Vikram Kapila received a B.Tech. degree in Production Engineering and Management from Regional Engineering College, Calicut, India, in 1988, an M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Florida Tech. in March 1993, and a Ph.D. degree from Georgia Tech. in March 1996. From September 1991 to December 1993 he was a Graduate Teaching Assistant with the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Florida Tech. From January 1994 to January 1996 he was a Research Assistant in the School of Aerospace Engineering at Georgia Tech. From January 1996 to August 1996 he performed research at Georgia Tech as a Research Scholar where he also served as a Teaching Assistant and as an Adjunct Faculty.
In September 1996, Dr. Kapila joined Polytechnic University, (now known as NYU Tandon School of Engineering) as a tenure-track Assistant Professor. He is currently a tenured Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at NYU Tandon where he directs a Mechatronics, Controls, and Robotics Laboratory. He is the Founding Director of the NYU Tandon PhD Hub. He has held visiting positions with the Air Force Research Laboratories in Dayton, OH. His current research is focused at the convergence of frontier technologies (e.g., robotics, artificial intelligence, augmented/virtual reality, and blockchain) with applications to natural and intuitive human-robot interaction, digital health, and STEM education.
Under the Research Experience for Teachers Site, GK-12 Fellows, DR K-12, and ITEST projects, all funded by NSF, and the Central Brooklyn STEM Initiative, funded by six philanthropic foundations, he has conducted significant K-12 education, training, mentoring, and outreach activities that have engaged over 500 teachers to integrate engineering concepts in science and math classrooms and science labs of dozens of New York City public schools, impacting over 16,000 students. His STEM education research, conducted as a collaborative partnership involving engineering and education faculty, postgraduate and graduate researchers, and K-12 educators, has: (1) created, implemented, and examined over 100 standards-aligned robotics-based science and math lessons and (2) developed, practiced, and examined research-guided pedagogical approaches for science and math learning using robotics. His activities have received broad coverage in major media outlets, including television and newspapers (Wall Street Journal, New York Daily News, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, News12 TV, ABC, etc.).
He received NYU Tandon’s 2002, 2008, 2011, and 2014 Jacobs Excellence in Education Award, 2002 Jacobs Innovation Grant, 2003 Distinguished Teacher Award, and 2012 Inaugural Distinguished Award for Excellence in the category Inspiration through Leadership. Moreover, he is a recipient of 2014-2015 University Distinguished Teaching Award at NYU. In 2004, he was selected for a three-year term as a Senior Faculty Fellow of Polytechnic University’s Othmer Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies. In 2011, his GK-12 project received the “Outstanding Project Award for Efforts in Sustainability and Media,” from NSF’s GK-12 Fellows Program. In November 2003, he was inducted as an eminent engineer in Tau Beta Pi, The Engineering Honor Society, upon invitation from student members of Polytechnic University’s chapter, the NY Rho.
His scholarly activities have included one co-authored book, three edited books, 11 chapters in edited books, one book review, 69 journal articles, and 181 conference papers. He has mentored seven research associates; one B.S., 73 M.S., and 13 Ph.D. students; 69 undergraduate research students and 11 undergraduate senior design project teams; over 500 K-12 teachers and 130 high school student researchers; and 18 undergraduate GK-12 Fellows and 59 graduate GK-12 Fellows.