About Vice Chancellor
Professor Shakil Ahmad Romshoo is a distinguished scientist, academic leader and the Vice-Chancellor of the Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST), Jammu and Kashmir. With nearly four decades of experience in research, higher education and institutional leadership, he has made significant contributions to hydrology, glaciology, climate change and geoinformatics, particularly in understanding the changing cryosphere of the Himalaya.
Prof. Romshoo earned his Ph.D. in Water Resources Engineering from the University of Tokyo, Japan, and an M.S. in Remote Sensing and GIS from the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand. His distinguished professional career includes appointments as a Scientist at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Tokyo, and a Fellow at The Energy and Resources Institute, New Delhi. Before assuming charge as Vice-Chancellor of IUST in 2021, he served as Dean Research and headed several academic departments at Kashmir University.
Prof. Romshoo has authored over 300 research publications in reputed peer-reviewed journals, books and conference proceedings. His scholarly work has received about 9,000 citations, with an h-index of 52 (October, 2026). He has supervised 30 Ph.D. scholars, contributing significantly to the development of scientific expertise in the region. His research on Himalayan cryosphere and climate change has advanced scientific understanding of the changing climate-cryosphere-water systems.
Prof. Romshoo has played a leading role in establishing major scientific research facilities including the CoE for Glacial Studies in the Western Himalaya and the National Ice-Core Laboratory at the University of Kashmir. As Principal Investigator of several extramural research projects, he has contributed to generating scientific evidence in the field of earth and environmental sciences relevant to policy formulation.
In recognition of his outstanding contributions to science, Prof. Romshoo was awarded the prestigious J. C. Bose Fellowship in 2025. He is an elected fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI), Indian Academy of Sciences (FASc), Indian Society of Remote Sensing (ISRS) and Indian Society of Geomatics (ISG). He has also been consistently recognized among the world's top 2% of scientists in the Stanford-Elsevier scientific rankings.
His scientific achievements have earned him more than a dozen prestigious national and international awards, including the J&K State Award for Meritorious Public Service (2025), Satish Dhawan Award (2019), National Geoscience Award (2013) conferred by the President of India, ISG President's Appreciation Medal (2015), Kashmir University’s Best Performer Award (2010) and Kasumigaura International Prize (2009), Japan.
As Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Romshoo has led a remarkable transformation of IUST through academic and research expansion, infrastructure development, institutional reforms and the promotion of innovation and entrepreneurship. Under his leadership, IUST has expanded its academic offerings from 41 to 80 programs, introduced emerging disciplines such as AI, Robotics, Data Science, cybersecurity, Geomatics etc. He has championed the implementation of the NEP 2020, including the innovative Design Your Own Degree initiative. His emphasis on entrepreneurship and industry-academia collaboration has contributed to the development of a vibrant innovation ecosystem supporting startups and incubatees. During his tenure, IUST also received the National Water Award 2025, recognizing its commitment to sustainability.
Born in Kashmir on April 13, 1964, Prof. Romshoo is married to Shaheena Kausar, who has a keen interest in plants and cooking. They are proud parents of two accomplished children: Baseerat, a Postdoctoral Fellow in Atmospheric Physics at TROPOS, Germany and Faisal, a Ph.D. scholar in Pure Mathematics at the University of Waterloo, Canada.
Beyond his academic and administrative responsibilities, Prof. Romshoo actively contributes to national and international scientific committees, professional societies and policy forums dealing with climate change, water security, environmental sustainability, disaster risk reduction and higher education reforms. Through his scientific leadership, institution-building initiatives and commitment to translating research into societal solutions, he continues to advance scientific excellence, innovation and sustainable development in the Himalayan region.
