Bioengineering and chemical engineering building at Stanford named for gifts from Ram and Vijay Shriram

Joel Simon

Stanford University trustee Ram Shriram, right, and his wife, Vijay, have donated $61 million for the new Shriram Center for Bioengineering & Chemical Engineering and an endowed departmental chair.

Stanford University will name a new home for bioengineering and chemical engineering in recognition of gifts from university trustee Kavitark "Ram" Shriram and his wife, Vidjealatchoumy "Vijay" Shriram. The couple have provided $57 million in support for the new Shriram Center for Bioengineering & Chemical Engineering, the fourth and final building in the university's new Science and Engineering Quad. The Shrirams also will endow the departmental chair in the Department of Bioengineering, bringing their total philanthropic support in this area to $61 million.

Stanford has raised $78 million toward the total cost of the Shriram Center, including significant gifts from several other donors. The first occupants of the Shriram Center are scheduled to move in later this month.

"The Shriram Center will unite innovators in science, engineering and medicine, enabling them to work together more closely and more quickly," said John L. Hennessy, Stanford's president. "We have also put teaching spaces at the very heart of the research facility, ensuring that future generations will be ready to realize the full potential of these fields. We are deeply grateful to Ram and Vijay for sharing our vision, and for the extraordinary generosity that is making the center a reality."

With more than 208,000 square feet of space, the Shriram Center is the largest of the four structures in the Science and Engineering Quad. Both the Department of Bioengineering and the Department of Chemical Engineering, which are currently dispersed in several buildings on campus, will be consolidated at the new facility. The main floor of their shared home is dedicated to teaching spaces for both undergraduate and graduate students. Students, faculty and researchers will benefit from close proximity to the School of Medicine and Stanford hospitals, as well as other engineering departments located within the quadrangle.

"Just as advances in information technology and communications have transformed lives, bioengineering and chemical engineering are now poised to bring about great change," Ram Shriram said. "By forging ties among vital disciplines, the university is positioning engineers and biomedical scientists to make world-changing breakthroughs."

Ram Shriram is the founder and managing partner of Sherpalo Ventures LLC, a Menlo Park angel capital fund. He has been a member of Stanford's Board of Trustees since 2009 and currently serves as chair of its committee on online education.

Vijay Shriram is a member of the advisory council at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and serves on the board of directors of Stanford's public charter school, East Palo Alto Academy. She is a close collaborator on many Stanford projects in early childhood education.

The Shrirams have been longtime supporters of Stanford and dedicated volunteers. In addition to their gifts to bioengineering and chemical engineering at Stanford, they have endowed the Shriram Family Professorship in Science Education and the Shriram Family Fellowship in Science Education, both in the Graduate School of Education, and provided generous support to The Stanford Fund for Undergraduate Education and other annual funds. As the parents of two Stanford graduates, they have served on Stanford's Parents Advisory Board.

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Bioengineering and chemical engineering building at Stanford named for gifts from Ram and Vijay Shriram