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[[France A. Córdova]]"},"successor":{"wt":""},"birth_date":{"wt":""},"birth_place":{"wt":"[[Chennai]],[[India]]"},"death_date":{"wt":""},"death_place":{"wt":""},"spouse":{"wt":"Soumya Panchanathan"},"education":{"wt":"[[University of Madras]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])
[[Indian Institute of Science]] ([[Bachelor of Engineering|BEng]])
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[[University of Ottawa]] ([[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]])"},"module":{"wt":"{{Infobox scientist\n|embed = yes\n|fields = [[Electrical engineering]]
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External links
Sethuraman Panchanathan | |
---|---|
![]() Panchanathan in 2020 | |
15th Director of the National Science Foundation | |
Assumed office June 23, 2020 | |
President | Donald Trump Joe Biden Donald Trump |
Preceded by | Kelvin Droegemeier (acting) France A. Córdova |
Personal details | |
Born | Chennai,India |
Spouse | Soumya Panchanathan |
Education | University of Madras (BS) Indian Institute of Science (BEng) Indian Institute of Technology (MTech) University of Ottawa (PhD) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Electrical engineering Computer engineering Informatics |
Institutions | University of Ottawa Arizona State University |
Thesis | Algorithms and architectures for image coding using vector quantization (1989) |
Doctoral advisor | Morris Goldberg |
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. [1]
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. [2]
In January 2025,Sethuraman Panchanathan was honored with the Padma Shri,India's fourth-highest civilian award,by the Government of India. [3] [4]
Panchanathan was born and raised in Chennai in India. [5] He attended the Vivekananda College (University of Madras),graduating in 1981 with a B.Sc. in physics. [6] Subsequently,in 1984,he earned a B.E. in Electronics and Communication Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore,India. [7]
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 [8] while working under the direction of Morris Goldberg. [9]
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. [10]
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. [11] In 2001,he was promoted to full professor and founded the Center for Cognitive Ubiquitous Computing (CUbiC). [12] In the same year,Panchanathan was elevated to IEEE fellow for contributions to compressed domain processing and indexing in visual computing and communications. [13] He also founded and led the School of Computing and Informatics (2006-2009) and the Department of Biomedical Informatics (2005-2007). [12]
Panchanathan was appointed as the university's chief research officer in 2009. [14] In 2011,he was promoted to senior vice president of the university's Office of Knowledge Enterprise Development. [15]
In 2016,Panchanathan was promoted to executive vice president of ASU Knowledge Enterprise Development and chief research and innovation officer at the university.
On June 13,2014,Panchanathan was nominated by President Barack Obama as a member of the National Science Board of the National Science Foundation. [16] On December 19,2019,President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Panchanathan. 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. [17] [18] [5]
In 2022,Panchanathan announced the Technology,Innovation and Partnership (TIP)s directorate —NSF's first new directorate in more than 30 years. [19]
In February 2021,Cynthia Sagers,a professor and former Vice President for Research at Arizona State University's Knowledge Enterprise,filed a lawsuit against ASU and Panchanathan,then Executive Vice President of the Knowledge Enterprise. The lawsuit alleged that Panchanathan created a hostile work environment and retaliated against Sagers by demoting her after she raised concerns about his behavior.
ASU conducted an internal investigation into Sagers' allegations and concluded that the claims were unsubstantiated. The university proceeded with the demotion,effective December 1,2020. [20]
In February 2025,168 NSF workers,representing approximately 10% of the workforce,were fired as part of mass layoffs in the U.S. federal workforce. Panchanathan's absence from the firing meetings was criticized by other NSF employees. [21] [22] [23]
Panchanathan's research interests include Human-centered Multimedia Computing (HCMC), [24] assistive and rehabilitative technologies, [25] 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. [26] He also mentored over 100 students and scholars,which include graduate students,post-docs,research engineers and research scientists. [27] He spoke on the importance of fostering a culture of innovation to solve grand challenges that society faces today in a 2017 TEDxASU presentation. [28]
Panchanathan is married to Sarada "Soumya" Panchanathan. [29] They have two children and three grandchildren. [2]