Author: Zhi Zhai

Mr. Lip-Bu Tan, Intel CEO, Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award

We are honored to announce that Lip-Bu Tan, Chief Executive Officer of Intel Corporation, has been selected as the recipient of the Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award at the Asian American Engineer of the Year (AAEOY).

Mr. Tan is a globally recognized technology leader and visionary in the semiconductor industry. As CEO of Intel since 2025, he is leading the transformation of one of the world’s most iconic technology companies. Over his distinguished career, including his leadership at Cadence Design Systems and decades of venture investment, he has played a pivotal role in advancing innovation, entrepreneurship, and the global semiconductor ecosystem.

This award recognizes his lifelong contributions to engineering, technology leadership, and his lasting impact on the industry.

Bio:
Lip-Bu Tan is chief executive officer of Intel Corporation and serves on the company’s board of directors. He was appointed to his position in March 2025.

Tan is an accomplished executive with more than two decades of semiconductor and software experience and deep relationships across the technology ecosystem. He has received several accolades for his significant contributions to the industry, including the 2022 Robert N. Noyce Award, the Semiconductor Industry Association’s highest honor, and was named one of Forbes’ Top 50 Venture Capitalists.

Tan previously served as chief executive officer of Cadence Design Systems Inc. and was also a member of its board of directors. During his 12 years as Cadence’s chief executive officer, he led a reinvention of the company and drove a cultural transformation centered on customer-centric innovation that enabled Cadence to more than double its revenue, expand operating margins and significantly outperform the market.

Dr. Arun Majumdar, Dean of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, Distinguished Leadership in Science and Technology Award at 2026 AAEOY Conference

The organizing committee of the 2026 Asian American Executive of the Year (AAEOY) Award and Conference is pleased to announce Dr. Arun Majumdar, the inaugural Dean of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, will receive the Distinguished Leadership in Science and Technology Award at the 2026 AAEOY.

Dr. Majumdar is a globally recognized leader in energy science, technology innovation, and sustainable systems. As the founding Dean of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, he has played a transformative role in shaping one of the most ambitious academic efforts to address climate change and sustainability at scale. His leadership bridges fundamental science, engineering innovation, and real-world impact, advancing solutions that are critical to the future of our planet.

Throughout his distinguished career, Dr. Majumdar has made pioneering contributions to energy efficiency, clean energy technologies, and systems-level thinking in addressing complex global challenges. His work has influenced both academia and industry, and he has held key leadership roles that have helped guide national and global energy policy and research priorities.

Bio:

Dr. Arun Majumdar is the inaugural Dean of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. He is the Jay Precourt Provostial Chair Professor at Stanford University, a faculty member of the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Energy Science and Engineering, a Senior Fellow and former Director of the Precourt Institute for Energy and Senior Fellow (courtesy) of the Hoover Institution. He is also a faculty in Department of Photon Science at SLAC.

In October 2009, Dr. Majumdar was nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the Senate to become the Founding Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E), where he served until June 2012 and helped ARPA-E become a model of excellence and innovation for the government with bipartisan support from Congress and other stakeholders. Between March 2011 and June 2012, he also served as the Acting Under Secretary of Energy, enabling the portfolio of Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Office of Electricity Delivery and Reliability, Office of Nuclear Energy and the Office of Fossil Energy, as well as multiple cross-cutting efforts such as Sunshot, Grid Modernization Team and others that he had initiated. Furthermore, he was a Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Energy, Dr. Steven Chu, on a variety of matters related to management, personnel, budget, and policy. In 2010, he served on Secretary Chu’s Science Team to help stop the leak of the Deep Water Horizon (BP) oil spill.

Johnny Ho, Co-Founder of Perplexity AI, Named Featured Speaker

The organizing committee of the 2026 Asian American Executive of the Year (AAEOY) Award and Conference is pleased to announce that Johnny Ho, co-founder of Perplexity AI, will serve as a featured speaker at the 2026 AAEOY event. His session will be part of the conference’s Education and Innovation Track, highlighting the evolving role of artificial intelligence in knowledge access, learning, and decision-making.

Johnny Ho is recognized for his leadership in advancing AI-powered information discovery platforms and for helping shape next-generation search and answer systems used by millions worldwide. His work focuses on improving how people interact with complex information through large language models and real-time retrieval technologies.

At the 2026 AAEOY Conference, Ho will share insights on the future of AI-driven knowledge systems, the transformation of digital learning environments, and the practical impact of generative AI tools across education and industry. His talk will also explore how emerging AI platforms are redefining research workflows, productivity, and technical training.

The AAEOY Conference brings together leaders in engineering, technology, and entrepreneurship to recognize excellence, promote innovation, and foster cross-industry collaboration. Organizers say Ho’s participation reflects the conference’s commitment to featuring pioneers who are actively shaping the future of technology and education.

Bio:
Johnny Ho is the Cofounder and Chief Strategy Officer of Perplexity, where he leads product. Before founding Perplexity, he worked as a high-frequency trader at Tower Research Capital and as an engineer at Quora. A former competitive programmer, Johnny is a three-time gold medalist at the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI). In 2012, he ranked first in the world at IOI, earning a perfect score. He holds a degree in math and computer science from Harvard University and is based in San Francisco.

General Qualifications:

• The nominator must be an employee of a corporation, company, government agency, or organization, or an individual that resides, or with a branch office residing, in the United States.
• The nominee must be an engineer, scientist, educator, or corporate/government leader who has made exemplary contributions or provided commendable support to the engineering and science community and/or the public welfare. The nominee must be a US citizen or a US permanent resident of Asian descent.
• Once selected, the awardee must be present at the ceremony to receive the award.

Nomination Process:

1. Please email the completed supporting documents to nomination@aaeoy.org and cc Dr. David Fong at david_fong@hotmail.com by March 16, 2026. Please follow the requirements outlined below when preparing the nomination package:
    The AAEOY Award Nomination Form needs to be completed. The nominator is responsible for ensuring the nominee accepts the nomination and attends the award ceremony.
    Include typed copies of all supporting documents based on the selection criteria and requirements, save as PDF and submit them electronically.
    Include a half-page nominee biographical profile to be published in the AAEOY award program.
    Include one 3”x 5” photograph (dressed professionally from head to shoulder) of each nominee in
   your nomination package. Photographs should be in PDF, TIF or JPG format with 600 dpi or better
   resolution.
    Include a Statement of Citation of Accomplishment.

2. Submit Your Company or Organization Information (Due by May 15, 2026)

For details, please refer to the Guidelines for 2026 AAEOY Award Nomination and Selection 

AAEOY Nomination Form

AAEOY Nomination Guidelines