Three Indian American scientists receive top science award from Obama

B. Jayant Balinga receiving medal award from President Obama

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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B. Jayant Balinga receiving medal award from President ObamaPresident Barack Obama honor three “extraordinary” India American scientists and nine other recipients of the National Medals for Science, Technology and Innovation at the White House. This is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on scientists, engineers and inventors. All three India-born scientists studied extensively in India and came to the U.S. to pursue their post-graduate degrees.

“It’s safe to say that this is a group that makes us really uncomfortable about our old science projects,” Obama gagged during a ceremony in the White House on Friday.

“You know, the volcano with the stuff coming out — with the baking soda inside. Apparently that was not cutting edge achievement, even though our parents told us it was really wonderful.”

Once the laughter collapsed, the president thanked the recipients; “Even though these folks have not required out the kind of celebrity that lands you on the cover of “People” magazine, the truth is that today’s honorees have made a bigger difference in our lives than most of us will ever realize. When we fill up our cars, talk on our cell phones, or take a lifesaving drug, we don’t always think about the ideas and the effort that made it all possible.”

He has shown appreciation towards their work and said that it had bought the world “one step closer to curing diseases like cancer and Parkinson’s… Planes are safer, satellites are cheaper, and our energy grid is more efficient, thanks to the breakthroughs they have made.”

Srinivasa S.R Varadhan with President ObamaIn his speech, Obama has cited two motivating statistics but not particularly new trends: three-quarters of the beneficiary are foreign-born. “From China, Germany, India, Canada and England, they searched for the best universities and the most advanced labs — and they found them here, because America is the best place in the world to do the work that they do,” said Obama.

The president also said only about one in ten undergraduate students are enrolled in STEM subjects: science, technology, engineering and math. Srinivasa SR Varadhan received the Science medal from President Obama for his work in probability theory, especially his work on large deviations from expected haphazard behavior. The citation said that the mathematical insights Varadhan developed, have been applied in miscellaneous fields, including quantum field theory, population dynamics, finance, econometrics and traffic engineering.

Varadhan is a professor of Mathematics and the Frank J. Gould, Professor of Science at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University. He is one of three Courant mathematicians to win the Abel Prize, which many consider to be the Nobel Prize for Maths.

Varadhan has received his B.Sc honors degree and M.A. from Presidency College, Madras and his PhD from the Indian Statistical Institute under CR Rao, who arranged for famous soviet mathematician, Andrey Kolmogorov to be present at Varadhan’s thesis defense. Varadhan first came to Courant as a post-doctoral fellow in 1963 and has spent his entire specialized life there, serving two terms as its director.

Rakesh Agarwal with President ObamaPurdue University’s Rakesh Agarwal and North Carolina State Univeristy’s B. Jayant Baliga were the recipients of the National Medal of Technology and modernization. Both studied extensively inIndiaand graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology.

Agarwal, an illustrious professor of chemical engineering at Purdue University, holds 116 U.S. patents, nearly 500 non-US patents and has authored 93 technical papers. A citation for the award identified him for “an extraordinary record of innovations. These innovations have had significant positive impacts on electronic device manufacturing, liquefied gas production and the supply of industrial gases for diverse industries.”

“I am very grateful to President Obama for this recognition,” Agrawal said. Agarwal has earned a doctorate in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1980, a master’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Delaware and a bachelor’s in chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in 1975.

Professor Baliga, who is measured a “hero” for revolutionizing power electronics was on the White House honoree’s list for inventing the Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) at General Electric. The IGBT is a device that saves energy and controls power flow in commercial and industrial power systems. It is used in many electronic devices, including Japan’s Bullet train, air conditioners, electric cars, lighting systems and many industrial and household machines.

Baliga’s work has led to huge lessening of gasoline and electrical energy consumption, resulting in cost savings and cuts in world-wide carbon dioxide emissions. According to the industry, Baliga’s work has improved efficiency of IGBT-enabled applications, saved US consumers $2.7 trillion, and saved $15.8 trillion for worldwide consumers over the past 20 years. The professor from North Carolina State University has written 16 books and over 500 scientific articles. He has 100 U.S. Patents.

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