Five Indian American Educators Receive Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching 

Five Indian American educators are among recipients of the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST), for outstanding STEM teaching from grades K through 12. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), with the National Science Foundation also recognized California State University, Fullerton professor Binod Tiwari with the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM), recognizing outstanding efforts of mentors in encouraging the next generation of innovators and developing a science and engineering workforce that reflects the diverse talent of America. Twenty-five individuals and five organizations received this award. 

Awardees receive a certificate signed by the President of the United States, a trip to Washington D.C. to attend a series of recognition events and professional development opportunities, and a $10,000 award from the National Science Foundation. They also join an active network of outstanding educators from throughout the nation. 

Indian American winners of the PAEMST are:

Vivekanand Balija, Basking Ridge, New Jersey, who has taught science at William Annin Middle School for the past 11 years. Prior to this, he spent six years of his 17-year tenure at Louis Pasteur Middle School, teaching life and earth science courses. He currently teaches sixth grade physical science and eighth grade earth science and STEM science, and previously taught seventh grade life science. In addition, he is the co-founder of the Forensics Speech and Debate program at the middle school where he has served as coach for the last seven years. He has a B.S. in biological sciences, an M.S. in cell and molecular biology, and a Ph.D. in biochemistry, all earned at St. John’s University. In addition, he received an M.A. in education from the State University of New York (SUNY), Empire State. He is certified in New Jersey in biological science at all levels, in addition to certification in New York in biology education for grades 5-9.

Rama Devagupta of Washington has been an educator for 17 years. She has spent the last 10 years at Southridge High School teaching Biology, Honors Biology, Advanced Placement Biology, and Forensics to students of all grades, and has been an adjunct chemistry faculty at Columbia Basin College for the last 14 years. She previously taught biology, environmental science, and physical science at Three Rivers HomeLink, and Earth Science and Physical Science at Highlands Middle School. She received the 2024-2025 Hutch Fellowship for Excellence in STEM Teaching from Fred Hutch Cancer Center to do research, 2024 STEM Research Grant from the Society for Science, 2024 Fund for Teachers Innovation Circle Grant, and 2023 Washington Education Association Human & Civil Rights Commission International Peace and Understanding Award.  As a 2023 Fund for Teachers Fellow, she traveled to the Peruvian Amazon and learned about the Maijuna people and environmental injustices. As a 2022 National Education Association Foundation Global Learning Fellow, she focused on the United Nations’ SDGs and created lessons on climate change. She is National Board Certified in adolescent and young adult science with endorsements in biology and chemistry. She earned her B.S. in chemistry, botany, and zoology and her M.S. in chemistry from Ravishankar University, and a Ph.D. in bioorganic chemistry from Texas A&M University.

Anjana Iyer has been an educator for 13 years at Hillsborough High School in New Jersey where she has been teaching inclusion and resource level chemistry. She has co-taught chemistry with the same colleague for the last 10 years, earning recognition as the best inclusion teachers by the New Jersey Coalition for Inclusive Education (NJCIE) in 2019. She was awarded the Governor Educator of the Year in 2022, nominated by her colleagues and students, and the Outstanding High School Chemistry Teacher of the Year by the American Chemical Society (ACS) in 2018.She has presented sessions on teaching chemistry in inclusion classrooms at several conferences, including NSTA, Chem Ed, and NJ Science Convention. She and her co-teacher are regularly invited to Princeton University’s TeacherPrep program as guest speakers. Iyer was part of the governing board of the American Association of Chemistry Teachers (AACT) and continues to work with ACS on various K–12 initiatives. She has co-published two articles for AACT. She earned a B.S. in chemistry from Stella Maris College and an M.A.T. in special education and general education from The College of New Jersey. She is certified as a teacher of students with disabilities highly qualified in chemistry.

See Also

The Indian American Who is Drawn to Scandal-scarred Republicans Emerges as a Key Player in the MAGA Movement

Ranjani Krishnan, who goes by “Ranjani”, began her teaching journey 15 years ago at Gilkey International Middle School in Portland, Oregon, where she taught 6th grade Math and Science. She has also taught Advanced Mathematics at Health and Science School, Tualatin High School, Ida B. Wells High School, and is currently a Career and Technical Education computer science teacher at Lincoln High School, where she has spent the past eight years. Prior to teaching, Ranjani worked at Wolfram Research, a mathematical software company. At the end of each school year, Ranjani and her students engage in culminating activities that emphasize student presentations, agency, whimsy, humor, and community. She has also served as an adjunct mathematics instructor at Portland Community College. She holds certifications in Additive Manufacturing and Game Design and Development from MIT. Outside of education, Ranjani is a vocalist, composer, and performer. She released an album in 2015 called “Cream of Portland” featuring original compositions and covers of world music songs. Fluent in English, Hindi, and Tamil, she also has a working knowledge of Spanish and German.She holds a B.A. in mathematics from Reed College, a B.A. Honors, summa cum laude, in music from Lewis & Clark College, an M.S. in mathematics from the University of Illinois, and an M.A.T. from Lewis & Clark College. She also holds National Board Certification in Adolescence and Young Adulthood in Mathematics.

Rajini Sundararaj of Georgia, has been a science educator for 28 years, teaching all science subjects at Martha Ellen Stilwell School of the Arts for the past nine years; Therrell High School for four years; Langston Hughes High School for two years; and Westlake High School for one year. Her teaching career began with 12 years of experience in India and Saudi Arabia. This coming year, she will teach science for English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) in grades 9-12 at South Atlanta High School.She uses differentiated instruction, inquiry-based lab activities, and creates academically rigorous, authentic lessons tailored to individual student needs to promote equity in the classroom. She earned a B.S. and M.S. in physics from Bharathiar University and an Ed.S. in curriculum and instruction from Lincoln Memorial University. She is certified in physics and science (6-12) with endorsements in reading, ESOL, and gifted. 

Binod Tiwari is the Associate Vice President for Research & Sponsored Projects (AVPRSP) and a professor of civil and environmental engineering at California State University, Fullerton (CSUF). He joined CSUF in 2006 as an assistant professor and rose through ranks to professor in 2015. He has been serving as AVPRSP since 2019. During his academic career at CSUF, Tiwari has personally mentored over 240 students, from high school to graduate level, in research projects, among which 62% are students from underrepresented minorities in STEM. His mentoring has resulted in more than 150 student co-authored publications, 40 scholarships including an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, 140 presentations, and 20 first place awards in regional and national competitions. To promote student research at CSUF, he established the Summer International Research Institute; Summer Undergraduate Research Academy; Engaging Graduate Students in Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activities; and Undergraduate Research Opportunity Center. He has received funds from NSF, Partners of Americas, and the United States Department of Education to support these programs.  He has received several awards as well. He received his B.S. in civil engineering, with distinction, from Tribhuvan University, Nepal, and M.S. in geo and biosphere science and Ph.D. in environmental management science both from Niigata University, Japan.