Indian-American researchers to receive honor from President Obama

WASHINGTON (DIYA TV) — Among a vast group of 106 scientists and engineers who will be honored receiving the Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers are six Indian Americans — the award is the highest attainable government prize young independent researchers can receive.

Milind Kulkarni (Purdue University), Kiran Musunuru (Harvard University), Sachin Patel (Vanderbilt University Medical Center), Vikram Shyam (NASA), Rahul Mangharam (University of Pennsylvania) and Shwetak Patel (University of Washington) will all be honored during a ceremony in the spring, according to a statement from the White House.

“These early-career scientists are leading the way in our efforts to confront and understand challenges from climate change to our health and wellness,” President Obama said. “We congratulate these accomplished individuals and encourage them to continue to serve as an example of the incredible promise and ingenuity of the American people.”

Since the awards inception in 1996, the Presidential Early Career Awards showcases an emphasis the United States government places in encouraging and accelerating domestic innovation to further bolster America’s economy.

Milind Kulkarni is an associate professor with the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue University. Kulkarni’s research focuses on programing languages and compilers promote more effective programming and high performance on emerging complex architectures.

Dr. Vikram Shyam, one of six NASA scientists to receive this year’s award, works in fundamental aeronautics at the Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.

Shwetak Patel, an endowed professor of computer science, engineering and electrical engineering at the Washington Research Foundation, has been nationally recognized as an expert in sensor systems research.

Rahul Mangharam, of the University of Pennsylvania, was selected for his invention of new methodology to test and verify the operation of medical device software. This is turn results in more lives saved, and dollars saved, the National Science Foundation said in a statement.

Dr. Kiran Musunuru, assistant professorof Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology at Harvard University, and associate physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, developed a genome editing approach for permanently reducing the cholesterol levels in mice.

Sachin Patel, an assistant professor of psychiatry, and molecular physiology and biophysics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, has been conducting research to aid the sobering process of alcoholics.

“The awardees are outstanding scientists and engineers,” said the National Science Foundation director France Cordova. “They are teacher-scholars who are developing new generations of outstanding scientists and engineers and ensuring this nation is a leading innovator.”