Dr. Ahmad Jan Durrani is Vice Chancellor and Professor of Engineering at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Lahore, Pakistan since July 1, 2008. With research, teaching, and academic administration career spanning over 25 years, Dr. Durrani has served in various capacities at Rice University, Houston, Texas.  He was chair of the civil engineering department at Rice University for six years and served as associate dean of engineering for three years. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Founding Director of the Rice Global Forum on engineering and construction. He has extensively researched and published in the areas of earthquake resistant design of built infrastructure and seismic hazard mitigation. Before joining LUMS, he was chair of the Mayor of Houston’s Advisory Council on South Asia. In addition, he has served on a number of national level professional committees and panels on engineering research and higher education. He received his B.S. in civil engineering with Gold Medal from the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, M.S. in structural engineering from the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, PhD in structural engineering from the University of Michigan, and MBA from the University of Houston.