President Barack Obama will felicitate a 65-year-old Indian-American professor Rakesh K Jain at the Harvard Medical School with the US’ highest honours for achievement and leadership in advancing the fields of science and technology. Dr Rakesh K Jain, an IIT-Kanpur alumnus and professor of tumor biology at Massachusetts General Hospital in the Harvard Medical School, will receive the National Medal of Science at a White House ceremony early next year.

Jain is among the nine latest recipients of the National Medal of Science. Eight persons have been chosen for the latest National Medal of Technology and Innovation. The White House has announced the recipients of the National Medal of Science and National Medal of Technology and Innovation, America’s highest honors for achievement and leadership in advancing the fields of science and technology.

About Jain

• Jain has received numerous awards for his work on tumor biology, particularly research on the link between tumor blood vessels and improving the effects of chemotherapy and radiation treatment.
• He received his B.Tech degree from the IIT-Kanpur in Chemical Engineering in 1972.

About the Award

• The National Medal of Science was created by statute in 1959 and is administered for the White House by the National Science Foundation.
• Awarded annually, the Medal recognises individuals who have made outstanding contributions to science and engineering.