2nd Asian American Pioneer Medal Symposium and Ceremony
Celebrating our shared American history, the pursuit of scientific and research excellence, our Asian American pioneers, and the transformative power of innovation, the Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF), in partnership with the Stanford University Asian American Research Center, hosted the second Asian American Pioneer Medal Symposium and Ceremony from July 25–27, 2025, at Stanford University.
With more than 2,000 registrants, this year’s event expanded into a three-day experience featuring over 15 panels and sessions, as well as more than 50 of the nation’s top minds in energy, artificial intelligence, life sciences, and leadership. Scholars, students, and leaders from across the country and around the world gathered to recognize the enduring contributions of Asian American pioneers and to elevate public dialogue around science, technology, and academic leadership.
Agenda
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Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
AASF-Hoover Joint Forum: Advancing Policies through Dialogues
Day 1
AASF Science and Technology Symposium
Opening Remarks
Speakers:
Yi Cui, Symposium Co-Chair
Kai Li, AASF Vice President & Symposium Co-Chair
Gisela Kusakawa, AASF Executive Director
Prof. Gordon H. Chang, director of the Asian American Research Center at Stanford University
Keynote:
Sundar Pichai, Alphabet & Google
Artificial Intelligence
Keynote:
Bill Dally
Chief Scientist & SVP, NVIDIA
Panel Discussion:
- Dawn Song (Moderator), Co-Director, Berkeley Center on Responsible Decentralized Intelligence
- Ed Chi, VP of Research, Google Deepmind
- Ashok Elluswamy, VP of Autonomous Driving, Tesla
- Jason Kwon, Chief Strategy Officer, OpenAI
Energy
Keynote:
Honorable Steven Chu
Nobel laureate, Former U.S. Secretary of Energy, Professor, Stanford Turing Award laureate, CMU
Panel Discussion:
- Yi Cui (Moderator), Faculty Director, Sustainability Accelerator, Stanford
- Arun Majumdar, Dean of Doerr School of Sustainability, Stanford
- Ah-Hyung “Alissa” Park, Dean of Samueli School of Engineering, UCLA
- Evelyn Wang, VP for Climate & Energy, MIT
Life Science
Keynote:
Thomas C. Südhof
Nobel laureate, Director, Center for Molecular Neuroscience in Health and Disease, SUSM, Stanford
Panel Discussion:
- Kang Shen (Moderator), Director, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford
- Lin He, Professor, Thomas and Stacey Siebel Distinguished Chair in Stem Cell Research, UC Berkeley
- Charlene Liao, CEO, Immune-Onc Therapeutics, Inc.
- Jonathan Long, Chemistry, Engineering & Medicine for Human Health, Stanford
- Xiang Qian, Stanford Medicine Endowed Director, Stanford
New Materials
Keynote:
Peidong Yang
Director of the Kavli Energy NanoScience Institute (ENSI), UC Berkeley
Panel Discussion:
- Zhigang Suo (Moderator), Professor of Mechanics and Materials, Harvard
- Zhenan Bao, Director, Stanford Wearable Electronics Initiative, Stanford
- Kristin Persson, Division Director Molecular Foundry, UC Berkeley
- Xuanhe Zhao, Professor, MIT
AI for X
Keynote:
Pushmeet Kohli
VP of AI for Science, Google DeepMind
Panel Discussion:
- Mengdi Wang (Moderator), Co-Director of AI for Accelerating Invention, Princeton
- Jason Cong, Director, Center for Customizable Domain-Specific Computing, UCLA
- Hai (Helen) Li, Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Duke
- Ju Li, Professor of Nuclear Engineering and Material Science and Engineering, MIT
- Olga Troyanskaya, Director of Princeton Precision Healthcare, Princeton
Fireside Chat With Secretary Elaine Chao
Secretary Elaine Chao, 24th United States Secretary of Labor & 18th United States Secretary of Transportation
Host: Secretary Steven Chu, Nobel laureate, Former U.S. Secretary of Energy, Professor, Stanford
Day 2
Asian American Pioneer and Justice Medal Symposium and Ceremony
Opening Remarks
Keynote:
Honorable Ted Lieu, Congressman of California’s 36th Congressional District, Vice Chair of the Democratic Caucus
Illumination
Keynote:
Shuji Nakamura
Nobel laureate, UC Santa Barbara
Panel Discussion:
- Steven DenBaars (Moderator), Co-Director, Solid State Lighting & Energy Electronics Center, UCSB
- Srabanti Chowdhury, Associate Professor, Electrical Engineering, Stanford
- James Harris, Professor Emeritus, School of Engineering, Stanford
- Junqiao Wu, Chair of Materials Department, UC Berkeley
Robotic Edge
Keynote:
Mani Menon
Chief of Strategy and Innovation, Department of Urology, Mt. Sinai Hospital
Panel Discussion:
- Ming Lin (Moderator), Professor of Computer Science, University of Maryland
- Ken Goldberg, William S. Floyd Jr. Distinguished Chair in Engineering, Professor, UC Berkeley
- Michael Yip, Director of the Advanced Robotics and Controls Laboratory, Associate Professor, UCSD
- Jian Zhang, CEO, Noah Medical
- Renee Zhao, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford
Medical Frontiers
Keynote:
David Ho
Founding Director, Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, Columbia
Panel Discussion:
- Haifan Lin (Moderator), Founding Director, Yale Stem Cell Center, Yale
- Helen Blau, Director, Baxter Laboratory for Stem Cell Biology, Stanford Medicine
- Sten H. Vermund, Dean of USF College of Public Health
- Joseph C. Wu, Director, Stanford Cardiovascular Institute, Stanford
Curious Minds
AASF youth council members interview Asian American Pioneer Medalists and Nobel Laureates, exploring the paths, passions, and insights that shaped their groundbreaking work.
Research Impact
Panel Discussion:
- Yasheng Huang (Moderator), Epoch Foundation Professor of International Management, MIT
- Arun Majumdar, Dean of Doerr School of Sustainability, Stanford
- Ah-Hyung “Alissa” Park, Dean of Samueli School of Engineering, UCLA
- Evelyn Wang, VP for Climate & Energy, MIT
Fireside Chat With Jensen Huang
Jensen Huang, Founder and CEO, NVIDIA
Host: Xuedong Huang, Zoom, CTO
Asian American Pioneer and Justice Medal Ceremony
Pioneer Medal Presentations:
- Dr. David Ho, Professor of Microbiology & Immunology, Clyde ’56 and Helen Wu Professor of Medicine; Director, Wu Family China Center; and Emeritus Founding Director, Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center at Columbia University, honored for pioneering HIV/AIDS research and treatment
- Dr. Mani Menon, Chief of Strategy and Innovation in the Department of Urology for the Mount Sinai Health System, honored for groundbreaking advances in robotic surgery
- Dr. Shuji Nakamura, CREE Professor of Solid State Lighting and Displays, Materials at the University of California – Santa Barbara, honored for inventing the blue LED
- Chih-Tang (Tom) Sah, Professor Emeritus of Physics and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, honored for revolutionary work in semiconductor electronics
- Wong Tsoo, honored posthumously for pioneering modern aircraft design as the first aeronautical engineer at Boeing
Justice Medal Presentations:
- Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga, political activist, honored for uncovering critical evidence for the coram nobis cases which led to the Civil Liberties Act of 1988
- Fred Korematsu, civil rights activist, honored for fighting for the rights of Japanese Americans affected by incarceration during World War II
- Dr. Karen Korematsu, Founder and President of the Korematsu Institute, honored for advancing civil liberties and public education
Day 3
AASF-Hoover Joint Forum: Advancing Policies through Dialogues
Opening Remarks
Speakers:
Yasheng Huang, AASF President
Glenn Tiffert, Co-Chair Hoover Institute
Fireside Chat With Secretary Condoleezza Rice
Secretary Condoleezza Rice, Distinguished guest, 66th Secretary of State, Director of the Hoover Institution, Stanford
Host: Arun Majumdar, Dean of Doerr School of Sustainability, Stanford
NSF Secure
Moderator: Frances Hisgen, Hoover Institute
Panelists:
Steve Ellis, NSF
Pramod Khangonekar, UC Irvine
John Sarrao, SLAC
David Studdert, Stanford University
New Data
Speakers:
Xihong Lin, Harvard University
Yu Xie, Princeton University
Roundtable
Moderator: Gisela Kusakawa, AASF Executive Director
Panelists:
Christina Eller, NSF Secure Center
Margaret Lewis, NSF Secure Center
Glenn Tiffert, NSF Secure Analytics
Closing
Program Co-Chairs: Yi Cui & Kai Li
