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Indian American becomes the Youngest UC Grad in Over a Century
SI Team
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Kolkata-born Ritankar Das has become the youngest graduate topper of the prestigious University of California in more than 100 years. The 19 year old Indian American has been named as the University Medalist, the prize which is given to the year’s top graduating senior. Das took just three years to complete his studies with a double major in bioengineering and chemical biology and a minor in creative writing from the University of California, Berkeley.

The young scholar is not only the first ever from the Department of Bioengineering, which includes a $2,500 scholarship but he is also the first student from the College of Chemistry in 58 years to earn the honour.

On campus, Das has served as an academic senator, helping manage a $1.7 billion operating budget and has taught as a graduate student instructor in the Chemistry, Biology, and African-American Studies departments. He 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 Centre for Green Chemistry, US Department of Energy, and Taiwan's Academia Sinica as a Cal Energy Corps recipient.
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