Indian teenager Ritankar Das leaves academia awestruck in UC Berkeley, USA
- by S.Subbiah
A Kolkata-born teenager has become the youngest medalist in a century of the famed UCLA (University of California), Berkeley, USA, in the process completing a double major in bioengineering and chemical biology and a minor in creative writing in only 3 years – all at the age of 18.
Further he is the first student from the College of Chemistry in 58 years, and the first ever from the Department of Bioengineering, to earn the honour, which includes a USD 2,500 scholarship.
"In my 30 years at Berkeley, I cannot think of a single undergraduate student who would match Ritankar's accomplishments, his range of activities and projects that he initiated and currently leads, and his academic excellence," wrote Marcin Majda, professor and undergraduate dean in the College of Chemistry, in a recommendation letter submitted to the prize committee.
Established in 1871, the University Medal is awarded each year to an exemplary graduating student with a minimum Grade Point Average of 3.96. Das is graduating with more than 200 credits and a GPA of 3.99, which includes eight A+ marks. As you would expect, his grade point average is high. "It's 3.99," Das said. When asked if it's true that he did it in three years, he laughingly answered, "That's right!". "That they have 4.0, which is sort of crazy GPA, at that point what matters afterwards is actually what they did with all that talent they have," said Marcin Majda, Ph.D., one of Das' professors.
Das will receive the medal and give a speech at Commencement Convocation on Saturday, May 18, 2013 to be addressed by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. On campus, he has served as an academic senator, helping manage a USD 1.7 billion operating budget and has taught as a graduate student instructor in the Chemistry, Biology, and African-American Studies departments.
Das started doing research at age 13 at University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Since then, he has continued energy-related research projects at British-Petroleum funded EBI Institute, Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry, US Department of Energy, and Taiwan's Academia Sinica as a Cal Energy Corps recipient.
He has presented his results across three continents, and has received recognition from the American Chemical Society, American Physical Society, and the National Science Foundation. At this young age, he is the founder and chairman of 'See Your Future', a non-profit organisation that uses digital learning techniques such as YouTube visual demonstrations and Skype tutoring to encourage disadvantaged students to pursue STEM careers.
Born in Kolkata, Das moved to Waukesha, Wisconsin, at the age of 7 with his parents, Sankar and Kakali Das, the University statement said, revealing that he "grew up with limited financial resources, often walking several miles with his mother to elementary school in the freezing cold." Despite these challenges, he excelled in school, leapfrogging ahead of his peers by doing advanced projects outside of class.
After graduation, Das, who is fluent in Bengali and Hindi, and conversational in Spanish, will head to Oxford Universtiy to pursue a master's degree in biomedical engineering with a fully funded Whitaker Fellowship. He will then continue his studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he has been admitted to the chemistry Ph.D. program.
Outside of science, he is a published poet who has taught several courses on poetry, hosted slams and judged competitions, such as the Bay Area Poet Laureate competition, organised by Mayors Jean Quan and Edwin Lee. He is the author of the book Silent Moon and his poetic work has appeared in several anthologies.
In an interview to the University's news blog, Das credited much of his success to dedicated parents and teachers who propelled him forward. "I had parents and teachers who invested in my education early on," Das said. "Without that help, I don't think I would have succeeded through the education system. I think a lot of students deserve that opportunity and don't always get it," he added.
In an interview with Lyanne Melendez of ABC 7 News, Das said that "Every young person can change the world." "It's just that as a society we have to acknowledge that and we have to give them ways to show that."
At this point Lyanne had enough gumption to ask him about life outside school.
Lyanne: "Do you have time to date?"
Das: "Yes, but it's NOT something I've pursued."
Lyanne: "Okay, how about hobbies?"
Das: "I love to play basketball. And I'm an outside shooter."
Lyanne: "I can see the height!"
Das: "Yes, but it's NOT something I've pursued."
Lyanne: "Okay, how about hobbies?"
Das: "I love to play basketball. And I'm an outside shooter."
Lyanne: "I can see the height!"
Nothing seems to hold him back. He was telling her that as they passed Room 307 of Gilman Hall of the University. That's where plutonium was first identified and later used to develop the atomic bomb.
As they stood in front of that room, Das said he wants to focus on helping others less fortunate than him.
"How’s that going to happen, I can't tell you," Das said. "But as long as I find myself working on that, I'll be happy."
(Excerpts from ©2013 KGO-TV/DT, San Francisco Business Times, Indian Express, Times of India, Economic Times, PTI, IANS, Web etc.)
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