4 Indian-American scientists receive US presidential award

Mangalore Today News Network/DHNS

Washington, July 24, 2012: US President Barack Obama has named four Indian-American scientists among 96 researchers as recipients of the prestigious Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers.

The awards bestowed on Sridevi Vedula Sarma, Pawan Sinha, Parag A Pathak and Biju Parekkadan is the highest honour given by the US Government to science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers.

"Discoveries in science and technology not only strengthen our economy, they inspire us as a people," Obama said. "The impressive accomplishments of today’s awardees so early in their careers promise even greater advances in the years ahead."

Established in 1996, the awardees are selected for their pursuit of innovative research at the frontiers of science and technology and their commitment to community service as demonstrated through scientific leadership, public education, or community outreach.

An associate professor of computational and visual neuroscience in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sinha received his undergraduate degree in computer science from the IIT-New Delhi and his Masters and doctoral degrees from MIT.

Sarma is assistant professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Institute for Computational Medicine at the John Hopkins University. Parekkadan is associated with Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, whereas Parag A Pathak is from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.