Nine young Indian-American scientists meet Obama

Washington, Mar 10: US President Barack Obama met 40 young scientists, of which nine were Indian-Americans. These young scientists chosen from 1,600 applicants are the national finalists of the 2009 Intel Science Talent Search.

Aditya Rajagopalan, 17, an ethnic Indian scientist from Glastonbury, Connecticut has demonstrated a more efficient and less expensive approach to make ethanol, a clean burning alternative fuel that is derived from the fermentation of sugars extracted from plant biomass.

"He (Obama) discussed with us, how much he values science. The first thing he said that we need science, we really need to push forward science," Rajagopalan, 17, said.

Winner of this programme, to be announced later this week, would receive a grand prize of USD 100,000.

The Indian American scientists soon after meeting Obama, said that the President believes that science is the engine of growth of the country. These students left the White House highly impressed by Obama.

OneIndia News