Rate My Professor Vikram Kapoor

Vikram Kapoor is the Klesse Endowed Professor and Associate Professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Construction Management at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He earned his Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Cincinnati in 2014 and his B.Tech. in Biotechnology from Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, Noida, India, in 2010. His career includes serving as an ORISE Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Cincinnati, Ohio, from 2014 to 2016, Environmental Microbiologist at Pegasus Technical Services, Inc., from 2013 to 2014, and Graduate Research Assistant at the University of Cincinnati from 2010 to 2013. Since 2016, he has been a faculty member at UTSA, advancing from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor, and currently holds roles as Division Leader of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Undergraduate Advisor of Record.

Dr. Kapoor's research specializes at the cross-section of environmental microbiology, biotechnology, and environmental engineering, with focuses on water and wastewater treatment, stormwater management, microbial source tracking using novel indicators, and environmental public health impacts. Notable projects include tracking fecal pollution sources in the Edwards Aquifer, mobilization of microbial contaminants in Texas waterways post-Hurricane Harvey, and development of environmental tracers. His key publications encompass 'Real-Time Quantitative PCR Measurements of Fecal Indicator Bacteria and Human-Associated Source Tracking Markers in a Texas River following Hurricane Harvey' (Environmental Science & Technology Letters, 2018), 'Structural and functional interrogation of selected biological nitrogen removal systems in the United States, Denmark, and Singapore using shotgun metagenomics' (Frontiers in Microbiology, 2018), and 'Impact of Heavy Metals on Transcriptional and Physiological Activity of Nitrifying Bacteria' (Environmental Science & Technology, 2015). With over 1,373 citations on Google Scholar, his work demonstrates significant influence in the field. Major awards include the 2023 UTSA Research Achievement Award (Tenured, STEM category), 2025 UTSA Teaching Excellence Award (Tenured category), Gulf Research Program Early-Career Research Fellowship (2015-2020), inaugural Klesse Professorship, AAEES 40 Under 40 Recognition Program, ORISE Postdoctoral Fellowship (2014-2016), and NSF Travel Award (2018). He is a nominated member of the UNESCO Global Water Pathogen Project.