Jean-Lou Chameau is an independent consultant based in Paris, specializing in higher education, research and innovation. He is President Emeritus of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), an institution he led from 2006 to 2013. During his tenure as president, Caltech became number one in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, based at Caltech, successfully landed the rover Curiosity on Mars.

After his tenure at Caltech, he served as the President of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia. Upon his return to France in 2018, he was appointed by the French government to initiate and plan the creation of the Institut Polytechnique de Paris (IP Paris). His plan was modeled after MIT and based on a regrouping of five Grandes Ecoles located on the Plateau de Saclay — Polytechnique, Ensta, Ensae, Télécom ParisTech and Télécom SudParis — IP Paris entered the Top 50 in its first ranking of QS World University Rankings in 2022.

Dr. Chameau received his undergraduate education from the École Nationale Supérieure d’Arts et Métiers and earned his Ph.D. in civil engineering from Stanford University. Prior to the presidency of Caltech, he had a distinguished career as a professor and administrator at Purdue University and the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). After serving as director of the school of civil and environmental engineering at Georgia Tech, he left academia for the private sector, serving as president of Golder Associates, an international environmental and geotechnical consulting company. He then returned to Georgia Tech as a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar and vice-provost for research and subsequently dean of the college of engineering.

An internationally recognized leader, Dr. Chameau has been committed to fostering excellence in science and technology, as well as promoting a multidisciplinary approach to research and education (“The Leader with the Midas Touch”, Times Higher Education, 2017). Early in his career, Dr. Chameau’s research focused on soil dynamics and earthquake engineering, extending into environmental geotechnology and sustainable technology in the late 1980's. He received numerous awards for his research and contributions as an educator and academic leader.  He is a member of both the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and the French Académie des Technologies, he was elected Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur  in his native France, and has been active on industry and public boards throughout his career.