# Arvind Raman

Acting head, U.S. CAISI; Director, NIST. TIME100 AI 2026, Leaders. The director of NIST, the US standards agency, is a mechanical engineer whose research has focused on atomic force microscopes. ([nist.gov](https://www.nist.gov/people/arvind-raman))

- Born: India ([aip.org](https://www.aip.org/fyi/trump-nominates-engineer-arvind-raman-as-next-nist-director))
- Education: PhD, Mechanical engineering, UC Berkeley, 1999; MS, Mechanical engineering, Purdue University, 1993; BTech, Mechanical engineering, IIT Delhi, 1991 ([nist.gov](https://www.nist.gov/people/arvind-raman), [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/in/arvind-raman-88b20a6a))
- Career: NIST (Director of NIST; acting head of CAISI, 2026 to now); Purdue University (John A. Edwardson Dean of Engineering, 2000–2026) ([nist.gov](https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2026/07/arvind-raman-confirmed-18th-nist-director), [executivegov.com](https://www.executivegov.com/articles/caisi-director-chris-fall-resignation-arvind-raman), [nist.gov](https://www.nist.gov/people/arvind-raman), [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/in/arvind-raman-88b20a6a))
- TIME profile: https://time.com/collection/time100-ai/2026/arvind-raman/
- Profile: https://www.autumn.ai/resources/most-influential-people-in-ai/arvind-raman

- A mechanical engineer by training, he built his research career on atomic force microscopes, which image and measure materials at the nanoscale. ([nist.gov](https://www.nist.gov/people/arvind-raman))
- Worked with NIST nanotechnology researchers from early in his career, decades before he was picked to run the agency. ([nist.gov](https://www.nist.gov/people/arvind-raman))
- As Purdue's engineering dean, oversaw a college that grants more engineering degrees a year than any other university, with tuition frozen for 14 years. ([nist.gov](https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2026/07/arvind-raman-confirmed-18th-nist-director))
- Sworn in as NIST director on June 30, 2026; three weeks later he also took over the US AI testing centre after its director quit. ([executivegov.com](https://www.executivegov.com/articles/caisi-director-chris-fall-resignation-arvind-raman))
- On the US Center for AI Standards and Innovation: "We are not regulatory by any means." ([time.com](https://time.com/collection/time100-ai/2026/arvind-raman/))
- Led the US delegation at the 2026 world conference on weights and measures, which set a 2030 target for redefining the second. ([linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/arvind-raman-88b20a6a_time-is-taking-a-giant-leap-forward-by-activity-7517232064556060672-SASl))