Mung chiang biography

Biography

In a very short time, Mung Chiang has made a major impact with his theoretical foundation for optimizing communications networks by addressing real-world problems concerning wireless systems and the Internet. Dr. Chiang’s breakthrough mathematical theory is based on a cross-layering perspective and reverse-engineering approach using decomposition theory. Where traditional methods started with individual layers and the hope that they would interact well later on, Dr. Chiang’s approach provides a top-down process to design layer protocol stacks from successful first principles for more predictable outcomes. This cross-layer approach enables dynamic feedback between layer boundaries to coordinate the demands on different layers based on the needs of network users, thus optimizing network performance. To bridge the gap between theory and practice in networking, Dr. Chiang founded the EDGE Laboratory at Princeton University, N.J., in 2009. The lab provides researchers with a highly programmable network that enables theory-inspired experimentation across multiple layers.

An IEEE Fellow, Dr. Chiang is currently a professor with the Electrical Engineering Department at Princeton University.

Mung Chiang is the President of Purdue University and the Roscoe H. George Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. From July 2017 to June 2022, he was the John A. Edwardson Dean of the College of Engineering. Since April 2021, he has been the executive vice president for strategic initiatives. As the engineering dean, he led the college to its first back-to-back top 4 graduate ranking in the U.S. while growing it to be the largest top 10 undergraduate engineering college in the country. Undergraduate admissions selectivity, yield rate, and graduation rate, as well as women and minority enrollment percentages, all achieved new records. Online program size more than quadrupled while the ranking advanced to top 3 in the U.S. New degrees were launched, and Professional Master’s enrollment more than quadrupled too. Annual research awards surged over 70% in five years, including the largest federal funding and the largest industry funding awards in college history and 12 national research centers headquartered at or co-led by Purdue. Patent applications increased by about 40%, and the college contributed to Purdue’s Ever True Campaign in excess of $1B. The “Pinnacle of Excellence at Scale” is further supported by 15 facility construction or renovation completed since 2017, including the Gateway Complex. As an EVP of the university, he worked with many colleagues to help launch the initiatives in national security technology and in semiconductor and life science manufacturing, in Discovery Park District’s aerospace cluster and the Lab to Life platform, and in economic growth through federal, state, and private sector opportunities.

Previously, Chiang was the Arthur LeGrand Doty Professor of Electrical Engineering at Princeton University, where he was the inaugural Chairman of Princeton Entrepreneurship Council and Director of Keller Center for Innovation in Engineering Edu

Mung Chiang is the President of Purdue University and the Roscoe H. George Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Prior to being elected university president in 2022, he was the John A. Edwardson Dean of the College of Engineering and executive vice president for strategic initiatives at Purdue University.

Chiang received BS (1999), MS (2000) and PhD (2003) from Stanford University and an honorary doctorate (2024) from Dartmouth College. Before 2017, Chiang was the Arthur LeGrand Doty Professor of Electrical Engineering and an affiliated faculty in Computer Science and in Applied Mathematics at Princeton University.

He founded the Princeton EDGE Lab in 2009 and co-founded several startup companies and industry consortia since the early years of edge computing. Most of his 26 U.S. patents are licensed for network deployment. He co-authored two textbooks based on massive open online courses: “Networked Life” (2012) and “Power of Networks” (2016). For his research in communication networks, wireless technology, and network optimization, he received the NSF Alan T. Waterman Award (2013), as well as IEEE Founders Medal (2025), IEEE INFOCOM Achievement Award (2022), IEEE Kiyo Tomiyasu Award (2012), and Guggenheim Fellowship (2014). He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (Class of Mathematical and Physical Sciences 2024), the National Academy of Inventors (2020) and the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (2020).

In 2020, as the Science and Technology Adviser to the U.S. Secretary of State, Chiang initiated Tech Diplomacy programs in the U.S. government. In 2024, he started serving on the inaugural board of the U.S. Foundation for Energy Security and Innovation, and was elected to the Board of Directors of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee as an Independent Director.

Chinese American electrical engineer and academic administrator

In this Chinese name, the family name is Chiang.

The native form of this personal name is Chiang Mung. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.

Mung Chiang (Chinese: 蒋濛; born February 2, 1977) is a Chinese-American electrical engineer and academic administrator who has been serving as the current and 13th president of Purdue University since 2023. He is the youngest president of a top-50 American university in recent history, taking office at age 45.

Chiang served as executive vice president of Purdue University from 2021 to 2023 and as dean of the Purdue University College of Engineering from 2017 to 2023. Previously at Princeton University, he served as full professor of electrical engineering since 2011 and as faculty member since 2003.

Chiang is credited with 25 U.S. patents, many of which have been adopted and utilized by the communications and networking industry.

Early life and education

Mung Chiang was born on February 2, 1977, in Tianjin, China. In 1988, when Mung Chiang wa