John L. Anderson began his six-year term as president of the National Academy of Engineering July 1, 2019. Previously, he was president of the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) and distinguished professor of chemical engineering (2007–15), and provost and executive vice president at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) (2004–07). He worked at Carnegie Mellon University for 28 years, including 8 years as dean of the College of Engineering and 11 years as head of the chemical engineering department. He began his career as assistant professor of chemical engineering at Cornell University (1971–76).

Dr. Anderson was elected to the NAE in 1992 “for contributions to the understanding of colloidal hydrodynamics and membrane transport phenomena.” He was elected an NAE councillor in 2015. His extensive service to the NAE includes serving as chair of the Membership Policy Committee, Nominating Committee, Chemical Engineering Section, and Chemical Engineering Peer Committee. For the National Academies he has chaired the Committee on Determining Basic Research Needs to Interrupt the Improvised Explosive Device Delivery Chain, and the Committee on Review of Existing and Potential Standoff Explosives Detection Techniques.

Dr. Anderson is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and American Association for the Advancement of Science, and was appointed to the National Science Board (2014–20). He received the Acrivos Professional Progress Award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and the National Engineering Award from the American Association of Engineering Societies. He earned a BS from the University of Delaware (1967) and PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1971), both in chemical engineering. He holds honorary doctorates from IIT, Case Western Reserve University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and the University of Delaware.