Professor Shah gained a PhD from Imperial in 1992, progressing from Lecturer to Senior lecturer at the College before his appointment as Professor in 2001. His awards include a Shell Lecturer Support Award (1992-1996), Imperial College London Teaching Excellence Award (1995), Institution of Chemical Engineers Junior Moulton Medal (1996), ICT/Royal Academy of Engineering Fellowship (1997-2002), the Royal Society of Chemistry Beilby Medal and Prize (2005) and the Royal Academy of Engineering MacRobert Award and Prize (2007).