Prof. Vishwanath P. Agrawal is prominent among Nepali scientists and academicians not only for what he has pioneered and achieved as a scientist working in the field of research and education, but also for his direct and indirect role in inspiring and training hundreds of Nepali students, many of whom now located across the globe, to work in the field of science and technology. 

A Fulbright fellow (1972-1978) with a chemistry background, Prof. Agrawal has worked with three well-known personalities in the field of plant lipid research: Prof. P. E. Kolattukudy (Washington State University, USA, 1974 -78), Prof. H. K. Mangold (Federal Center for Lipid Research, Germany, 1982-83) and Prof. P. K. Stumpf (UC Davis, USA 1983-85). He has published a number of groundbreaking papers on biosynthesis of ω-hydroxy C-18 fatty acid (a major constituent of suberin), and on the enzyme purification, characterization, enzyme kinetics, fatty acid analysis and biosynthesis of saturated and unsaturated long-chain fatty acids in plants. 

He is the only Nepali scientist who has had the honor of getting both Fulbright and Alexander von Humboldt fellowships. He has taught for almost 25 years at Central Dept. of Chemistry, Tribhuvan University (1969–94). He also founded the Research Laboratory for Agricultural Biotechnology and Biochemistry (RLABB) in 1986, and started the first 4–year B.Sc. Biochemistry Program in Nepal in 2002 (Universal Science College, Kathmandu). Prof. Agrawal has been awarded research grants from the Program in Science and Technology Cooperation, USDS, the Rockefeller Foundation, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), World Wildlife Fund (WWF), US-Israel Cooperative Development Research Program, German-Israel Agriculture Research Agreement (GIARA), Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), Royal Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (RONAST), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR) Italy, National Science Foundation, and others. 

His team in Nepal has conducted research on the development of cold tolerant rice, early sex determination of Choerospondias axillaris (Lapsi), clonal propagation of pines, biodiversity conservation of Khaptad region, determination of the levels of heavy metals in water bodies, signaling mechanism in plants and, more recently, on microbial biodiversity of soil from Khumbu region (around Mt. Everest), the isolation and characterization of antibiotics, and the proteomics of seed filling in plants. His research interests have mostly centered on vegetation and biodiversity of the hills of Nepal. Prof. Agrawal has served in the National Development Council and High-level National Education Commission. He is also an academician of the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST).