Sethuraman Panchanathan, the director of the National Science Foundation, along with nine other Indian Americans, has been elected to the esteemed National Academy of Engineering (NAE), known for its leadership in engineering service to the nation.
Among the new international members, Thalappil Pradeep, the Deepak Parekh Institute Chair Professor and a professor of chemistry at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India, stands out as one of the 21 distinguished individuals.
With this addition, the NAE now boasts a total US membership of 2,310 and an international membership of 332, as per an NAE press release. Election to the NAE is considered one of the highest professional distinctions an engineer can achieve, recognizing outstanding contributions to engineering research, practice, or education.
The newly selected members will officially join during the NAE’s yearly assembly on September 29, 2024.
Among the Indian American members elected are Sethuraman Panchanathan, recognized for his work in multimedia computing for assistive and rehabilitative applications, and Shailendra V. Bordawekar, acknowledged for his leadership in the pharmaceutical industry. Babu R. Chalamala is honored for his advancements in battery storage systems, while Surajit Chaudhuri is recognized for his contributions to automated database system tuning and query optimization.
Tejal A. Desai is acknowledged for her work in nanofabricated materials for biologics delivery, and Kiruba Sivasubramaniam Haran is recognized for innovations in electric machinery technology. Gargi Maheshwari is honored for her contributions to industrial bioprocessing, while Pandurang Nayak is recognized for his work in web search ranking technology.
Ravi Prasher is acknowledged for his developments in thermal management technologies for microelectronics, and Raj N. Singh is recognized for his contributions to the science and technology of manufacturing fiber-reinforced ceramic matrix composites.
Additionally, Thalappil Pradeep from India is acknowledged for his contributions to cluster chemistry and the discovery and implementation of affordable drinking water solutions.
