Curtin Sarawak academic awarded prestigious Hind Rattan Award

Miri – 12 May 2014 – Dr. Amandeep S. Sidhu of Curtin University, Sarawak Malaysia (Curtin Sarawak) was recently conferred the prestigious Hind Rattan Award which is awarded yearly to about 30 members of the worldwide Indian diaspora.

Curtin Sarawak is Curtin University’s largest international campus located in Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia.

Dr. Amandeep is a research fellow of the Curtin Sarawak Research Institute (CSRI), Curtin Sarawak’s multi-disciplinary research institute; a senior lecturer in the Curtin Sarawak Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, School of Engineering and Science, and an adjunct research fellow of Curtin University’s Faculty of Health Sciences.

The Hind Rattan award is one of the highest Indian diasporic awards granted annually to non-resident Indian citizens (NRIs) by the NRI Welfare Society of India, an organisation under the umbrella of the Government of India. Each year, 30 non-resident Indians and people with Indian origin are chosen for the award, which is also known as the ‘Jewel of India’.

The award is granted at the Society’s annual congress held in conjunction with national Pravasi Bharatiya Divas celebrations. The congress is attended by senior members of the Indian government and of the Supreme Court of India.

Dr. Amandeep is the editor of the Data, Semantics and Cloud Computing subseries of Springer-Verlag and editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Semantic and Infrastructure Services (ISSN: 2051-5073).

In addition, he has been an executive committee member of the Asia Pacific Bioinformatics Network since 2005 and a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in which he is actively involved in many activities in the areas of bioinformatics, semantic web, data management and cloud computing.

In congratulating Dr. Amandeep on his award, Curtin University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research and Development in Perth, Professor Graeme Wright, said that the Hind Rattan Award is an excellent recognition of the quality of Dr. Amandeep’s research and his ongoing contribution to the discipline.

Curtin Sarawak’s Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Jim Mienczakowski also had high praise for Dr. Amandeep, saying he is delighted that Dr. Amandeep has gained this significant recognition for his contribution to research.

“Dr. Amandeep’s international profile in bioinformatics reflects well not only on his own research prowess but also on Curtin Sarawak’s research environment in which Dr Amandeep is an important part of our growing pool of research talent,” remarked Professor Mienczakowski.

Echoing Professor Mienczakowski’s sentiments, Acting Director of Curtin Sarawak Research Institute and Dean of Research and Development Professor Clem Kuek commented that the award signals an honour for Dr. Amandeep as well as affirms the CSRI as a place where Curtin Sarawak has gathered researchers of note.

The NRI Welfare Society of India was founded in 1981 by Harbhajan Singh, President of the All India Small and Medium Newspapers Federation, and recipient of the 2000 UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Gold Medal. The Society was established with the objective of strengthening the emotional bonds between India and non-resident Indians.

Dr. Amandeep S. Sidhu, winner of the Hind Rattan Award.