Sethuraman Panchanathan. Sethuraman Panchanathan is an Indian–American computer scientist and academic administrator, and, since June 2020, the 15th Director of the U.S. National Science Foundation. Panchanathan is a national leader in science, engineering, and education with more than three decades of experience in higher education and government. Designed and built knowledge enterprises to advance research, innovation, academic programs, strategic partnerships, entrepreneurship, global engagement, societal and economic development. 

He previously served at Arizona State University as executive vice president of knowledge enterprise development and chief research and innovation officer. He was also director of the Center for Cognitive Ubiquitous Computing (CUbiC), Foundation Chair of Computing and Informatics at the university, and a professor in the School of Computing, Informatics, and Decision Systems Engineering (CIDSE), part of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering.

Early life and education 
Panchanathan was born and raised in Chennai in India. He attended the Vivekananda College (University of Madras), graduating in 1981 with a B.Sc. in physics. Subsequently, in 1984, he earned a B.E. in Electronics and Communication Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, India. 

In 1986, he completed his M.Tech. in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. He later enrolled in the doctoral program at the University of Ottawa in Canada and received his Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering in 1989 while working under the direction of Morris Goldberg.

Career

University of Ottawa
In 1989, Panchanathan was hired by the University of Ottawa as an assistant professor and was later promoted to associate professor in 1994 after receiving tenure.

Arizona State University
In 1997, Panchanathan was hired as a tenured associate professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. In 2001, he was promoted to full professor and founded the Center for Cognitive Ubiquitous Computing (CUbiC), which is focused on designing technologies and devices for assisting individuals with disabilities. In the same year, Panchanathan was elevated to IEEE fellow for contributions to compressed domain processing and indexing in visual computing and communications. He also founded and led the School of Computing and Informatics (2006-2009) and the Department of Biomedical Informatics (2005-2007).

Panchanathan was appointed as the university's chief research officer in 2009, where he was responsible for conceptualizing and building large interdisciplinary initiatives at ASU. In 2011, he was promoted to senior vice president of the university's Office of Knowledge Enterprise Development, responsible for the advancement of research, entrepreneurship, innovation and economic development activities.

In 2016, Panchanathan was promoted to executive vice president of ASU Knowledge Enterprise Development and chief research and innovation officer at the university. In this role, Dr. Panchanathan leads the advancement of research, innovation, entrepreneurship, corporate engagement and strategic partnerships, and international development. Under his leadership, ASU's research has grown exponentially, with annual research expenditures quadrupling to more than half a billion dollars over the past 15 years. Continuing on its path as a rapidly growing research enterprise, Arizona State University reported $635 million in research expenditures for fiscal year 2018, up from $545 million in FY17, according to a recent report by the U.S. National Science Foundation. At that time, ASU was holding its rank at No. 44 for total research expenditures in the U.S., remaining ahead of the California Institute of Technology and the University of Chicago. Among institutions without a medical school, ASU ranked No. 8, ahead of Princeton University and Carnegie Mellon University. In a 2017 Brazilian Congress of Industry Innovation panel discussion, Panchanathan highlighted how universities like ASU ought to work hand-in-hand with businesses to create curriculum that fosters the entrepreneurial traits employers look for today, in order to produce a future of innovation ecosystems. On October 22, 2019, Panchanathan testified before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Science, Oceans, Fisheries, and Weather in a hearing titled, "Research and Innovation: Ensuring America's Economic and Strategic Leadership," examining the role that research and innovation play in ensuring U.S. leadership in the global economy.

U.S. National Science Foundation 
On June 13, 2014, Panchanathan was nominated by President Barack Obama as a member of the National Science Board of the National Science Foundation. On December 19, 2019, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Panchanathan and subsequently, he was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate on June 18, 2020. NSF is a $9.06 billion independent federal agency and the only government agency charged with advancing all fields of scientific discovery, technological innovation and STEM education. 

On June 18, 2020, he was unanimously confirmed by the US Senate as the 15th Director of the National Science Foundation.He assumed office on June 23, 2020. 

In 2022, the Director announced the Technology, Innovation and Partnership (TIP)s directorate — NSF's first new directorate in more than 30 years. The establishment of TIP is to deliver “Innovation Everywhere for Everyone” by accelerating the translation of science and technology for economic progress, national security, and societal impact. Several new programs were also launched including the Regional Innovation Engines (RIE) to expand the geography of place-based innovation.

Research 

Panchanathan's research interests include Human-centered Multimedia Computing (HCMC), assistive and rehabilitative technologies, haptic user interfaces, face/gait analysis and recognition, medical image processing, media processor designs and ubiquitous computing environments for enhancing quality of life for individuals with disabilities. He also mentored over 100 students and scholars, which include graduate students, post-docs, research engineers and research scientists. He spoke on the importance of fostering a culture of innovation to solve grand challenges that society faces today in a 2017 TEDxASU presentation.

Personal life 
Panchanathan is married to Dr. Sarada "Soumya" Panchanathan, an academic pediatrician and informatician, who has taught medical students, pediatric residents and informatics fellows. Together, they have two children and three grandchildren.

Awards, appointments and fellowships 

 Governor's Innovator of the Year for Academia Award: Governor's Celebration of Innovation Awards for iCARE (Information Technology Centric Assistive and Rehabilitative Environments) for Individuals who are Blind and Visually Impaired, Center for Cognitive Ubiquitous Computing, 2004.
 Microsoft Imagine Cup: World Finals in Touch and Tablet category for CUbiC iCARE Note-Taker Project, Warsaw, Poland, 2010.
 20 People to Know in Arizona Education: Listed by Phoenix Business Journal, 2017.
 COO of the Year: Recognized by Phoenix Business Journal, 2017.
 Distinguished Alumnus Awards:
 Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India.
 Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, 2017.
 Alumni Association Awards of Excellence, University of Ottawa, Canada, 2017.
 Advisor for Science and Technology to the Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, 2018.
 Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and Membership: National Academy of Inventors’ Board of Directors, 2018.
 Board Appointments:
 Oak Ridge Associated Universities’ Board of Directors, 2018.
 Forbes Technology Council, 2017–2018.
 National Academy of Inventors’ Board of Directors, 2017–2018.
 Elected member, National Academy of Engineering, 2024. 
 Padma Shri Award: Government of India, 2025.

Works

References

External links
 ASU Office of Knowledge Enterprise Development

1961 births
Living people
American people of Indian Tamil descent
Arizona State University faculty
IIT Madras alumni
Indian Institute of Science alumni
Scholars from Tamil Nadu
University of Ottawa alumni
Engineers from Tamil Nadu
United States National Science Foundation officials
Indian expatriate academics in the United States
Indian emigrants to the United States
People from Chennai
University of Madras alumni
First Trump administration personnel
Biden administration personnel
American people of Indian descent
Recipients of the Padma Shri in science & engineering