CHENNAI: Professor Subra Suresh, an alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology-Madras and hailing from Chennai, has been chosen as the fourth president of Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, according to a statement issued by IIT-Madras.
He will begin his presidency on January 1, 2018, after the retirement of the current president Professor Andersson.
A release issued by IIT-Madras said that Professor Suresh received his B Tech degree from IIT-Madras and was facilitated with the distinguished alumnus award by the institute in 1997.
Professor R Nagarajan, Dean of International and Alumni Relations, IIT Madras, said,” Subra Suresh is one among our 150 distinguished alumni, and it is no surprise, given his record of accomplishments. IIT Madras has close ties with NTU and is in the process of formalising a joint PhD degree programme.
Subra Suresh’s arrival at NTU augurs well for future interactions and collaborations among our institutions.”
The professor served as the ninth president of Carnegie Mellon University from July 1, 2013, until June 30, 2017. An eight-member search committee chaired by Koh Boon Hwee, Chairman of the NTU Board of Trustees, unanimously selected Professor Suresh for the top NTU role.
He is an eminent scientist, engineer and entrepreneur and was chosen in 2010 by then US President Barack Obama to lead the US National Science Foundation (NSF).
He is also an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Science and a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. He got a master’s degree from Iowa State University and has a Doctor of Science degree from MIT. After post-doctoral research at the University of California, Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, he joined the Brown University in 1983.
Subra Suresh joined MIT in 1993 as the RP Simmons Professor of Materials Science and Engineering. He was also honoured with Padma Shri award in 2011 by the then President Pratibha Patil.