WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): National Science Foundation Director Sethuraman Panchanathan and several other eminent Indian-American scientists have been elected to the prestigious National Academy of Engineering, according to an official release. They include Ravi Prasher from Bloom Energy and Tejal Desai from Brown University. Thalappil Pradeep from IIT Chennai is the only Indian scientist among the 21 new international members selected to this top American engineering body. This is in addition to the 114 new US scientists who have been elected this year. This brings the total US membership to 2,310 and the number of international members to 332, the release said. Election to the National Academy of Engineering is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer.

Panchanathan has been elected to NAE for multimedia computing for assistive and rehabilitative applications and for leadership at the institutional and national levels.

Among other Indian-American scientists elected to the body are Shailendra Bordawekar, vice president, Small Molecule Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls Development, AbbVie Inc., Gurnee, Ill; Surajit Chaudhuri, distinguished scientist, data systems, Microsoft Research; and Tejal Desai from School of Engineering, Brown University. Garg Maheshwari, vice president, Biologics Development, Bristol Myers Squibb; Pandurang Nayak, vice president of Search, Google; Ravi Prasher, chief technology officer, Bloom Energy, and Raj Singh, regents professor of materials science and engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Oklahoma State University are also in the list. The National Academy of Engineering said Thalappil Pradeep, Deepak Parekh Institute Chair Professor and professor of chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, has been elected as the international member for contributions to cluster chemistry and the discovery and implementation of affordable drinking water solutions.

Election of the new NAE members is the culmination of a yearlong process. The ballot is set in December and the final vote for membership occurs during January. Individuals in the newly elected class will be formally inducted during the NAE’s annual meeting on September 29, 2024.
(Source: PTI)