Heidi Shyu is a Taiwanese-born American engineer who has served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering in the Biden administration since July 25, 2021. She previously served as the United States Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology ASA(ALT) from 2012 to January 30, 2016.
In 2019, Shyu was elected as a member of the National Academy of Engineering for the development of innovative radar/electrooptics/infrared systems in support of the US Army and Air Force.
Shyu's grandfather, Xu Kangliang, was born in Zhejiang, China. He was a warplane pilot who took part in many air battles during the Second Sino-Japanese War and later was promoted to the post of Deputy Commander of Republic of China Air Force. Her father, Xu Naili was a historian born in Hangzhou, China. Her entire family emigrated to Taiwan following the KMT defeat in the Chinese Civil War.
Shyu received a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the University of New Brunswick, a Master of Science in Mathematics from the University of Toronto, and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles. She also received an Engineer degree from the University of California, Los Angeles.
