Premier US Engineering Academy elects nine NRIs as members

Washington, Feb. 27: The highest professional body of engineers in the United States, the National Academy of Engineering, has included at least nine Indian-Americans in a list of 172 new members it has elected.

Election to the Academy is among the highest professional honours accorded to an engineer.

The latest list, which was published on February 13, brings the number elected to a total of 2,174, including 172 foreign associates.

Siva B. Banda, an NRI who was elected, is a senior scientist and leader, Control Science Center of Excellence, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

He has been elected for showing leadership in the development of multivariable control theory and its applications to an array of military vehicles.

Anup K. Chakraborty, Warren and Katherine Schlinger Distinguished Professor and Chair, department of chemical engineering, University of California, Berkeley has been elected for the application of theoretical chemistry to practical problems, including immune system recognition, polymer interfaces, sensor technology, and catalysis.

Rakesh K. Jain, Director, Edwin L. Steele Laboratory, department of radiation oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston received the honour for his work on the integration of bioengineering with tumor biology and imaging gene expression and function in vivo for drug delivery on tumors. (PTI)