Aug 14: Prof Dr Bivek Baral has been appointed as the Vice Chancellor of Kathmandu University (KU). Prime Minister and University Chancellor Balendra Shah made the appointment upon the recommendation of the Vice Chancellor Selection and Recommendation Committee.

A selection committee led by Education Minister and Pro-Chancellor Sasmit Pokharel had invited applications for the position. Thirty-five candidates applied, of whom 10 were shortlisted. After evaluating their work plans and vision statements, the committee interviewed the shortlisted candidates and recommended three names, including Baral, for appointment.

Dr Baral is the Professor at Mechanical Engineering Department of Kathmandu University itself. Importantly, he is the first person to have studied at Kathmandu University and been able to reach the highest position, Vice Chancellor.  Dr Baral was the university's second batch of engineering. He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Kathmandu University, a Master's degree from Tokyo University in Japan, and a PhD from Auckland University, New Zealand.

Baral’s areas of expertise include fuel and energy, combustion science and environmental pollution, thermo-fluid engineering, and computational fluid dynamics. He rose through the ranks from assistant professor and associate professor to professor.