Career
Suh began his career at MIT in 1970, where he was the Ralph E. & Eloise F. Cross Professor, Director of the Park Center for Complex Systems (formerly the Manufacturing Institute), and the Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering for ten years from 1991 to 2001. He was also the Founding Director of the MIT Laboratory for Manufacturing and Productivity (1977–1984), the Founder and Director of the MIT-Industry Polymer Processing Program (1973–1984), Head of the Mechanics and Material Division of the Mechanical Engineering Department (1975-1977), and a member of the Engineering Council of MIT (1980–1984 and 1991–2001).
In October 1984, Suh took a leave of absence from MIT to accept a Presidential Appointment at the National Science Foundation where he was in charge of engineering. President Ronald Reagan appointed him to this position and the U.S. Senate confirmed his appointment. During his tenure at NSF, he created a new direction for the Engineering Directorate and introduced a new organizational program structure for supporting engineering research in order to strengthen engineering education and research and "to insure that the United States will occupy a leadership position in engineering well into the 21st century." He returned to MIT in January 1988.
Suh was named president of KAIST in June 2006, and was re-elected to his position on 14 July 2010. He is also the Ralph E. & Eloise F. Cross Professor, Emeritus, M.I.T. During his tenure as the President of KAIST, he provided framework for two large-scale systems, On-Line Electric Vehicle (OLEV) and Mobile Harbor. However, there were concerns that his policies while president of KAIST encouraged "academic Darwinism" among students. Suh was criticized for decisions to award honorary doctoral degrees to some of the board of trustees of KAIST, which could be seen by some as unethical as the board of trustees oversees Suh's role as the president of KAIST. Out of 16 honorary degrees awarded, at least seven were given to the former or present board members.
Read more about this topic: Suh Nam-pyo
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