Sethuraman (Panch) Panchanathan is a computer scientist, an academic administrator, and a professor at Arizona State University. He served as the 15th director of the US National Science Foundation from 2020 to 2025 before resigning from the position on April 24, 2025.

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Panchanathan previously served at Arizona State University as executive vice president of knowledge enterprise development and chief research and innovation officer. He was also founding director of the Center for Cognitive Ubiquitous Computing (CUbiC), Foundation Chair of Computing and Informatics at the university, and a professor in the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence (SCAI), part of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. 

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In January 2025, Panch was announced as a recipient of the Padma Shri, the Government of India’s fourth-highest civilian award. The award was conferred by President Droupadi Murmu at the May 2025 Civil Investiture Ceremony-II. 

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Panch was born and raised in Chennai, India. He attended Vivekananda College (University of Madras), graduating in 1981 with a BSc in physics. Subsequently, in 1984, he earned a BE in electronics and communication engineering from the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore. 

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In 1986, Panch completed his MTech in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. He later enrolled in the doctoral program at the University of Ottawa and received his PhD in electrical and computer engineering in 1989 while working under the direction of Morris Goldberg.