NEW YORK (TIP): Two Indian-origin men are among this year’s prestigious Heinz Awards recipients in the US. Abraham Verghese, a professor at Stanford University Medical School, and Sanjeev Arora, a computer scientist, of Albuquerque in the US state of New Mexico will be honoured in Pittsburgh April 3, the foundation announced on its website on Tuesday.

The five recipients will receive a cash award of $250,000 each as well as a medallion inscribed with an image of late US senator John Heinz. Abraham Verghese, who was born to parents from Kerala in Ethiopia, 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. Verghese did his MBBS degree from Madras University in 1979.

Sanjeev Arora, born at Kota in Rajasthan and now a San Franciscobased entrepreneur, was recognized for revolutionizing community healthcare using video conferencing technology. The awards recognize outstanding individuals for their contributions in the fields of arts, humanities, environment, human Condition, public policy,technology, economy and employment. The awards are conferred annually by the Heinz Family Foundation and were instituted in 1993.