Indian-born American scientist Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, who won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome, was on Saturday honoured with a knighthood in the 2012 New Year Honours list. The list is issued annually by Queen Elizabeth II to recognise outstanding achievement and service across the whole of the United Kingdom.
Dr Ramakrishnan, who was awarded a Padma Vibhushan by the Indian government in 2010, has been conducting his research at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge. Dr Ramakrishnan, who is called Venki by his colleagues, is being conferred with the knighthood “for services to molecular biology”.
He will be conferred the knighthood in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace some time next year. Responding to the honour, Dr Ramakrishnan said the knighthood was a recognition of the contribution made to British society by immigrants. “In the current debate about immigration, it is worth noting that this award is yet another example of the numerous contributions that immigrants make to British society,” he said in a statement issued to PTI.