Dr. Vahid Taghikhani is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Physics and Engineering at the University of St. Thomas (UST) in Houston, Texas. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Rice University, Houston. 

Dr. Taghikhani has actively collaborated with the oil and gas industry for over 25 years, spanning both upstream and downstream sectors. This extensive experience has enabled him to build strong connections between academia and industry. He has led numerous applied and research-oriented projects in the petroleum sector, contributing to innovation and practical advancements in the field. 

He holds a Ph.D., M.Sc., and B.Sc., all in Chemical Engineering. He is an active member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and serves as a professional mentor for the AIChE South Texas Local Section. He has received several awards and fellowships, including the IDB Merit Scholarship in Research and Technology (2007) and the Exploratory Scientific Research Visit (ESRV) awards from the British Council (2004, 2005, and 2006). 

Dr. Taghikhani has conducted research at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and at the Center for Hydrate Research at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado. He has authored more than 140 peer-reviewed journal articles and technical reports in the areas of applied thermodynamics, flow assurance, production optimization, IOR/EOR, and energy systems, and has presented his work at numerous international conferences. 

His research interests include energy transition, polymer hydrogels and their applications in IOR/EOR, and hydrogen production and storage. Throughout his academic career, he has mentored more than 60 students at various levels, contributing to the development of the next generation of scientists and engineers. 

Ph.D. Chemical Engineering – Amirkabir University of Technology (1998) (Collaborative research with McGill University, Canada) 

B.Sc. Chemical Engineering – Amirkabir University of Technology (1993) 

Selected Publications: 

Saghandali, F., Salehi, M. B., Saghandali, F., & Taghikhani, V. (2025). Enhancing P (AM-co-AA) hydrogel performance: Dual crosslinking effects on structural strength, thermal stability, swelling capacity, and rheological behavior for effective sand production control in oil reservoirs. Petroleum.

Bastami, D., Shahrabadi, A., Naderi, H., Taghikhani, V., & Taheri-Shakib, J. (2025). Molecular level characterization of interactions between asphaltene and solid surface for forecasting changes in wettability. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 28394.

Harighi, H., Salehi, M. B., Taghikhani, V., & Mirzaei, M. (2024). Optimizing environmentally-friendly oil recovery: synergies of imidazolium-based ionic liquids and carboxymethylcellulose hydrogels. Journal of Molecular Liquids, 415, 126320.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molliq.2024.126320. 

Moosazadeh, A.Mansourimarand, Sh. Ajori, V.Taghikhani, ChangKyoo Yoo,” Waste-to-Ammonia: A sustainable pathway for energy transition”, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Volume 208, February 2025, 115012https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2024.115012.

Pahlevani, H., Baghban Salehi, M., Saghandali, F., Moghanloo, R. G., & Taghikhani, V. (2024). Profile control and oil displacement in high temperature and salinity reservoirs: Evaluation of deformable microgel system. Polymers for Advanced Technologies, 35(8), e6530.

Saghandali, F., Salehi, M. B., Pahlevani, H., Taghikhani, V., Riahi, S., Ebrahimi, M., … & Roomi, A. (2024). Fabrication of a hydrogel reinforced with titanium nanoparticles to reduce fine migration and remediation of formation damage during low-salinity waterflooding. Geoenergy Science and Engineering, 241, 213173.

Moosazadeh, M., Ajori, S., Taghikhani, V., Moghanloo, R. G., & Yoo, C. (2024). Sustainable hydrogen production from flare gas and produced water: A United States case study. Energy, 306, 132435.

Moosazadeh, M., Charmchi, A. S. T., Ifaei, P., Taghikhani, V., Moghanloo, R. G., & Yoo, C. (2024). Flare-to-hydrogen in oil and gas industries: Techno-economic feasibility of a net-negative alternative. Energy Conversion and Management, 300, 117926.

Aghaei, S., Saghandali, F., Salehi, M. B., Mokhtarani, B., Taghikhani, V., & Saviz, S. (2023). A micromodel investigation on the flooding of glycolipid biosurfactants for enhanced oil recovery. Geoenergy Science and Engineering, 230, 212219.

Saghandali, F., Salehi, M. B., & Taghikhani, V. (2023). Design and fabrication of a preformed thixotropic-viscoelastic nanocomposite hydrogel system (PNCH) for controlling sand production in reservoirs. Results in Engineering, 18, 101089.

Saghandali, M. B. Salehi, V. Taghikhani, “Improved oil recovery by 3D hydrogel composite reinforced with natural bentonite nanoparticles” IPJ.,https://doi.org/10.1007/s13726-023-01212-6.

Salehzadeh, M., Husein, M. M., Ghotbi, C., Dabir, B., & Taghikhani, V. (2022). In-depth characterization of light, medium and heavy oil asphaltenes as well as asphaltenes subfractions. Fuel, 324, 124525.