Dr. Sivaraj Shyam-Sunder
DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD in recognition of his outstanding achievements in Public Service.
Award Year: 2025 | Degree Year: 1977
Dr. Sivaraj Shyam-Sunder earned his B.Tech. from IIT Delhi (1977) and M.S. in Civil Engineering (1979) and Doctor of Science in Structural Engineering (1981) from MIT. He is currently the Associate Director for Laboratory Programs at National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), USA.
During his more than 30 years in leadership roles at NIST, Shyam has provided strategic leadership and executive management to advance U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness.
As NIST’s senior career official, Shyam oversees an $850M/year R&D agency with 3,000 staff and 500 guest researchers. He led NIST’s CHIPS Act response, defining seven “grand challenges” for the U.S. semiconductor sector and launched a Standardization Center to strengthen U.S. global standards leadership.
Shyam currently serves on the U.S.-India S&T Endowment Fund board and previously held advisory roles with ASTM, VTT Finland, and CIB, where he served as Vice-President, President, and Past President.
He has received the Presidential Rank Award and the Commerce Department’s top honor for leading the federal investigation of the World Trade Center collapse. He was elected to the National Academy of Construction in 2012.
In honoring Dr. Sivaraj Shyam-Sunder, IIT Delhi recognizes his contributions to Public Service. Through his achievements, Dr. Shyam-Sunder has brought glory to the name of the Institute.
