Su Guaning () is a Singaporean college administrator and academic who served as the president of

Nanyang Technological University Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is a public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1981, it is also the second oldest autonomous university in the country. The university is organised across numerous colleges and schools, includi ...

(NTU) between 2003 and 2011. He is currently President Emeritus of Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

Education

A President's Scholar and

Colombo Plan The Colombo Plan is a regional intergovernmental organization that began operations on 1 July 1951. The organization was conceived at an international conference, The Commonwealth Conference on Foreign Affairs held in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri ...

Scholar, Su graduated with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

and

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

from the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

, and

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

respectively. He also holds a Master of Science in

statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. In applying statistics to a s ...

from Stanford University, and attended post-graduate programmes in

business administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

and

management development Management development is the process by which managers learn and improve their management skills.Cannell.MLondon. CIPD (November 2004 - rev 2008) Background In organisational development, management effectiveness is recognized as a determinant ...

at the University of Singapore (now the

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national university, national Public university, public research university in Singapore. It was officially established in 1980 by the merging of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University ...

) and

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

respectively.

Career

Su began his career in 1972 as one of the first research engineers in Singapore's

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

(MINDEF). He became Director of the

Defence Science Organisation DSO National Laboratories (DSO) is a national defence research and development organisation in Singapore developing technological solutions for defence and national security. Founded as the Electronics Test Centre (ETC), it was established in 1972 ...

(DSO) in 1986, building it into Singapore's largest research and development institute. In 1997, he transformed DSO into a not-for-profit company, DSO National Laboratories, and became its first chief executive officer. After serving as the deputy secretary (technology) in MINDEF for two years, he set up the

Defence Science and Technology Agency Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) is a statutory board under the purview of the Ministry of Defence of the Government of Singapore. DSTA is responsible for performing acquisitions management, systems management, systems developme ...

(DSTA) and became its founding chief executive in 2000 until 2002. He was appointed as the president of

(NTU) on 1 January 2003.NTU Personalities: Leader of the Global Alliance of Technological Universities: Dr Su Guaning
Su became an adjunct associate professor at the

(NUS)'s Department of Electrical Engineering in 1991 and taught

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

systems and

signal processing Signal processing is an electrical engineering subfield that focuses on analyzing, modifying and synthesizing ''signals'', such as audio signal processing, sound, image processing, images, Scalar potential, potential fields, Seismic tomograph ...

there. He was promoted to adjunct professor in 1995. He also taught management of technology at the

NUS Business School The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. It was officially established in 1980 by the merging of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University. The university offers degree programm ...

from 1998–2000. Su served on a number of boards, including the

Board of Trustees A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

of Institute Para Limes in the Netherlands, the boards of the Singapore National Research Foundation and Business China, Singapore,Business China Singapore
/ref> and the International Advisory Boards of

King Abdulaziz University King Abdulaziz University (KAU) () is a public research university in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Established in 1967 as a private university by a group of businessmen led by Muhammad Bakhashab and including author Hamza Bogary, it was named after ...

and Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He also serves on the board of the

School of Science and Technology, Singapore School of Science and Technology, Singapore (SST) is a specialised independent school in Singapore, offering a four-year curriculum leading to a Singapore-Cambridge GCE Ordinary Level (O-Levels) or first year entry to a STEM-related diploma cou ...

. He is also an international reviewer for the

Higher Education Evaluation and Accreditation Council of Taiwan The Higher Education Evaluation and Accreditation Council of Taiwan (HEEACT; ) is a Taiwanese nonprofit organization founded in May 2005. HEEACT applied for ISO certification in July 2008 and received certification on 4 February 2009. Until 2012, ...

, a member of Singapore's Climate Change Network, and a director of Nanyang International Education (Holdings) Limited. Su is an Honorary Fellow and past President of the Institution of Engineers, Singapore, and founding Fellow of the ASEAN Academy of Engineering and Technology. NTU is a founding member of the Global Alliance of Technological Universities and Su is the founding Chairman. In 2010, he was re-elected Chairman of the Alliance for another two-year term. Prof. Su is a founding member and Board Member of the International IP Commercialization Council (IIPCC.org), a global NPO NGO.

Awards

Su was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Silver) in 1989, the Public Service Medal in 1997, and the Public Administration Medal (Gold) and Long Service Medal in 1998 by the

President of Singapore The president of the Republic of Singapore, is the head of state of Singapore. The president represents the country in official diplomatic functions and possesses certain executive powers over the government of Singapore, including the contro ...

. In 2005, he was conferred the title of

Chevalier of the Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

by the French government. In 2022, Su became a laureate of the

Asian Scientist 100 The Asian Scientist 100 is an annually published list of 100 prize-winning Asian researchers, academicians, innovators and business leaders from across the Asia-Pacific region and a range of scientific disciplines. Recipients "must have received ...

by the ''

Asian Scientist ''Asian Scientist'' is an English language science and technology magazine published in Singapore. History and profile ''Asian Scientist'' was launched as a blog in March 2011 by Juliana Chan. The blog's popularity eventually led to a partnersh ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Su, Guaning Singaporean people of Chinese descent Singaporean engineers Harvard Business School alumni University of Alberta alumni California Institute of Technology alumni Stanford University alumni Catholic High School, Singapore alumni Living people President's Scholars Academic staff of Nanyang Technological University Presidents of Nanyang Technological University 1951 births Recipients of the Pingat Pentadbiran Awam Recipients of the Long Service Medal (Military) (Singapore)