in the College of Engineering and Computer Science. He previously served for three years as a Research Assistant Professor (Research Faculty) in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. He earned his Bachelor of Technology (Hons.) in Chemical Engineering and Technology from the Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University), Varanasi, India, and his doctorate from Hanyang University, where he worked in the “Air Quality and Materials Application Lab” under the guidance of Prof. Ki-Hyun Kim. Dr. Vikrant’s research focuses on applying advanced functional materials to air pollution control technologies, particularly through adsorption and heterogeneous catalysis (thermo-, photo-, and photo-thermal). His work involves metal–organic frameworks, supported noble metal catalysts, metal oxides, and their composites, with applications in environmental remediation and sustainable energy. He serves on the advisory board of Environmental Advances (Elsevier) and the editorial board of Atmosphere (MDPI). Since 2021, he has been consistently listed among the world’s top 2% of scientists in Earth and Environmental Sciences and Chemical Engineering, according to data released by Elsevier.
https://scholar.google.co.in/citations?hl=en&user=Q1ZySdEAAAAJ
Employment
VinUniversity, Vietnam Hanoi, September 2025 - Present
▪ Assistant Professor. College of Engineering and Computer Science.
Hanyang University, Republic of Korea Seoul, September 2022 - August 2025
▪ Research Assistant Professor (Research Faculty). Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Education
Hanyang University, Republic of Korea Seoul, Class of 2022
▪ Integrated Ph.D. program in Civil and Environmental Engineering (CGPA: 4/4)
▪ Thesis: Application of Advanced Functional Materials for Indoor Air Purification: Interplay Between Adsorption and Catalysis.
Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University), India Varanasi, Class of 2018
▪ B. Tech. (Hons.) in Chemical Engineering and Technology (CGPA: 8.35/10)
Shivam International School, India Phulwaria, Class of 2013
▪ All India Senior School Certificate Examination (Percentage: 92.6%)
Loyola High School, India Patna, Class of 2011
▪ All India Secondary School Examination (CGPA: 9.8/10)
Teaching Experience
Environmental Technology. Spring 2023. Graduate School, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Course Details: Introduction to environmental risk assessment, pollution, adsorption processes (isotherms), reaction and adsorption kinetics, chemical reaction engineering, catalytic processes, and carbon dioxide conversion.
Air Pollution Control Engineering. Fall 2023. Graduate School, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Course Details: Introduction to air pollution (types, sources, and effects), fundamentals and design considerations for fabric filtration, cyclones, electrostatic precipitation, condensation, biofiltration, adsorption, thermocatalysis, and photocatalysis.
Environmental Statistics. Spring 2024. Graduate School, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Course Details: Probability, standard normal distribution, empirical rule, Z-statistics, population proportions, confidence intervals, margin of error, hypothesis testing, t-statistics, significance levels, one- and two-tailed tests, P-values, correlation coefficients, covariance formula, and linear regression.
Functional Adsorption and Catalysis Materials. Fall 2024. Graduate School, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Course Details: Fundamentals of nanomaterials, Surface science and engineering, Adsorption processes (breakthrough curves, kinetics, isotherms, and thermodynamics), Catalytic processes (kinetics, thermodynamics, and surface phenomena), and Fundamentals of chemical reaction engineering.
Environmental Analysis. Spring 2025. Graduate School, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Course Details: Principles of environmental chemical analysis, Wet chemistry and titrimetric methods, Instrumental techniques for contaminant analysis (spectroscopy and chromatography), Chemical reactions for environmental monitoring, and Quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC).
Professional Research Experience
· VinUniversity, Vietnam Hanoi, September 2025 - Present
ROLE: Assistant professor at the College of Engineering and Computer Science.
PROJECT: An interdisciplinary research program centered on the development and application of advanced functional materials for air quality management. The core objective is the catalytic (thermo-, photo-, and photothermocatalysis) removal of various gaseous pollutants, such as volatile organic compounds.
· Hanyang University, Republic of Korea Seoul, September 2022 - August 2025
ROLE: Research assistant professor (research faculty) at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Affiliated with the ‘air quality and materials application lab’ with distinguished Prof. Ki-Hyun Kim.
PROJECT: Development and application of advanced functional materials towards air quality management via adsorption and catalysis – (i) Interdisciplinary research with a specific focus on volatile organic compound oxidation reaction using thermo- and photocatalysis. (ii) Adsorption of gaseous pollutants using commercial and advanced functional materials.
· Hanyang University, Republic of Korea Seoul, August 2018 - August 2022
ROLE: Integrated Ph.D. student in the ‘air quality and materials application lab’ under the supervision of distinguished Prof. Ki-Hyun Kim (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering).
PROJECT: Development and application of advanced functional materials towards air quality management via adsorption and catalysis – Interdisciplinary research with a specific focus on air quality management and application of advanced functional materials for the analysis and control of environmental pollution.
· Hanyang University, Republic of Korea Seoul, May 2017 – July 2017
ROLE: Research assistant/visiting intern in the ‘air quality and materials application lab’ under the supervision of distinguished Prof. Ki-Hyun Kim (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering).
PROJECT: Applied analytical chemistry – Analysis of gaseous ammonia storage stability in polyester aluminum bags. Literature study associated with the adsorption performances of various metal-organic frameworks against gaseous ammonia.
· Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University), India Varanasi, June 2015 – June 2018
ROLE: Research assistant under the supervision of Prof. Ram Sharan Singh and Dr. Balendu Shekher Giri (Department of Chemical Engineering and Technology).
PROJECT: Application of biotechnology towards the removal of environmental pollutants from gaseous and aqueous matrices – Performance evaluation of various bacterial strains towards the biodegradation of methylene blue dye and gaseous toluene. Utilization of various biochars for the adsorptive removal of patent blue (V), methylene blue, and Congo red dyes from aqueous solutions.
Personal Details
Date of Birth: 13th July’1995
Nationality: Indian
Gender: Male
Languages: English and Hindi
References
Prof. Ki-Hyun Kim (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea). kkim61@hanyang.ac.kr.
Prof. Philippe M. Heynderickx (Director of Education and the Director of Centre for Green Chemistry and Environmental Biotechnology (GREAT), Department of Molecular Biotechnology, Environmental Technology, and Food Technology, Ghent University Global Campus (GUGC), Incheon, Republic of Korea). philippe.heynderickx@ghent.ac.kr.
Prof. Seunghyun Weon (School of Health and Environmental Science, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea). s_weon@korea.ac.kr.
Prof. Eilhann E. Kwon (Department of Earth Resources and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea). ek2148@hanyang.ac.kr.