Tanju Karanfil, PhD

Tanju Karanfil was appointed vice president for research at Clemson University in February 2016 to steer the university’s research strategy, working closely with faculty and staff at Clemson and with collaborators in industry and the community. Clemson joined the list of the nation’s top research universities as a Carnegie R1 university in 2016, a reflection of its growth in research expenditures across disciplines and increases to the number of doctorate degrees awarded and postdoctoral and non-faculty researchers on staff. Clemson’s performance across all of Carnegie’s metrics have improved under Dr. Karanfil’s leadership since receiving the R1 designation. Total research and development expenditures, for example, are at their highest levels of at least the past seven years at $219 million in 2019. In addition to serving as Vice President for Research, Dr. Karanfil serves and represents Clemson University on several boards and committees, including SC Smart-State, SC EPSCoR, SCRA, Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA), and Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU). A licensed Professional Engineer and Fellow of the International Water Association, Dr. Karanfil currently maintains an active research portfolio, focusing on water quality and improvements to water, wastewater and hazardous waste treatment systems, and serves as a consultant to water and wastewater utilities. He is also the Associate Editor of Water Research, one of the leading international journals on water science and technology. Before becoming Vice President for Research, Dr. Karanfil served as chair of the environmental engineering and Earth sciences department and later as associate dean for research and graduate studies.