Three renowned scientists of Indian-origin figure in prestigious White House honors list this year. Out of the three luminaries, two are inventors and the third is a researcher. Two of them are IIT-ians, alumni of the academically elite Indian Institute of Technology.
New York University's Srinivasa SR Vardhan, Purdue University's Rakesh Agarwal, and North Carolina State Univeristy's B Jayant Baliga are among the select dozen named by President Obama to receive the National Medal of Science, and for Technology and Innovation, the highest honor bestowed by the US government on scientists, engineers and inventors.
"Each of these extraordinary scientists, engineers, and inventors is guided by a passion for innovation, fearlessness even as they explore the very frontiers of human knowledge, and a desire to make the world a better place. Their ingenuity inspires us all to reach higher and try harder, no matter how difficult the challenges we face." said Obama in a statement.
Srinivasa S.R. Varadhan, an alumnus of Presidency College, Chennai and Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkota, won the award for his work in probability theory, especially his work on large deviations from expected random behaviour, which has revolutionized this field of study during the second half of the twentieth century and become a cornerstone of both pure and applied probability.
New York University's Srinivasa SR Vardhan, Purdue University's Rakesh Agarwal, and North Carolina State Univeristy's B Jayant Baliga are among the select dozen named by President Obama to receive the National Medal of Science, and for Technology and Innovation, the highest honor bestowed by the US government on scientists, engineers and inventors.
"Each of these extraordinary scientists, engineers, and inventors is guided by a passion for innovation, fearlessness even as they explore the very frontiers of human knowledge, and a desire to make the world a better place. Their ingenuity inspires us all to reach higher and try harder, no matter how difficult the challenges we face." said Obama in a statement.
Srinivasa S.R. Varadhan, an alumnus of Presidency College, Chennai and Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkota, won the award for his work in probability theory, especially his work on large deviations from expected random behaviour, which has revolutionized this field of study during the second half of the twentieth century and become a cornerstone of both pure and applied probability.
Rakesh Agarwal, an alumnus of IIT Kanpur, was awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation for "an extraordinary record of innovations in improving the energy efficiency and reducing the cost of gas liquefaction and separation. These innovations have had significant positive impacts on electronic device manufacturing, liquefied gas production, and the supply of industrial gases for diverse industries," the citation said.
B.Jayant Baliga, an alumnus of IIT Chennai, won in the same category for development and commercialization of the Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor and other power semiconductor devices that are extensively used in transportation, lighting, medicine, defense, and renewable energy generation systems.
[Source: Times of India]
