Cornell AAP Ratan N. Tata Distinguished Alumni Award Ceremony with a Keynote Presentation by Architect Billie Tsien

Billie Tsien, AIA

Architect and Founding Partner of Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects | Partners

Billie Tsien, along with her partner, Tod Williams, founded their New York-based practice, Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects | Partners, in 1986. Their practice is committed to reflecting the values of non-profit, cultural, and academic institutions toward an architecture of permanence and enduring vision. A sense of rootedness, light, texture, detail, and, most of all, experience are at the heart of what they design.

Some of their notable projects include the renovation of David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City, the Asia Society Hong Kong, the LeFrak Center at Lakeside in Prospect Park, and the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia. Their current works in construction include the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City and the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park, Chicago.

Over the past three decades, their dedication to this work has been recognized by numerous national and international citations, including the National Medal of Arts from President Obama, the 2013 Firm of the Year Award from the American Institute of Architects, and the 2019 Praemium Imperiale presented by the Japan Art Association.

In parallel to her practice, Tsien teaches and lectures across the country and is a devoted participant in the broader cultural community. She currently serves as a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome and has been inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters, National Academy of Design, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. In 2021, Tsien was appointed by President Biden to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, serving as the first Asian-American and woman to be Chair. She is steadfast in her mission to create a better world through architecture and support a broader and more diverse cultural landscape.

Natarajan Chandrasekaran

Chairman, Tata Sons

Natarajan Chandrasekaran (Chandra) is the Chairman of Tata Sons, the holding company and promoter of all Tata group companies. Chandra joined the Board of Tata Sons in October 2016 and was appointed Chairman in January 2017. He also chairs the boards of several group operating companies, including Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Power, Air India, Tata Chemicals, Tata Consumer Products, Indian Hotel Company, and Tata Consultancy Services.

Before becoming the Chairman, he was the Chief Executive of TCS, a company in which he served for 30 years, including eight, until 2017, as its CEO. Under Chandra's leadership, TCS became the country's most valuable company.

At the Tata group, Chandra has pursued the "One Tata" strategy, based on the themes of simplification, scale, and synergy. Now he is driving the transformation of the Tata group towards a sustainable future. He has steered the group into new businesses including semiconductors, electronics manufacturing, consumer internet platforms, mobile technology, and battery giga-factories. The Tata group has expanded its aviation presence with the acquisition of Air India and is building a large global airline. The group's turnover exceeded US$168 billion with a market cap of US$365 billion as of March 31, 2024.

Chandra is on the International Advisory Council of Singapore's Economic Development Board, Mitsubishi's International Advisory Committee, and the Board of Governors of the New York Academy of Sciences. He is the Cochair of the India-US CEO Forum.

The numerous recognitions conferred on him include the Padma Bhushan, one of India's highest civilian awards, in 2022, and France's highest civilian award, La Légion d'honneur, in 2023. In 2025, he was conferred an Honorary Knight of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.

Chandra has been awarded several honorary doctorates by leading universities in India and internationally, including an honorary Doctor of Letters from Macquarie University, Australia; Doctor Honoris Causa by Nyenrode University, The Netherlands; and Doctor of Letters from the Regional Engineering College, Trichy, Tamil Nadu.

Chandra is also the author of Bridgital Nation, a groundbreaking book on harnessing technological disruptions to bring Indians closer to their dreams. He is an avid photographer and a passionate long-distance marathon runner. He is a Six Star Finisher of the World Marathon Majors and continues to champion fitness.

Michael I. Kotlikoff

President of Cornell University

Michael I. Kotlikoff is the president of Cornell University and a professor of molecular physiology.  

Prior to his appointment, President Kotlikoff was Cornell's longest-serving provost, holding that office from August 2015 to June 2024.  

He is a veterinarian and biomedical researcher whose laboratory's work in cell signaling and heart repair was continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health for over 35 years. He was the founding chair of the Department of Biomedical Sciences and chair of the Mammalian Genomics Life Science Initiative. He served as the Austin O. Hooey Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine from 2007 to 2015.

J. Meejin Yoon

Gale and Ira Drukier Dean, Cornell AAP

J. Meejin Yoon is the Gale and Ira Drukier Dean of the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning at Cornell University and cofounding partner of Höweler + Yoon. An architect, designer, and educator, Yoon is committed to advancing creative and critical practices, pedagogies, scholarship, and research to address the many urgent environmental and social challenges we face in our cities and communities.

Yoon's design research examines intersections between architecture, urbanism, technology, and the public realm. Yoon's body of work includes cultural and institutional buildings and public spaces such as the Memorial to Enslaved Laborers and the Karsh Institute of Democracy at the University of Virginia, the Collier Memorial and MIT Museum at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Living Village at Yale University.