The National Academy of Engineering has named Sethuraman Panchanathan as the recipient of the Arthur M Bueche Award for 2026. Panchanathan, a Chennai-born computer scientist based at Arizona State University, is the first Indian American and the first person from Arizona to receive the honour in its more than 40 year history. The award recognises his leadership in shaping science and technology policy and in linking research with industry, government and universities.
What Is the Arthur M Bueche Award?
The Arthur M Bueche Award is an annual honour given by the US National Academy of Engineering to an engineer for leadership in science and technology policy. It recognises work that promotes technological development and builds links between industry, government and universities.
The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) established the award in 1982. The NAE itself was founded in 1964 and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. It is a private, independent and nonprofit institution. It works with the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine as part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Election to the NAE is treated as one of the highest honours for an engineer in the United States.
The award is named after Arthur M. Bueche (1920 to 1981). Bueche was senior vice president for corporate technology at General Electric. He was elected to the NAE in 1974 and served on its council. He was known as a supporter of using research to meet social needs and as an adviser to government, universities and global bodies. After his death, General Electric created a special fund in 1982 to support the award, with added gifts from his colleagues.
Unlike prizes for a single invention, the Bueche Award honours statesmanship in science and technology. The winner is chosen for active work in shaping public policy for science, for pushing technology growth, and for improving ties between industry, government and universities. Both NAE members and non members can receive it. The winner receives a commemorative medal and a hand scribed certificate. The prize is presented at the NAE annual meeting in October each year.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Arthur M Bueche Award |
| Awarding body | National Academy of Engineering, United States |
| Established | 1982 |
| Named after | Arthur M Bueche, former General Electric executive |
| Purpose | Leadership in science and technology policy and industry government university cooperation |
| 2026 citation for Panchanathan | For leadership in promoting fundamental science, technology and policy that advances translational research and expands opportunities nationwide |
| 2024 recipient | Franklin M Orr Jr of Stanford University, for clean energy policy and carbon work |
| Presentation | October, at NAE annual meeting in Washington, D.C. |
Who Is Sethuraman Panchanathan?
Sethuraman Panchanathan is a Chennai-born Indian American computer scientist and University Professor of Technology and Innovation at Arizona State University. He served as the 15th Director of the US National Science Foundation from 2020 to 2025 and works in artificial intelligence and assistive computing.
Panchanathan was born on 24 June 1961 in Chennai. As a schoolboy, a visit to see moon rocks from the Apollo 11 mission at the American Center in Chennai left a deep mark on him. He later said the rocks themselves were plain, but the human effort behind bringing them to Earth showed him the power of science and engineering.
His education joined physics, electronics and computing across India and Canada. He earned a BSc in Physics from Vivekananda College, University of Madras in 1981, a BE in Electronics and Communication Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru in 1984, and an MTech in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras in 1986. He then completed a PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Ottawa in Canada in 1989.
| Stage | Institution and Qualification |
|---|---|
| Undergraduate science | BSc Physics, University of Madras, 1981 |
| Engineering | BE Electronics and Communication, Indian Institute of Science Bengaluru, 1984 |
| Postgraduate | MTech Electrical Engineering, IIT Madras, 1986 |
| Doctoral | PhD Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Ottawa, 1989 |
Panchanathan started as an assistant professor at the University of Ottawa in 1989 and became associate professor with tenure in 1994. There he set up the Visual Computing and Communications Laboratory and worked on image and video compression linked to JPEG and MPEG standards. JPEG is a common method to reduce photo file size, while MPEG does the same for video.
In 1997, he joined Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe, Arizona. ASU is a large public research university in the United States. At ASU, he became full professor in 2001 and founded the Center for Cognitive Ubiquitous Computing (CUbiC). The center builds tools based on artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to help persons with disabilities. Machine learning means computer systems that improve their work by learning from data. His team has worked on assistive and rehabilitative devices, including aids for people who are blind or have low vision. He holds four patents, has published close to 485 papers, and has mentored more than 150 students and researchers.
Where Is Sethuraman Panchanathan Now?
Sethuraman Panchanathan is now University Professor of Technology and Innovation at Arizona State University and Foundation Chair in Computing and Augmented Intelligence. He returned to ASU after leading the National Science Foundation and now focuses on artificial intelligence, quantum computing and higher education reform.
In this role, he is designing work on AI led learning systems and stronger ties between universities and high technology firms. In April 2026, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego asked him to lead the citywide quantum strategy. He was elected to the NAE in 2024, which is itself one of the highest marks of peer respect for an engineer in the United States.
Leadership at the National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency of the United States. It is the only US federal agency that supports research in all fields of science, engineering and STEM education. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The NSF has an annual budget of about $9 billion and funds nearly one fourth of federally supported university research in the United States.
Panchanathan joined the National Science Board in 2014. The Board sets policy for the NSF and advises the President and Congress on science matters. He was nominated as NSF Director in December 2019, confirmed unanimously by the US Senate on 18 June 2020, and took office as the 15th Director on 23 June 2020. He served until 24 April 2025. His term covered the COVID-19 pandemic and a period of fast growth in AI, quantum science and regional technology plans.
His main policy step was the creation of the Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP). This was the first new NSF directorate in more than 30 years. A directorate is a large division that runs its own set of funds and programs. TIP was built to move lab results into real products, jobs and local growth. Its motto was innovation everywhere for everyone. Two of its well known efforts were the Regional Innovation Engines program to spread technology hubs beyond a few big cities, and support for a national network of 27 AI research institutes. He also pushed the GRANTED program to widen participation in research and the Global Centers program for joint work with global partners on shared challenges.
Before the NSF, Panchanathan led ASU research as chief research officer from 2009 and later as executive vice president of the ASU Knowledge Enterprise and chief research and innovation officer. Knowledge Enterprise is the unit that manages university research, startups, partnerships and economic work. During his time, ASU research spending rose sharply and the university was ranked first for innovation in the United States by a leading university ranking for several years in a row. Michael M Crow is the President of Arizona State University (as of September 2026) and has described Panchanathan as a systems thinker who is called in when large problems need answers.
Padma Shri 2025 Context and National Honours Link
The Padma Awards are among the highest civilian honours of India. They were instituted in 1954 and are announced every year on the eve of Republic Day on 25 January. They are conferred by the President of India at ceremonies held at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi, usually around March or April. The awards honour distinguished service across fields such as art, science and engineering, medicine, social work, public affairs and sports.
India gives Padma honours in three ranks. Padma Vibhushan is for exceptional and distinguished service. Padma Bhushan is for distinguished service of a high order. Padma Shri is for distinguished service in any field. In order of rank, Padma Shri is the fourth highest civilian award after Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan and Padma Bhushan.
For the year 2025, the President approved 139 Padma Awards. This included 7 Padma Vibhushan, 19 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri awards. The list included 23 women and 10 persons in the Foreigner, NRI, PIO and OCI group. Panchanathan was listed as a Padma Shri winner in the field of Science and Engineering with his country shown as the United States of America. The honour was presented by President Droupadi Murmu at an investiture ceremony in New Delhi on 27 May 2025.
| Padma rank | Meaning | 2025 count |
|---|---|---|
| Padma Vibhushan | Exceptional and distinguished service | 7 |
| Padma Bhushan | Distinguished service of high order | 19 |
| Padma Shri | Distinguished service in any field | 113 |
The link between the two honours tells a clear story. The Padma Shri recognised Panchanathan for science, education and assistive technology that improves daily life. The Bueche Award, a year later, recognised the same career from the policy side, for turning research into rules, funds and partnerships that spread benefits across the country. Together they place him in a small group of Indian origin scientists honoured both by India and by the top US engineering body.
Why the 2026 Award Matters for Science and Technology Policy
The NAE citation for 2026 praises Panchanathan for promoting fundamental science and for advancing translational research and wider opportunity across the nation. Translational research means taking basic discoveries from the lab and turning them into products, services and public benefits. The NAE announcement was made on 1 September 2026. The award will be presented on 4 October 2026 at the NAE annual meeting in Washington, D.C.
The fact that Panchanathan is the first Indian American and the first person from Arizona to win the prize in more than four decades adds weight to the choice. It shows how engineers with roots in India now shape central US science bodies. He was nominated for the award by the president of the University of Arizona, which is ASU rival in sports but a close partner in state higher education. That detail underlines the third test of the Bueche Award, which is cooperation between institutions.
The award also points to three policy ideas that defined his career. The first is place based growth, which means building research jobs not only in a few coastal cities but in many regions. The second is partnership between universities, firms and government labs to speed up AI, quantum computing and advanced manufacturing. The third is inclusion, which means opening research funds and training to small colleges, rural areas and groups that took part less in the past. These ideas match the goals of the TIP directorate and the Regional Innovation Engines program.
For India, the honour has a direct link. Science and technology policy in India also seeks stronger ties between labs, startups and universities through bodies such as the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). The career path of Panchanathan, from Chennai colleges to leadership of a $9 billion US science agency, is often cited as an example of how global talent moves and how diaspora links can support research ties between the two countries.
Key Takeaways
- The Arthur M Bueche Award 2026 was given to Sethuraman Panchanathan by the National Academy of Engineering, founded in 1964 and based in Washington, D.C.
- Panchanathan is the first Indian American and the first person from Arizona to win the Bueche Award, instituted in 1982, in its more than 40 year history.
- The NAE cited Panchanathan for leadership in promoting fundamental science and policy that advances translational research and expands opportunities nationwide.
- Panchanathan served as the 15th Director of the US National Science Foundation from 23 June 2020 to 24 April 2025 and created the TIP Directorate, the first new directorate in over 30 years.
- He received the Padma Shri in 2025 in Science and Engineering, presented by President Droupadi Murmu on 27 May 2025 at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
- The Bueche Award will be presented on 4 October 2026 at the NAE annual meeting in Washington, D.C.
