Former President A.P.J. Abul Kalam had been presented with the prestigious Hoover Medal for 2008 on April 28 for his services to humanity at a ceremony at Columbia University in New York. Dr. Kalam, the first Asian to receive the Hoover Medal that has been given annually since 1930 by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, said in his acceptance speech after being handed the medal and a citation by Beatrice Hunt, Chair of the Hoover Medal Board: “I would like to thank the selection committee of the Hoover Medal Board for the honour bestowed upon me. When I think of Hoover, I recall his belief in the efficiency movement and that a technical solution existed for every social and economic problem. I consider it as a great honour to me for being awarded the Hoover Medal.” The organisers said that Kalam, ‘a pre-eminent scientist and gifted engineer and a true visionary’ is being recognised for making state-of-the-art healthcare available to the common people in India at affordable prices, bringing quality medical care to rural areas by establishing a link between doctors and technocrats, using spin-offs of defence technology to create state-of-the-art medical equipment and launching telemedicine projects. The projects connect remote rural-based hospitals to the super specialty hospitals in India.
APJ ABUL KALAM PRESENTED WITH HOOVER MEDAL FOR 2008
Former President A.P.J. Abul Kalam had been presented with the prestigious Hoover Medal for 2008 on April 28 for his services to humanity at a ceremony at Columbia University in New York.
