Heinz Awards

Heinz Awards – 2013

It was established in 1993 by Ms. Teresa Heinz, the chairwoman of the Heinz Family Foundation in honor of her late husband, Senator H. John Heinz III, the Pennsylvania Republican. The Heinz Awards celebrates the accomplishments and spirit of the Senator by recognizing the extraordinary achievements of individuals in the areas of greatest importance to Senator John Heinz, who died in a midair aircraft collision in 1991. Awards recognize outstanding individuals for their contributions in five areas:  Arts and Humanities, Environment, Human Condition, Public Policy, and Technology, the Economy and Employment.

Indian-origin men, Professor Abraham Verghese and Mr. Sanjeev Arora are among the five recipients who won the 19th Heinz awards 2013 and honored in Pittsburgh on April 3, 2014. Each winner has received a cash award of $250,000 as well as a medallion inscribed with an image of late US senator John Heinz.

19th Heinz Awards – 2013: Category and its’ recipients

Arts and humanities – Professor Abraham Verghese, a doctor and author based at Stanford University Medical School, USA was given the award in recognition of his best-selling authorship. In his first book, ‘My Own Country’, he wrote extensively about AIDS in rural areas of Tennesse. He belongs to Kerala.

Public policy – Dr. Sanjeev Arora, professor of medicine at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, was recognized for revolutionizing community healthcare using video conferencing technology. He belongs to Kota, Rajasthan.

Environment – Professor Jonathan Foley, director of the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota, where, he has conducted research on the global environment and how to improve the efficiency of food production.

Human condition – Mr. Salman Khan, founder of online Khan Academy in Mountain View, Calif., an educational nonprofit that offers free tutorials and exercises to students around the world.

Technology, the economy and employment – Leila Janah (an entrepreneur based in San Francisco, USA) was honored for founding the nonprofits Samasource and SamaUSA that uses an Internet to train and employ people in impoverished communities around the world.