Includes Ravindran Kannan of Microsoft Research India.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: The American Academy of Arts and Sciences announced the election of 197 new members for 2015, including four Indian Americans – Sanjeev Arora, Sangeeta N. Bhatia, Ravindran Kannan and Renu Malhotra.
Theoretical computer scientist Sanjeev Arora, who developed the PCP Theorem at Princeton University, is currently the Charles C. Fitzmorris Professor of Computer Science at the same institution. His research interests include computational complexity theory, uses of randomness in computation, probabilistically checkable proofs, computing approximate solutions to NP-hard problems, and geometric embeddings of metric spaces.
Sangeeta N. Bhatia, a 47-year-old biological engineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was inducted on the merit of her investigative research into the application of micro- and nano-technology for tissue repair and regeneration.
Ravindran Kannan, 62, serves as a principal researcher at Microsoft Research India, where he leads the algorithms research group. He is also the first adjunct faculty of Computer Science and Automation Department of Indian Institute of Science.
Renu Malhotra, 54, is an American physicist of Indian origin known for her work on the orbital resonance between Pluto and Neptune.
The overarching list include some of the world’s most accomplished scholars, scientists, writers, artists, and civic, business, and philanthropic leaders, and also. Members of the 2015 class include winners of the Nobel Prize and the Pulitzer Prize; MacArthur and Guggenheim Fellowships; and Grammy, Emmy, Oscar, and Tony Awards.
“We are honored to elect a new class of extraordinary women and men to join our distinguished membership,” said Don Randel, Chair of the Academy’s Board of Directors, in a statement. “Each new member is a leader in his or her field and has made a distinct contribution to the nation and the world. We look forward to engaging them in the intellectual life of this vibrant institution.”