Mung Chiang

As the President of Purdue University, Mung Chiang brings the mindset of a network theorist to one of the world’s most consequential platforms for talent, research, and national capability.

Trained as an electrical engineer at Stanford University, Chiang first built his reputation by decoding the invisible architectures that underpin modern life. His academic work, widely deployed and cited, helped shape how data moves, how networks optimise themselves, and how connectivity scales. But what truly distinguished him was how he chose to redesign them.

At Princeton University, where he was a professor of electrical engineering and founder of the Princeton EDGE Lab, Chiang began extending his thinking beyond theory. He launched startups, shaped early edge computing ecosystems, and built bridges between academia and industry. This instinct became a defining throughline of his career.

At Purdue, first as Dean of Engineering, Mung Chiang reimagined what “excellence at scale” could look like. Under his leadership, the college expanded access while increasing selectivity, accelerated research funding, multiplied online education, and strengthened pathways from lab to industry. Later as president, Chiang’s work expanded to semiconductor and life sciences manufacturing, national security technology, and regional economic development. Areas research universities increasingly serve as strategic nodes in geopolitical and industrial networks.

As a former science and technology advisor to the US Secretary of State, Mung Chiang helped pioneer “tech diplomacy”. He recognised that technological standards, supply chains, and innovation ecosystems are central to international relations. Today, he continues this work through advisory roles and initiatives that connect technology, policy, and global cooperation.

In an era defined by interconnected challenges, Mung Chiang stands out for the coherence of his approach. He believes that the future belongs to those who can understand and redesign the networks that shape it.