Ayman Karim

Ayman Karim is the Olsen Bicentennial Professor and Chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Virginia. With an accomplished background in catalysis, Karim’s research focuses on designing heterogeneous catalysts for energy and environmental applications, using controlled synthesis, detailed kinetics measurements, and advanced in-situ and in-operando characterization techniques. His group has made significant advances in understanding the active site's structure of isolated atoms and subnanometer clusters and their reaction kinetics. 

Karim earned his Bachelor of Science in biomedical engineering from Cairo University in Egypt. He then moved to the U.S. and received his doctoral degree in chemical engineering from the University of New Mexico. This was followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Delaware in the Department of Chemical Engineering and a role as senior scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory from 2008-2014. Karim then served on the Chemical Engineering Faculty of Virginia Tech from 2014 to 2025.  

Karim has received numerous accolades and awards, including the 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award and the Virginia Tech Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science Junior Faculty Award, both in 2015; recognition in the 2021 Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research Class of Influential Researchers; and the Virginia Tech College of Engineering Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research in 2022.  

In 2024, Karim received the Virginia Tech College of Engineering Sporn Award, a student-led award which recognizes a member of the engineering faculty for demonstrated excellence in undergraduate instruction. The winner of this award is selected annually by students across all engineering departments through a nomination and voting process.