Six Indian Americans, who have made to the list of 106
scientists and engineers, with the highest US government prize for young
independent researchers will be honored by US President Barack Obama.
People selected are Milind Kulkarni (Purdue University), Kiran Musunuru (Harvard University), Sachin Patel (Vanderbilt University Medical Centre), Vikram Shyam (NASA), Rahul Mangharam (University of Pennsylvania) and Shwetak Patel (University of Washington). These are selected for the Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers.
Obama said that these scientists are leading by confronting and challenging problems from climate change to our health and wellness. Obama will present the awards at a ceremony this spring.
He congratulated them and said that he wants to encourage them to continue to serve as an example of the incredible promise and ingenuity of the American people
These awards were established in 1996 in order to highlight the role that government takes in encouraging innovation to grow economy and at the same time, tackle great challenges.
Some of the innovations include-
An associate professor with the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purude University, Milind Kulkarni, in his research, focuses on Programming Languages and Compilers that support efficient programming and high performance on emerging complex architectures.
Another one- Dr. Vikram Shyam who is among the six NASA scientists to receive this award did a technical innovation in fundamental aeronautics, at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. Shwetak Patel, Washington Research Foundation Entrepreneurship Endowed Professor in Computer Science and Engineering and Electrical Engineering, Patel, is a nationally recognised expert in sensor systems research.
From the University of Pennsylvania, Rahul Mangharam was selected for inventing a new formal methodology to test and verify the correct operation of medical device software, saving lives and reducing care costs.
Dr. Kiran Musunuru who is an Assistant Professor of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology at Harvard University and Associate Physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital, has developed a "genome editing" approach for permanently reducing cholesterol levels in mice.
Sachin Patel, an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, and Molecular Physiology and Biophysics Vanderbilt University Medical Centre, through his research, is offering a glimmer of hope to alcoholics who find it hard to remain sober.
As per France Cordova, The National Science Foundation Director, awardees are talented scientists and engineers. They are teachers who are developing new generations of outstanding scientists and engineers and ensuring this nation is a leading innovator.