Michigan native Attiganal Sreeram appointed to President’s Council of Science & Tech

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President Donald Trump has appointed an Indian-American to his new council of advisors on science and technology.

Among the seven appointees named so far on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) is Indian-American Attiganal Narayanaswamy Sreeram of Michigan.

The PCAST can have a maximum of 16 Advisors, and there is a possibility that more Indian-American techies or CEOs would be appointed as members. Several Indian-Americans lead major companies in the country, including Satya Nadela of Microsoft, Shantanu Narayen of Adobe, Ajay Banga of Mastercard, and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Over President Trump’s tenure, several of these CEOs have been part of meetings with the President at the White House on issues of technology policy and entrepreneurship.

Michigan native, Attiganal Narayanaswamy Sreeram, an Indian-American, who is currently senior vice president of research and development and Chief Technology Officer at Dow, Inc. is among the President’s advisors on the newly created PCAST.

Sreeram has a Ph.D from the Department of Materials Science & Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston. He has a Masters in Glass Science from Alfred University in New York

Sreeram graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi in 1989, specializing in ceramics engineering.

According to his bio on the Dow company website, Sreeram holds more than 20 patents, and leads a “vibrant R&D organization at Dow focused on step-change technology development aligned with market demand.”

The company acknowledges that under Sreeram’s leadership, Dow “transformed its innovation approach, significantly growing high-throughput experimentation and analysis capabilities extending from material discovery and processing through to application development.”

It goes on to credit him with establishing, “strong value chain partnerships, giving Dow a seat at the customer’s design table and strong connections to market signals.”

Dow also praised Sreeram in his previous role after he joined Dow in June 2006 as Vice President of Core R&D, a department where it said, he was “driving innovation in a number of key market segments, including automotive, infrastructure and health.”

“He led the adoption of high-throughput technologies to significantly accelerate the R&D process, while lowering costs and dramatically increasing product successes,” Dow said.

In a September 2012 interview included in the BoardroomInsiders.com  bio, Sreeram was asked “How is materials science changing the world?” He  made the case for conserving home energy which he said makes up 48 percent of the energy footprint of the U.S.  “We have to conserve that energy. If you insulate your houses well, you can save a lot. Products like polystyrene blue board insulation, along with other materials to seal your windowsills, can substantially reduce leakage of energy from your house,” Sreeram is quoted saying.

In 2013 Sreeram was made Corporate Vice President for Research and Development, overseeing the company’s R&D organization.

Before joining Dow, he spent a year as the Global Technology Director and Chief Technology Officer for DuPont Electronic Technologies.

Previously, he served as Vice President of Worldwide Technology for Cookson Electronics in New Jersey, and before that, led the Electronic and Flat Display Program for Sarnoff Corporation in Princeton, New Jersey. He joined Sarnoff in 1995 as part of the technical staff.

Dow Inc. had not responded to requests for comment by press time.

PCAST Mandate

President Trump, in his order establishing PCAST, notes that “American ingenuity has driven technological progress and the promise of the American Dream,” in every age of U.S. history.

The order notes how scientific advancement has improved the lives of citizens, created jobs and better futures for American workers, and kept the American people safe at home and abroad.

“American thinkers, inventors, and entrepreneurs, empowered by free market capitalism and driven by bold ideas, have created an ecosystem of innovation that is the envy of the world,” the President’s order notes, adding that since World War II, these scientists have guided the United States through the nuclear age, the mission to the moon, and the transformations of the digital revolution.

“Emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum information science are now on the horizon, and how we address their development will determine whether they give rise to new American industries or challenge American values,” the order says, emphasizing that it is the need of the hour. to ensure American technological dominance.

President Trump calls for public-private partnerships to “usher extraordinary new technologies into homes, hospitals, and highways across the world.”

The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology shall be composed of the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy and not more than 16 additional members appointed by the President, all of them holding “diverse perspectives and expertise” with the task of advising President on matters involving science, technology, education, and innovation policy.  The Council shall also provide the President with scientific and technical information that is needed to inform public policy relating to the American economy, the American worker, national and homeland security, and other topics.

The PCAST will be meeting regularly and informing and responding to requests from all levels of government. and agencies concerned with science and technology.

Sreeram and other current and future advisors on PCAST, will be serving without any compensation, other than travel expenses and per diem.

Achievements

According to the company, products developed at Dow under Sreeram’s tenure have received many awards for innovation and sustainability, including R&D 100 Awards, Edison Awards, and the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge. Examples of award winning technologies include EVOQUE™ pre-composite polymer for paints, INNATE™ Precision Packaging Resins, INFUSE™ Olefin Block Copolymers, INTUNE™ Olefin Block Copolymers, ECOFAST™ Pure Sustainable Textile Treatment, Dow Performance Silicones Moldable Optical Silicone, ROPAQUE™ Opaque Polymer for BLU4EST™ Thermal Paper, ACCUTRACE™ fuel markers and VORAGUARD™ polyol for combustion modified high resilience polyurethane foams.