Dr. Tien currently serves as International Secretary of the National Academy of Engineering and is a Distinguished Professor and Faculty Ombudsperson at the University of Miami College of Engineering. Although born in the City of New York, he grew up in Jilin, China, and Sao Paulo, Brazil. He has previously held leadership positions at Bell Telephone Laboratories, Rand Corporation, and Structured Decisions Corporation. In 1977, Dr. Tien joined the Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic University, where he twice served as Acting Dean of Engineering. He is an internationally renowned scholar who has made significant contributions to the development and application of information and decision systems concepts and methodologies. He served on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ (IEEE) Board of Directors and was Vice President of both its Publication Services and Products Board and its Educational Activities Board. He has received several IEEE awards, including the 2010 IEEE Richard M. Emberson Award “for vision and leadership in advancing IEEE’s global visibility and recognition as an innovator in technical, publication, and educational services.” Dr. Tien earned his BS in electrical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic University and his PhD in systems engineering and operations research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.