Two persons of Indian origin win Heinz Awards

Two Indian-origin persons are among the five recipients of this year’s prestigious Heinz Awards. They were honoured for their contribution in the areas of arts, environment, public policy and technology.

The five recipients of the 19th Heinz awards will be honoured at a ceremony in April. They will receive a cash award of $250,000 each as well as a medallion inscribed with the image of U.S. Senator John Heinz on one side and a rendering of a globe passing between two hands on the other.

Abraham Verghese of Stanford has been honoured as a critically acclaimed best-selling author and Sanjeev Arora of Albuquerque recognised for revolutionising community health care using video conferencing technology. Mr Verghese’s memoir,

My Own Country , about treating patients with AIDS in rural Tennessee, was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and was made into a film.