About the Author

Dr. Vivek Utgikar is a professor of chemical engineering in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Idaho. He has also served as the director of the Nuclear Engineering program and the associate dean of Research and Graduate Education for the College of Engineering at the University of Idaho. Dr. Utgikar has an extensive teaching portfolio that includes a broad range of fundamental and advanced engineering courses such as transport phenomena, kinetics, thermodynamics, energy storage, electrochemical engineering, hydrogen, and spent nuclear fuel disposition/management. His research interests include advanced energy systems, nuclear fuel cycle, modeling of multiphase systems, and bioremediation. He was a National Research Council associate at the National Risk Management Research Laboratory of the US Environmental Protection Agency in Cincinnati, Ohio, prior to joining the University of Idaho. Dr. Utgikar is a registered professional engineer with process development, design, and engineering experience in the chemical industry and holds a PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Cincinnati. His other degrees include bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemical engineering from Mumbai University, India.