GUWAHATI, June 2 � Assamese youth Riddhiman Das (22) has been honoured with the prestigious Champions of Change award of the United States for his achievement as an immigrant innovator and entrepreneur. The award was presented to him at an event held at the White House recently by President Barack Obama.
The US has honoured a total of 11 innovators and entrepreneurs, including three Indian Americans. Besides Das, the other recipients of the award were Shradha Agarwal from Chicago and Amar Sawhney from Massachusetts.
The award was originally instituted by the White House as an opportunity to feature groups of American businesses, organisations and individuals performing extraordinary work to both empower and inspire their respective communities.
These bright immigrant innovators and entrepreneurs from around the world are selected on the basis of their contribution towards creating American jobs, boosting the economy and making the US more competitive.
Das, recognised as the one of the most sought after software developers in the industry, has been awarded for his invaluable contribution in computer science and its application for the welfare and progress of the United States.
Das is presently doing his post-graduation in the University of Missouri Kansas City (UMKC), specialising in the field of Artificial Intelligence. He went to the United States in 2008 with a view to pursuing undergraduation course at the UMKC with Computer Science (major), Mathematics and Entrepreneurship and successfully completed it in 2012.
While acknowledging his contribution, the White House informed in a release, �As an undergraduate student, he (Das) co-founded three start-up tech companies and is also heavily involved with a Kansas City-based technology start-up that has commercialised the Eye-print Verification System as a simple, safe replacement for entering passwords on smart-phones.
�Hailing from Guwahati, Das is the son of Dr Dhirendra Nath Das and Dr Madhumita Priyadarshini Das of Gauhati Medical College. He passed Class 10 Examination from Don Bosco School, Guwahati in 2006 and Class 12 from DPS School, Guwahati in 2008.�
In 2010, while he was doing his undergraduate course, Bill Gates honoured Das as one of the 10 best Under Graduate Students.
A year later, during his internship with Qualcomm, California, US, he obtained three American Patents on his inventions for special health applications of mobile phones. Last year, Google awarded him as one of the world�s top 10 graduates.
In January 2013, he received the US Ignite Next-Generation Developers� recognition from President Obama. This was stated in a pres release issued here today.
