Professor Khakhar did his B.Tech. from IIT Delhi in 1981 and his Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1986. He joined the Department of Chemical Engineering at IIT Bombay in January 1987, and has been with the institute since then. Prof. Khakhar's research interests include mechanics of granular materials and polymer processing. He has published over 100 papers in these areas. For his research achievements, Prof. Khakhar has been accorded several prestigious awards, which include the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize (1997) and the Swarnajayanti Fellowship (1998).

Prof. Khakhar is also a recipient of IIT Bombay's "Excellence in Teaching Award" and the "Mathur Award for Research Excellence". He is a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering, the Indian National Science Academy, the Indian Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences, India. He serves on the Science Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India (SAC-PM), Scientific Advisory Committee of the Cabinet (SAC-C), Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) and Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB). He serves as the Executive Editor of the journal “Advanced Powder Technology”. He is an independent Director on the Boards of Indian Oil Corporation and Antrix Corporation.

Prof. Khakhar has served as Professor-in-Charge of IIT Bombay's Continuing Education Program from 2001-02, as Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering from 2002-04, and the Dean of Faculty Affairs from 2005-08. He has been the Director of IIT Bombay since January 2009.