Professor Nam Pyo Suh is Cross-Professor Emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and served as the 13th and 14th President of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). From 1984 to 1988, he was appointed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan—confirmed by the U.S. Senate—as Assistant Director for Engineering at the National Science Foundation.
Professor Suh has devoted most of his teaching career to MIT. In 2016, the Institute established the Nam Pyo Suh Professorship in Mechanical Engineering, supported by a significant endowment from alumnus Mr. Hock Tan, CEO of Broadcom, Inc. At MIT, Professor Suh served as Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering for ten years and as the Founding Director of the Laboratory for Manufacturing and Productivity for eight years. Under his leadership, the department evolved from a traditional mechanical engineering discipline rooted in physics into a multidisciplinary department grounded in physics, biology, information science, design, and materials—preparing engineers to tackle the challenges of the 21st century.
As President of KAIST from 2006 to 2013, Professor Suh oversaw remarkable growth. The university’s global ranking advanced more than any other research university worldwide during his tenure. In 2016 and 2017, Reuters ranked KAIST among the world’s top 10 most innovative universities—making it the only non-U.S. institution in the top 10 in 2016. He expanded the university’s endowment by an order of magnitude and spearheaded the construction of more than 30 new research and teaching facilities. To achieve these goals, he raised hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars for endowment and infrastructure.
Professor Suh has been recognized with numerous prestigious awards, including the ASME Medal (2009), the General Pierre Nicolau Award of CIRP (2006), the Pony Chung Award (2008), the Inchon Education Award (2008), the Ho-Am Prize for Engineering (1997), the Mensforth International Gold Medal of IEE, UK (2001), the Hills Millennium Award from IED, UK (2001), and the NSF Distinguished Service Award with Gold Medal (1988). He has also received ten honorary doctorates from universities across four continents—in the United States, Sweden, Israel, Australia, Portugal, Romania, and Turkey—and an eleventh from Korea in 2023. In addition, he received the Gold Medal of the Technical University of Denmark.
His scholarly contributions are extensive, particularly in design, tribology, and manufacturing, including polymer processing. He is the creator of Axiomatic Design Theory, the Delamination Theory of Wear, the On-Line Electric Vehicle (OLEV), and the Mobile Harbor. He holds more than 100 patents, many of which have been commercialized, and his papers are among the most highly cited in the world.
Professor Suh’s educational journey reflects the generosity of mentors and benefactors. A graduate of Browne & Nichols School (BB&N), MIT, and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), he received his freshman tuition at MIT from Edwin H. B. Pratt, Headmaster of Browne and Nichols School, who quietly supported him without public recognition. Later, his employer, USM Corporation, fully funded his Ph.D. education at CMU—including his salary, tuition, and research costs—thanks to the trust and generosity of Dr. Waler L. Abe of USM. Professor Suh has often expressed deep gratitude for these extraordinary acts of support, which shaped his distinguished career.