US President Joe Biden has formally nominated Taiwanese-American Heidi Shyu for undersecretary of defense for research and engineering. If confirmed, Shyu will be the second woman after Michèle Flournoy, to be undersecretary of defense. The undersecretary for research and engineering is the department’s top technology development job. Her mission would include developing next-generation hypersonic weapons.
Shyu was the Army’s top weapon’s buyer during the Obama administration. Before her government service, she was vice president of technology strategy for the Space and Airborne Systems business unit at Raytheon. She’s also been a member of the board of the space-focused Aerospace Corp. and at Levitate Capital, a venture firm that invests in technology such as drones.
Shyu is an American citizen who was born in Taiwan and immigrated to the US at age ten. If confirmed by the Senate, Shyu will be the highest ranking Asian-American civilian at the Pentagon.
Shyu would also be among the top women in the Pentagon along with Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, Army secretary nominee Christine Wormuth, and Pentagon cost assessment unit director nominee Susanna Blume.