The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced late last week that S. Shyam Sunder is the agency’s new associate director for laboratory programs (ADLP), effective June 1.
In this role, Sunder will oversee NIST’s laboratories, which provide vital research that underpin technology innovation in the United States. These labs focus on unleashing U.S. innovation in critical and emerging technologies such as AI, quantum, semiconductors, next generation communications, and biotechnology.
“Shyam’s expertise and practical background, as well as his more than 30 years in leadership roles at NIST, make him an invaluable asset as we continue to push boundaries in critical and emerging technologies,” said Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and Acting NIST Director Craig Burkhardt.
“Shyam will play a crucial role in helping NIST accelerate advances at the forefront of measurement science, which is the foundation for unleashing technological innovation and U.S. economic competitiveness,” Burkhardt added.
Previously, Sunder served as the director of NIST’s Special Programs Office and acting director of the Standards Coordination Office. In these roles, he established and managed the NIST Safety Commission and led NIST’s cross-laboratory team to publish seven “grand challenges” in response to the CHIPS and Science Act.
Sunder has also served as the founding director of NIST’s Engineering Laboratory, director of its Building and Fire Research Laboratory (BFRL), and chief of BFRL’s Structures and Materials Division. Additionally, NIST said he co-chaired White House National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) panels that “set the Federal R&D agenda for Net-Zero Energy High-Performance Buildings and Cyber-Physical Systems.”
Sunder also served as the senior science advisor to the deputy secretary of Commerce and the senior science advisor at NIST.